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Samosa- the king of Indian snacks

While trying delicatessen from Indian cuisine you cannot forget about the king of South Asian snacks- Samosa. These fragrant golden pastries with savoury filling are a ‘must have’ on every party and celebration menu. They are also widely sold on street chaat stalls. Samosa can be a perfect bite when you are hungry and in a hurry or want to surprise your guests with both tasty and easy appetiser. Filling, preparation method, size and shape of samosas may vary slightly, but usually they are known for their characteristic triangular shape. They are usually accompanied by chutney, onion salad or raita yoghurt dip.

 The samosa has been one of India’s beloved food for centuries. It is believed to have originated in Central Asia prior to the 10th century. It was introduced to the subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by traders from the region. Nowadays they are popular all over the world and many regional variations can be found. Most famous types are Arfican sambusa (eaten in Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti), Israeli sambusak- milder version of its Indian equivalent, or Chamuças famous in Portuguese-speaking countries and Goa. In recent years samosa also became very popular in English-speaking countries like United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya, Canada, and the United States. However Westerners often prefer its baked version, instead of deep fired original.

But no matter what your preferences are, if you love Indian food you should try this original Samosa recipe. Despite of being quite time consuming, preparation is relatively easy and you patience will definitely be rewarded with delicious flavour of the dish. You can also experiment and add your own flavours to this time honoured basic samosa recipe. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Samosa Dough

Ingredients:

300g plain flour

25g margarine or oil

1 tsp salt

1tsp onion seeds (optional)

75ml warm water

• Mix the flour and margarine, using the rub in method, until flour looks like breadcrumbs.
• Add salt and onion seeds. Mix together
• Gradually add water (a little at a time). Bring together and knead for 5 min. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare samosa filling.
• Roll dough out to form a 6 to 8" circle no thicker than the thickness of a coin. The diameter of the dough cookie determines the size of Samosa. 8" will make a large Samosa. Cook one side on the preheated tava pan for 10 seconds. Place the cooked side to bottom and keep warm in kitchen foil or tea towel.
•  With a sharp knife cut the dough circle u into half. We will use one half to make one Samosa.
• Damp edges with flour paste or egg and fold. To fold  lift one corner of half circle  (where the arch meets the straight cut), towards center. Left the other edge of half cookie and lay over the previous. Press to seal. Now, you have formed a dough cone.
• Hold the cone in your hand and stuff with prepared filling.
• After the cone is stuffed, Press and seal seal the open edge.You may flute this edge by hand or using a fork.
• Deep fry the samosa at 200C until light brown.

Meat Samosa Filling

Ingredients:

250g minced beef/ lamb/ finely diced chicken

½ medium size onion finely chopped

½ fresh green chilli finely chopped

1 Tbsp fresh coriander finely chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger powder

½ tsp tandoori masala

½ tsp garam masala

1 tsp kebab masala

½ tsp salt

50g frozen peas

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

• In a frying pan heat the oil and fry the onions  until golden and aromatic.
• Add minced meat and stir fry until light brown
• Add the chilli and dry spices and mix well together. Add peas and stir fry until peas are tender.
• Cool before filling the samosas.

Vegetable Samosa Filling

Ingredients:

200g potatoes washed and diced small

50g frozen peas

50g sweetcorn (tinned or fresh)

50g carrots- peeled and diced small

½ medium size onion chopped small

1 dried red chilli de-seeded

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp chaat masala

½ tsp ginger powder

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp  salt

Method:

• In a saucepan boil the diced potatoes and carrots until they soften slightly. Then add peas and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Drain and mix in the sweetcorn.
• In a frying pan heat the oil and fry the onions, cumin seeds and chopped red chilli until the onions are golden brown.
• With 2 Tbsp of water make the paste of salt, turmeric, garam masala, chaat masala, ginger and garlic and add to the onions, cumin and chilli mix. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the flavour absorbed. Mix in the vegetables.
• Cool before filling the samosas.

TIPS:

You can change the flavour of samosa dough by using different spices than onion seeds. Most popular equivalents are cumin seeds or ajwain (bishop seeds), but opportunities are almost countless and you can make it to your preference.

While putting your dough away to rest, rub some oil on the dough ball to prevent from creating hard shell and wrap it in a cling film.

You may choose to bake your samosas instead of frying them, as many people find it more convenient and healthier. To bake them put the samosas on lightly greased baking tray and lightly brush beaten egg over each samosa to give it a nice glaze. 

Egg custart tart

Egg custard tart is regarded as another classic of British cuisine. Often described as favourite pastry in the British Isles, custard tarts are widely sold in supermarkets and bakeries throughout the UK. The history of egg tart reaches back to the Middle Ages. It’s usually associated with Medieval recipes for croustade, doucettes and darioles- old French custard pies consisting of shortcrust pastry shell filled with mixture of cream, milk and eggs, enriched with honey and spices. Modern egg custard tarts base on very similar formula. Apart from Britain custard tarts are widely enjoyed in Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand. Also other countries have their regional equivalents. Most popular are French Flans pâtissier, Portuguese Pastel de nata or Dan Tat- speciality of Hong Kong cuisine. 

Ingredients:

200g short crust pastry

4 large eggs

1 pint whole milk

2 oz sugar

Large pinch or ground nutmeg

• Preheat the oven to 190C. Roll out the pastry and line the flat tin. Press the pastry into the tin (Trim the edges of the tart with a sharp serrated knife.) Fill the pastry with baking beans. Blind bake for approx. 15- 20 minutes, until golden and sandy all over. 

• Whisk the eggs lightly with the sugar.
• Warm up the milk and pour it in continuous stream onto the eggs, whisking lightly. Strain into the pastry case and sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

• Bake in the centre of the oven at mark 7 for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to mark 4 and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the custard is set.
• When it's ready, the tart should be set and pale golden on the top, and have just the merest tremor in the centre when you jiggle the tray. Cool completely, then serve in slices. Enjoy!

Creamy chocolate mousse

Chocolate mousse is decadently delicious, elegant and impressive - yet stunningly easy to make. Chocolate mousse is also the perfect make-ahead dessert for dinner parties. You can make it a few days before then just pimp it up with the accompaniments at the last minute.

No matter how many new desserts come along, the traditional chocolate mousse always impresses with its rich and creamy taste. And, if you are not convinced yet, there is one really good reason to make it- CHOCOLATE! Chocolate intake has been linked with release of serotonin in the brain, which is thought to produce feelings of pleasure. So if you want to please your guests, try to do it with this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

300ml double cream

2 tsp Amaretto or other liquor (optional)

1 large egg white

50g castor sugar

Handful of amaretti biscuits- to garnish

White or/and dark chocolate shavings- to garnish

• Warm 150ml of cream in a small pan on a low heat. When boiled take off the heat and add chocolate.

• Mix well together until chocolate melts. Leave aside to cool slightly.

• Add rest of cream and liqueur (if using). Whisk until thick. Liquor can be easily substituted with an amaretto syrup. It incorporates delicious, distinctive almond flavour and is 100% alcohol free.

• Whisk egg white until peaks. Add a table spoon of sugar at a time- keep whisking until all added

• Fold meringue into chocolate mixture and place in serving dishes.

• Put in the fridge until service. Garnish with crushed biscuits and chocolate shavings. Enjoy!

Traditional apple pie

Apple pie is another old-fashion, perfect tasting dessert or tea time treat, which we would like to share here.

Traditional apple pie showed up, in one form or another, since medieval ages. There is an English recipe that dates back to 1381. Although, without of a shadow of a doubt, apples cooked in pies pre-dates this by many 100's of years. Now almost every European country has its own variation of this British Classic and it’s also one of the most favourites in North America.

Without any doubt cinnamon-scented apple pie with golden melt-in-the-mouth pastry conquers hearts all over the world.

Here you will find out how to prepare this ultimate comfort food in easy way.

Ingredients:

400g short crust pastry

1.5 kg cooking apples (such as Bramley or Granny Smith)

100g sugar

25g butter

½ tsp cinnamon

• Peel, quarter and core apples. Cut them into small cubes

• Melt the butter in a pan. Add sugar, cinnamon, apples and a few tablespoons of water. Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Keep stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan.

• When the apples are soft and slightly mushy take the pan off the heat and leave to cool down

• Preheat the oven to 180C. Take half of the short crust pastry, roll out and line the tart tin. Trim the edges with a knife using the edge of the plate as your guide. Lightly prick the surface of the pastry with a fork.

• Fill with apple mixture. Add some diced, uncooked apples to give your pie more distinctive flavour and better look. When apples are peeled and especially when sliced, their attractive white colour will very quickly turn a 'not-so-attractive' brownish colour, so by adding some freshly cubed ones you will increase the presentation value of your pie. 

• Roll out the other half of the pastry and cover the apple filling.  Transfer the rolled out pastry to the top of the pie using the rolling pin. (First, lightly roll 50% or so of the flattened pastry over the rolling pin. Then support the rest with your hand and transfer it to top of the dish). Using both hands, 'crimp' the pastry round the edge of the pie to obtain an attractive finish. Finally lightly prick the pastry with a fork to allow the steam to come out during cooking and prevent the top going soggy.

• Brush with egg wash to give it a light brown colour when cooked. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in preheated oven for approx. 25 minutes. Enjoy!

TIPS:

-     Apple pie tastes delicious warm or cold. You can serve on its own or with custard, whipped cream or ice cream.

-       For more acidic and tangy flavour add a few drops of lemon juice to your apple mixture. It will also prevent apples from browning so quickly.

-       If you want to add shine and sparkle to your apple pie, thin 4 tablespoons of golden syrup with very hot water. When the pie is done, brush the thinned syrup over the top of the pastry. You can add granulated sugar or demerara sugar at this time. Return the pie to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to let the glaze dry and set.

-      To check the doneness of the pie filling, insert a knife into the centre of the pie. If it meets with little or no resistance, the pie is done.
If the pie is not quite done but the top or edges are becoming too dark, loosely cover the top of the pie with aluminium foil to shield it from the heat.

-      When it is cooked, leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving to allow pie filling to set. Beware; apple pie can stay really hot for an hour or so. Ready apple pie can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.

Lemon meringue pie

Lemon meringue pie is slightly forgotten English classic. It combines both sweet and tangy flavours and it’s simple and quick to prepare. Lemon flavoured custards, puddings and pies have been enjoyed since medieval times, but meringue was perfected in the 17th century. Lemon meringue pie, as it is known today, is a 19th century product.

This irresistible dessert can be served warm or cold. So if you haven’t tried it yet, you shouldn’t wait any longer…

 Ingredients:

1 prebaked Short crust pastry shell

For Filling:

2 lemons

40g corn flour

125g caster sugar

15g butter

2 egg yolks

For Meringue:

2 egg whites

100g caster sugar

½ tsp corn flour

1. Put the juice and rind of the lemons in a measuring jug. Add sugar and corn flour. Mix together into a paste.

2. Add enough water to make up to 300 ml.

3. Pour this liquid into a small pan and cook gently on low heat until mixture thickens.

4. Remove from the heat. Add butter and beat in egg yolks. 

5. Pour the mixture into pastry shell and leave to cool.

 

6. Whisk egg whites with electric whisk until stiff, add half of the sugar and whisk again. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and gently mix in.

7. Spoon the meringue over lemon filling. Using a knife pull out delicate spikes.

8. Place in preheated oven and bake in 180C for about 10 minutes until meringue is golden brown. Enjoy!

Shortcrust pastry

Shortcrust pastry is the easiest type of pastry to make. It's also very versatile as it readily incorporates other flavourings. It can be used for sweet or savoury pies and tarts, pasties and other pastry parcels. Regular shortcrust pastry is made of ½ fat: 1 flour ratio and bound with water but for a richer version the water is replaced with egg. Perfect home-made pastry is quick and easy to prepare and it’s light and crusty.

Ingredients

200g plain flour

100g margarine

Pinch of salt

3 Tbsp water

1. Sift the flour and salt into large mixing bowl.
2. Rub the margarine into the flour Rub until the mixture gains sandy texture. At this stage it should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Try working as quick as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
3. Make a well in the centre. Slowly add water to the mixture and stir until dough is formed.
4. Cover with cling film and put to rest in the fridge for about 15-30 minutes.

Tips:

Shortcrust, puff pastry and their relatives need to be kept cool for best results. This means chilling the ingredients and the utensils before making the pastry, and working on a cool surface - marble is ideal. Traditionally, pastry was made first thing in the morning, before the kitchen had a chance to get hot.

Also for this reason pastry needs to be mixed quickly. This helps keep it cool but also minimises development of the flour's gluten content, otherwise the pastry may become too elastic, difficult to roll, inclined to shrink, and tough in texture. Too much handling can also make the fat soft and the finished pastry greasy.

You can use a food processor while making shortcrust pastry. It can be an advantage as it can help minimise handling. However it is important not to let the machine overwork the pastry – it will result in hard, dry pastry - a common fault in pastry making.

Chilling the dough in the fridge helps relax the gluten and set the fat, making the dough manageable and less likely to shrink. Raw shortcrust can be kept wrapped in cling film in the fridge for two or three days before rolling and baking. It can also be frozen for up to three months.

Sweet and sour sauce with chicken

Chinese food has become increasingly popular around the world.  It’s considered healthy, because is rich in vegetables and low in greasy. It combines also the proteins of meats with the plant fibres of vegetables and the starch of rice. And if you mention Chinese cuisine it’s impossible to omit most famous and popular dish- Sweet and Sour.

Sweet and sour is a term that covers many styles of sauce and cooking methods. It stereotypically linked with traditional Chinese cuisine, but its popular Westernised version is actually slightly different in preparation methods than original Cantonese sweet and sour.

Western cultures use sweet and sour sauce in two different ways. Dishes can either include the sauce as an ingredient in cooking or use the sauce as a pour-over or dipping sauce for the meal. In China traditionally the sauces are made from mixing sugar or honey with a sour liquid such as rice vinegar, soy sauce, and spices such as ginger and cloves. Sometimes a paste made from tomatoes is used but this is rare and normally restricted to western cooking.

Also Chinese cuisine usually ties certain sauces to particular kind of meat, while Western sweet and sour is served with variety of battered and deep-fried meats, sea food or stir-fry vegetables.

Common in Western sweet and sour sauce is the addition of fruits such as pineapple and vegetables such as sweet pepper, carrots and onions.

Some people find combining sweet and savoury foods together a little strange for their palettes, however the dish has so many fans that I think you should try it at least once to judge if it suits your taste… Here is the easy way to prepare it at home.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

2 medium sized tomatoes- skinned, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper- skinned and chopped

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp honey

1 ½ Tbsp malt vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt – to taste

Optional ingredients:

1 small onion- finely sliced

1 small bell pepper- diced

1 carrot- peeled and sliced

¼ fresh pineapple or 3 pineapple slices- diced

Oil for frying

500 g diced chicken thighs or breast

For batter:

240g soft flour

Pinch salt

30 ml vinegar

280 ml water

20g baking powder

Pinch of turmeric powder- optional

Pinch of Chinese 5 spice powder- optional

Oil for frying

1. Skin tomatoes and peppers using hot water. (Place the whole, fresh tomatoes into a bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 30-60 seconds, or until the skins have split. Remove the tomatoes from the water using a fork. When they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.) Remove the core and cut into small chunks.

2. Place the tomatoes and peppers in a pan. Add enough water to cover the vegetables and shimmer on a low heat until the vegetables are mushy and sauce gains creamy consistency. Add butter to give the sauce a nice glaze. You can add more water if you don’t want the sauce to be too thick. It all depends on personal preference.

3. Take the pan off the heat, add honey, vinegar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well together. Your sauce is ready at this point.

Honey obviously gives the sweet taste to the sauce, whilst the "sour" is achieved by adding vinegar, and in the more authentic recipes, rice vinegar is used. There's nothing wrong with varying the quantities of honey and/or vinegar in the recipe to either increase or reduce the sweetness of the sauce. You can mix those ingredients in ratio that suits your taste buds best. You can also use vegetarian Worcestershire sauce if you want to make sure your sauce is 100% vegetarian. 

4. Prepare batter for the chicken. Mix sifted flour, salt and vinegar together. Gradually add cold water whisking well. When the batter is smooth add baking powder and mix well. You can add a pinch of turmeric powder as natural yellow colouring to add golden tint to your batter. If you wish to incorporate more flavours into your chicken also add Chinese 5 spice powder. 

5. Heat up the oil to 180C using deep fryer or heavy based pan. Dip the diced chicken in prepared batter and mix well. Deep fry in the hot oil until batter turns golden brown  and chicken is fully cooked inside. Remove  from fryer and drain well on kitchen paper.  

6. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in heavy based frying pan or wok. Add onions and other vegetables and fry for a few minutes until carrot and pineapple are tender. 
Pour prepared earlier sweet and sour sauce over the vegetables and stir together. When ready pour reheated sauce over the chicken. Serve warm with rice. Enjoy!

Tips:

You can create as many varieties of this dish as you want. Instead of chicken you can use any type of meat or fish or just stick to vegetarian stir-fry.

Using vegetables in Step 6 is optional. You can adjust the ingredients to your personal taste. If you don’t like battered chicken you can fry it instead with the vegetables and cover with sweet and sour sauce for a nice glaze.

You can also use your sweet and sour sauce base as a dip for popular Chinese starters or other dishes.