Potato Samosas and Peach Chutney

You may have had a bad day, but take a gander at poor Barbie.

(We'll get to the punch line of this in one moment...)

First...

A Samosa Rhyme

(created by Tim and me)

You say potato. I say samosa.

What's a samosa supposta taste like?

It's not a salad, yet not a steak.

Samosas are found somewhere in between

A samosa's supposta taste like a samosa.

Now you know why I don't write poetry for a living. If I've totally lost you, please bear with me; the following recipe is worth it.


Now that I've provided that disclaimer and sad excuse for a rhyme, don't dilly dally on this recipe. Make it now. You'll be sorry if you don't.

For the past few weeks, I've been getting red potatoes in my CSA box. I'm not a huge fan of potato salad, it's too hot for mashed potatoes, and I've roasted my share of potatoes on the grill. I remember these rich, heavy potato samosas peppered with cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric, and lots of onions I devoured when I used to visit the San Francisco farmers' market when I lived there. They were clearly deep-fried, but every Saturday, the vendors would cut up these homemade samosas into little slivers and offer to market shoppers as samples. Somehow I managed to pass that table multiple times each weekend for another morsel of that fried potato and breaded goodness. We all know I couldn't recreate something that good.


Until today.


I've come to a lot of conclusions today. Here are the ones I can share:
1) My best culinary creative juices flow early in the week. I'm just too tired to think on Thursday or Friday.
2.) I've waited too long to recreate these San Francisco-inspired samosas.
3.) My life had not been complete until making peach chutney.
4.) Wontons are meant to be fried.


I've spent far to many cooking experiences trying to perfect the art of baking wonton wrappers. I have a recipe for baked tofu cabbage wonton wraps, but thinking back, they'd be much better fried. And let's clarify, I'm not talking deep-fried. I'm talking pan-fried in a tablespoon of vegetable oil. The word "fry" is such a dirty word, but in the case that I'll show you, adding a little oil to your life is not so bad. In fact, I rarely fry anything; the closest I come is a can of Pam and a diced onion in a pan (say that three times fast.)


So, when I set out to conquer the world of pan-frying this evening, I realized the most important thing: the temperature. The temperature of the oil has to be just right, otherwise your frying victim becomes soaked in oil and tastes like a wet rag. Or, the oil begins to smoke and you have on your hands a smoking oil disaster. Your clothes will never smell the same again. This is a nice table showing the various smoking points of various oils. And never attempt to consume or reuse oil that has reached its smoking point. The heat changes its structure and it becomes rancid.


By the way, the following recipes are by no means for the faint of the dishwashing heart. I must have used 5 or 6 pots in the process, but seriously, the final product was worth all the pots and pans I put in the dishwasher (sorry if I turned off any of you non-diswasher-owners.)


Potato Samosas


6 medium red potatoes, scrubbed, boiled, diced (local!)
1 cup yellow lentils, cooked
1 onion (local!)
1 clove garlic (local!)
1 tsp EVOO
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 package Nasoya wonton wrappers
3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil


In a fry pan, saute onion and garlic in EVOO until transparent, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mash potatoes, lentils, onion/garlic mix, and spices together.


Note: Another key to getting the wonton wrapper to cooperate is to dip it in a bowl of warm water.


Place dampened wonton onto a cutting board, scoop 1-2 Tbsp of potato mixture into wonton wrapper and pull one corner over mixture. Fold in two opposite sides, and then roll until potato mixture is all within wrapper.


In fry pan, spread 2 Tbsp of vegetable and bring to medium heat. Drop a tiny bit of potato mixture in oil, and it should begin to sizzle immediately. If oil splashes, turn temperature down. If it doesn't sizzle, turn it up baby.


Drop each roll in heated oil, and cook on each side for about 1 minute, or until wonton is browned and bubbly. When completely cooked, drop wonton onto a paper towel to catch any excess oil. You may need to replenish oil with 1 or 2 more Tbsp as you cook.


Peach Chutney


1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup golden raisins
6 peaches, peeled, pitted, chopped (local!)
1 tsp ground cloves


Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly. Caution: I've made this claim before and I'll say it again: boiling vinegar is a sinister task. It will drive your neighbors away, and like smoking oil, your clothes will never smell the same again. Don't make the mistake to lean over the stove to get something in a high cabinet and breathe in that boiling vinegary steam; your eyes will water and your cat's back hair will stand up on end.


Mix in garlic, raisins, peaches, and ground cloves. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. When peaches appear soft, mash with a potato masher. The mixture will begin to get syrupy and sweet. It will turn a rich caramel color; try not to spoon it directly into your mouth. It's still very hot.


Alongside three potato samosas, slice a fresh tomato and cucumber, and dip away to your heart's content.



And now for the demise of Barbie you've all been waiting for...

On that note, I'm going to start my birthday celebration. 26 on the 25th. Check out last year's birthday celebratory post!

I don't really own that tiara. Photoshopped it.

That dessert is a local peach cobbler with Taza chocolate chunk ice cream from Henrietta's Table. I started my birthday celebration earlier this week.

Question of the Day: How do you celebrate your birthday? In style? Is it a birthday day? week? month?