Mathri and Samosa Bites:
2 easy dishes with my 2 GRANDkids.
I try to make their visits as stimulating as possible, with a different project each time they come so I'm winning against their tech stuff. One such visit took us into the kitchen and we made these two dishes a couple of weeks before their summer vacation ended.
The granddaughter has developed a taste for samosas and the grandson likes the salty taste of the mathris. I chose the easiest recipe for themas I didn't want them to abandon me half way through the process.
I got a pleasant surprise...they both showed such effort with their dishes.
I try to make their visits as stimulating as possible, with a different project each time they come so I'm winning against their tech stuff. One such visit took us into the kitchen and we made these two dishes a couple of weeks before their summer vacation ended.
The granddaughter has developed a taste for samosas and the grandson likes the salty taste of the mathris. I chose the easiest recipe for themas I didn't want them to abandon me half way through the process.
I got a pleasant surprise...they both showed such effort with their dishes.
Both dishes are shortcuts to the traditional dishes and I have mentioned them here before but not dedicated a post to them.
For Mathri:
1 sheet pie pastry
1-2 tsp omum/ajwain
1-2 tsp whole pepper
1-2 tsp rock salt
1-2 tsp omum/ajwain
1-2 tsp whole pepper
1-2 tsp rock salt
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
1 sheet pie pastry, thawed.
(These come 2 to a box in the freezer section. Don't have it where you are? Follow any pie pastry recipe online.)
Gather up the sheet into a ball, then roll it out to 1 mm thickness.
Sprinkle with crushed (not ground) omum/ajwain/carom seeds, crushed pepper and rock salt (if the latter has particles that are too large, crush that too). How much you add at this point depends on your taste.
(i crush with mortar and pestle but even a rolling pin does the trick.)
Lightly press these ingredients into dough.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out circles. We re-rolled the 'extra' edges and cut them into diamond shapes, so nothing was wasted.
Place on foil lined tray (to avoid difficult clean up) and bake as per package instructions...it was done in 10 mins at 350 but it depends on individual ovens. Remove when golden brown.
Enjoy with pickle or just by itself.
I've had this with Punjabi mango pickle as a kid so love that memory...here I have it plain or with the 'masala' from the lime pickle.
1 sheet pie pastry, thawed.
(These come 2 to a box in the freezer section. Don't have it where you are? Follow any pie pastry recipe online.)
Gather up the sheet into a ball, then roll it out to 1 mm thickness.
Sprinkle with crushed (not ground) omum/ajwain/carom seeds, crushed pepper and rock salt (if the latter has particles that are too large, crush that too). How much you add at this point depends on your taste.
(i crush with mortar and pestle but even a rolling pin does the trick.)
Lightly press these ingredients into dough.
Using a cookie cutter, cut out circles. We re-rolled the 'extra' edges and cut them into diamond shapes, so nothing was wasted.
Place on foil lined tray (to avoid difficult clean up) and bake as per package instructions...it was done in 10 mins at 350 but it depends on individual ovens. Remove when golden brown.
Enjoy with pickle or just by itself.
I've had this with Punjabi mango pickle as a kid so love that memory...here I have it plain or with the 'masala' from the lime pickle.
For samosa bites:
1 packet of 4" by 4" puff pastry sheets.
Samosa filling...this can be the usual potato filling, leftover veggies or keema filling... made the day before. I've even used salmon prepared with chopped, fried onion, chopped cilantro and masalas to taste.
Bowl of water.
Samosa filling...this can be the usual potato filling, leftover veggies or keema filling... made the day before. I've even used salmon prepared with chopped, fried onion, chopped cilantro and masalas to taste.
Bowl of water.
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Thaw pastry sheets, lightly dust with maida and gently roll out to six" by five". You can leave it as is for thicker crust...I prefer thinner.
Cut with a pizza cutter into 4.
Place a tsp of filling in the center, dab with water around edges and fold over and seal. Using a fork press edges down.
Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 mins depending on your oven. Tops should be golden brown.
We had two trays of this so half way through I changed shelves to get even browning.
Served it with hot and sweet chutneys.
The puff pastry makes a perfect crust. HD's family actually made samosas with the traditional puff pastry crust from scratch, so he loves them.
As bites these are perfect for appetizers or those trying to curtail the amount they eat.
Thaw pastry sheets, lightly dust with maida and gently roll out to six" by five". You can leave it as is for thicker crust...I prefer thinner.
Cut with a pizza cutter into 4.
Place a tsp of filling in the center, dab with water around edges and fold over and seal. Using a fork press edges down.
Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 mins depending on your oven. Tops should be golden brown.
We had two trays of this so half way through I changed shelves to get even browning.
Served it with hot and sweet chutneys.
The puff pastry makes a perfect crust. HD's family actually made samosas with the traditional puff pastry crust from scratch, so he loves them.
As bites these are perfect for appetizers or those trying to curtail the amount they eat.
The kids got an A+ from me for focus and patience. Their mother couldn't believe they had made it...I couldn't believe their patience. Future home chefs in the making, I hope! I would love to know the cooking gene has been passed on to them.
Enjoy! For HD and me, 4-6 of these 'samosa bites' each made a perfectly satisfying, healthy TV dinner later on.
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