Mama Patil’s Baked Samosas

by: susanna peace on April 14, 2010

Last year, I was asking an Indian girlfriend if she could teach me how to cook authentic Indian curries. She replied, “Yes, of course – but Mama will be in town next week, why don’t you learn from the master?” Oh happy day! So – in a few hours, she taught me the basics of Indian seafood curries AND an insanely delicious recipe for baked samosas which I thought I’d share.

Ingredients

½ Cup Cooking Oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 package Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets
1 Medium Onion (diced)
¾ Cup Frozen Peas
1/3 cup of Cilantro (finely chopped)
3 T of equal parts fresh Garlic + Ginger Puree
Asafoetida Powder
Turmeric Powder
Chili Powder
Cinnamon
Allspice
Salt
Garam Masala

Directions

Thaw package of Puff Pastry (usually 40 minutes)

Preheat oven to 400F

In a skillet on medium-high heat, add cooking oil plus 2 pinches of asafoetida powder. Add ginger / garlic puree. Saute for a minute or two. Add ground turkey and cook through. Add peas to the ground turkey mixture. If the skillet seems to be getting really “dry” – feel free to add bits of oil throughout.

Next, we’ll start adding the Indian spices. Start with two pinches of turmeric. Mix thoroughly with a spatula. Follow this with two pinches of chili powder (note – if you want it spicier, add more). Next add two pinches of garam masala. Add a pinch each of cinnamon and allspice. Mix well. Add a tsp of salt. Lastly, add in the chopped cilantro. The samosa filling is complete and will look like this in the skillet :

Remove the two sheets of Puff Pastry and cut into 9 equal square pieces. Place a spoonful of the samosa filling in the middle of a square and fold over the top end to meet the bottom, so you have a triangle shape. Continue to stuff as much filling as will fit into each square :