Baked Phulkopir Singara /Samosa

 New year is knocking at our doors!

2013 already, can you believe it?

I've been thinking about you all and my little blog world all this while, just that the real world didn’t give me a breather  to step into my virtual space.

 The real world where I live in is reeling under cold waves. Its teeth chattering cold. They say that it may get even colder. Duh!, and really don’t hold your bellies and start laughing for New Delhi is not North Dakota or nowhere near the numbing blizzard of the Poles, and if by any means you are reading this post from the snow covered Alps . I envy you!! SNOW FALL eludes me here, but the city is everything else and the chill very much fazes city dwellers in North India who don’t have the comfort of centrally heated houses. The Heat blower is well a silly heat blower.

The other day I slept in my jeans with my jacket on. Just so you know.

I’m a winter person.  I love the way I can create ripples in the fog while speaking. That makes me love winter, but it is just too cold for me. Caps, boots , coats, are all doing their job very well, and once back home its back to the heat blower and oversized sweaters, and now even they  aren’t helping the cause. So I have to look for more ways to stay toasty: like my daughters teddy, a hand knit blankie wrap on my feet while I’m at my desk and (from time to time) this:

Yes, nothing like a crispy Phulkopir Singara (or a Samosa, if you must call it with that name) with tea on a wintry evening. A melt in your mouth flaky samosa with spicy cauliflower,potato and peas  filling in its healthy baked Bengali Phulkopir Singara avatar. It's still not calorie free,but makes me feel so much better at the thought of mindlessly reaching out for the seconds. I still need to learn to discipline myself before I reach out for that third. It's that wicked good. 

Baked Phulkopir Singara /Samosa 

Ingredients for Phulkopir Singara/Samosa dough

21/2 cups All Purpose flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup lukewarm water

Ingredients for Phulkopir Singara/Samosa filling
1 cup boiled mashed potatoes
1 cup steamed and finely chopped Cauliflower
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
½ cup green Peas
1 inch ginger juliennes
1-2 chopped green chillies

Spices
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
A handful of peanuts (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
Oil for Brushing (or Frying if you going for the deep fried version)

Procedure for Phulkopir Singara/Samosa Stuffing 

In a deep pan add 1 Tbsp oil and temper with Cumin seeds. Now add the chopped ginger, garlic and chilies and sauté for 2 minutes, and then add the chopped onions and green peas. Fry until the mixture has taken a golden hue.

Add the spices, salt and steamed cauiflower and mashed potatoes. Fry for a few minutes more at low flame.

Top it with peanuts, cumin powder, garam masala powder and coriander leaves.

Mix well and let it cool.

Procedure for Phulkopir Singara/Samosa Casing

Knead the flour, salt and ¾ cup oil. The Oil should be able to bind the dry mixture together.If not, add more.

Wrap in a towel and keep aside for 20-25 minutes

Now add the lukewarm water to make stiff  but pliable dough.

Divide the dough to 12 equal portions, and roll each dough ball into a thin round strip

Divide each rolled piece into 2 halves as shown in the picture.Turn it into a cone and add 2 tsp of the filling. Now seal with a touch of water around the edges. Seal it.

Brush oil on the stuffed Phulkopir Singharas or Samosas and bake in the pre-heated oven at 400F/180C/gas mark 7 for 15 minutes. Keep checking at regular intervals. After 15 minutes brush them with oil again and bake for 5 more minutes.

If frying, then dang, take a deep bottomed pan, put as much oil and heat it. Once done drop the Phulkopir Singhara’s one by one. Fry till golden brown.

Sharing this post with Evelyn@My turn forUS, HungryLittleGirl,No Rules Weekend Blog Party by Paula, Simple Sweet Home,HomeMaidsimple,Free Pretty Things For You ,Full Hands Full Hearts,I love my disorganized life and Frugally Sustainable

A Green Baked Fish (Bhetki Paturi) and a lovely baby shower

This Green Fish Paturi almost came with a matching spring-like cute story, but as luck would have it, it didn't  But just to humor you, here’s what happened:

I was planning to throw my bestie a baby shower. Since it was her baby shower, I decided to call only her friends and I haven’t event met most of those. After chasing them on Facebook and spamming their mailboxes with invite , I began the task of calling them. Most of them accepted graciously even offered to bring something along, I said most, but ONE vehemently disagreed. I prodded and …

Her: “I can’t come”…pause…err..”I’m a vegetarian”
Me: “No problem at all , we will have enough vegetarian dishes”
Her : “Uhmm uhg but won’t you cook fish and rice?”
Me : "I might , but I will still cook lots of vegetarian dishes."
Her : “Do you use fish sauce in everything?”
Me: “Fish Sauce? Hell no, I’m a Bengali not Thai!!”

This went on for a few minutes more, and I think I was unsuccessful in convincing as she never showed up!

C’mon I’m amazed that people still think that we all Bengalis eat and serve only Fish and Rice and have our Rosogollas for Dessert. We continue this cycle till we are severely vitamin deficient or turn potbellied diabetic after an overdose of Rosogollas. Too bad. We have as much overload of plant based dishes as we like our fish and rice.And as a correction – Rosogolla is not the only dessert we have.

Now that the baby shower is over and my friend delivered a cute little baby girl last Saturday, I’m happy to post that this Fish dish – among many other vegetarian dishes was well liked, and I’d like to think that all's well that ends well.

 Although this is a fairly straightforward recipe: Prepare the green base with coriander , coconut, green chilies and mustard, use the mixture to feed flavor to the tender pieces of the fish. This concept of using the oven to cook the fish in this coriander, coconut mixture comes from the lack of banana leaves and time at hand and I think it’s pretty neat. It resulted in a beautifully flavored fish and a pretty presentation ( the photography does not do any justice to the dish but this is all I have). This dish is just as good as traditional Bhetki Fish paturis are supposed to be, the fish meat was delicately spiced and fell off the bone as we tunneled our forks (and hands too) however barbarously into the serving dish itself .

Green Baked Fish Paturi Recipe 

Ingredients:

7-8 Bhetki fillets
6 tbsp Fresh grated Coconut (you can use the powdered one too)
1 tsp Ginger paste
4 tbsp Mustard oil
4-5 Green Chillies
1/2 Onion
1 Bunch fresh coriander (about 50 grams)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

In a mixer finely grind the ginger, onion,green chilies, coconut, mustard oil and salt.  Thoroughly, rub the green paste all over the fish fillets. Keep aside the marinated fish for about an hour or more.

If you have Banana leaves then cover the fillets in the banana leaves and tie, then steam for 8-10 minutes. If Not, then you can bake the dish in an oven for about 35 minutes at 170 C (325 F).

Once done, top it generously with fresh pungent mustard oil .


While this little stint at Friends shower got me into a cooking overdrive, I’m afraid I've already begun hibernating into that little comfortable cove of the Fish, Rice and Rosogollas. I blame you, dear vegetarian guest.