Gridiron Grub: Say it ain’t Samosa

If you have been following this series you know it is for those of us that are just slightly snobby when it comes to food but still love the flavors and feel of tailgating. I must apologize though, because we are in week 10 of the NFL season and I have not suggested a single dish for the large population of vegetarians who read ES. To be fair, football is pretty carnivore-centric: stadiums and tailgaters produce and consume huge amounts of all  sorts of grilled meats; football terms like pigskin, alligator arms, wing formation, wishbone and meathead abound, and yet I felt bad for my oversight and thought I would make amends this week to all of our vegetarian friends.

Every culture has their own way of making a pocket of bread and filling it with all sorts of tasty goodness, whether vegan, pescatarian, freegan, flexitarian or unitarian. A samosa is a stuffed pastry popular in parts of Asia and Africa. I have had delicious versions with peas, lentils, ground chicken/beef and a whole lot more, but it is a dish most people do not tackle ( I was shocked to see that even ES hadn’t touched on the subject before). So here’s my take on one of the original hot pockets:

Dough

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons cold water

Prep

1. Sift flour in a mixing bowl then add oil until nice and crumbly
2. Add H20 and mix until you have a soft, pliable dough that you’ll work for 5-10 minutes
3. Form a doughball and after a quick coating of vegetable oil place it in plastic bag and set aside for about 30 minutes while you make your filling(s).
4. Knead again and divide into 8 portioned dough balls
5. Roll each ball out and cut in half with a sharp knife so you get a nice clean cut without pulling
6. Make a cone.  Seal the edge with a little water on your fingers. Press the edges to seal.
7. Stuff the cone — like the Eagles D stuffed the Colts last week — and close the cone by the same method, with water
8. Bake the samosa until golden brown.

Fillings

Since these were my first homemade samosas, I cheated and used curry paste for one of the fillings:

3 tbsp Green Curry Paste, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 cup button mushrooms, 1/2 cup green peas, 1 cup chopped cauliflower, 1 cup diced paneer cubes, 1 tsp sugar. I quickly sauteed the vegetables in some oil before adding the curry paste, sugar and coconut milk and then let that mixture reduce to a consistency I thought I could stuff into my dough, then added the paneer cubes

Once you bake these bad boys, they are ready to be munched. Typically samosas are served with chutney or other spicy/savory mixes but I just used a little sriracha and was happy as can be.

Feel free to share your suggestions as to other fillings. The beauty of such simple and time-tested dishes is that the variations are endless.