Comfort Food 101: Indian Samosas and Saag Paneer

I have three true loves in my life: coffee, roller derby & Indian food. Seriously, anything related to the country of India is delicious and beautiful and amazing. When I was single I made curry for dinner at least 3 days a week. But now that I'm married, my husband is not as fond of Indian food as I am, so I make it less often. I needed a fix, so I picked up samosa wraps and paneer at my local Punjabi store and went to town.

I started with fresh snap peas and new potatoes from my garden. I cut the potatoes really tiny and steamed them with my shelled peas. As that was steaming, I grated *frozen ginger and fresh garlic on the smallest grate. Then I chopped a red Thai chile (traditional Indian samosas use green chiles, but this was what I had on hand). These 3 ingredients were then lightly mashed in a small bowl. This should make about 1 Tbsp.

*I buy fresh ginger as I need it and I throw it in the freezer whole in a sandwich bag. Then when I need some I just grate what I need and chuck it back in the freezer. Also, so many people peel their ginger, but a lot of the nutrients are in the peel, so I leave it on, it doesn't change the texture or the taste, so why not have all the nutrients as well?

When the potatoes and peas were nearly finished steaming, I stir fried cumin, turmeric, cayenne, sesame seeds, garam masala, and the ginger-garlic-chile paste for about a minute, then added the potatoes, peas, chopped fresh basil and savory (yeah yeah, I know, not traditional Indian herbs... but, again, its what I had on hand), lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Mixed those all together in the pan and cooked a few more minutes until it looked like this.

I let this mixture cool slightly, then folded the wraps as instructed on the packaging, stuffed them with the mixture and sealed them up.

I deep fried them in my tiny little home deep fryer, but you can bake them if you prefer. (Deep fried anything always tastes better!)

Indian Samosas:

1 pkg. frozen samosa wraps, thawed
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" cubes
1/4 cup fresh green peas
2 Tbsp. EVOO or ghee
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1 Tbsp. ginger-garlic-chile paste
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. fresh savory, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste

Steam the potatoes and peas until tender.

Heat EVOO and add cumin, turmeric, cayenne, sesame seeds, garam masala, and ginger-garlic-chile paste. Stir fry 1 minute. Add potatoes, peas, basil, savory, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Mix them properly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

Take a samosa wrap and fold it as directed on the packaging, stuff 2-3 Tbsp. of the mixture into it and seal it up.

Deep fry, in batches, for 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Serve with sweet tamarind sauce or mango chutney, if desired. Makes 12 samosas.

Next, I made a vegetarian Indian dish called Saag Paneer. It is a delicious spinach curry made with an Indian cheese called paneer. The recipe I used can be found here. I used fresh spinach from my garden and used sour cream instead of yogurt. I crisped up some store-bought garlic naan bread in the oven and devoured 2 helpings of this with an obscenely high number of samosas. Needless to say I am STUFFED.

Chicken with Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans

First of all I must give props to Fresh20 for this recipe. I was skeptical of their service, which is providing menu plans for a fee and you also get access to their archives. However, I found their dairy-free recipes for my son and gladly paid the money and I am not regretting it. The recipes that come with their menu plans are delicious, flavourful and healthy. The first recipe I tried was the Chili Chicken Verde. It was so good, I was literally eating it with a spoon out of the pot and moaning in pure foodie satisfaction. Tonight was supposed to be Halibut with Potatoes, but halibut is really expensive where I live, so I substituted with thinly sliced chicken breasts. Here is the picture of the deliciousness tonight and the recipe follows.

Chicken with Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans

Chicken with Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans

1 lemon, zested & juiced (reserve 1/2 the juice for chicken)
3 Tbsp. EVOO, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. pepper, divided
24 oz. mixed baby potatoes, large ones cut into halves or quarters
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
1 tomato, cut into medium dice
2-3 chicken breasts, halved length-wise
1/2 tsp. paprika

• In a small bowl, whisk to combine lemon zest, 1/2 juice, 2 Tbsp. EVOO, garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Set aside.
• Fill a large pot with cold, salted water; add potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until almost fork tender, about 8-10 mins, add the green beans for the last 2 mins. Drain the potatoes and green beans well and return them to the pot. Add in the lemon juice, garlic, oil mixture and toss to coat.
• Season the chicken breasts with 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and paprika on both sides. Heat a large pan over medium high heat; add in 1 Tbsp. EVOO and once hot, add the chicken. Cook about 3 mins on each side, or until no longer pink in the middle. Sprinkle with reserved lemon juice and serve with lemony potatoes and green beans.

Cuban-Style Picadillo Chili

I love food that comes from many different cultures around the world. My tastes vary from Asian cuisine to Ethiopian and all the way down to South America. One of the most interesting food cultures can be found in Cuba, where they always put a unique spin on everything they do! I found the original recipe on Ziplist for Turkey Picadillo Quinoa Chili and adapted it to what I had on hand. It turned out amazing! I would make it again in a heartbeat. I love Cuban cuisine and am no stranger to a good picadillo, this one combines sweet, salty and savory in a well balanced easy to make chili that is hearty and healthy for the whole family. Which means my 9-month old daughter devoured it like it was going out of style. I must admit, though, that she has good taste.

Cuban-Style Picadillo Chili

2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small to medium zucchini, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder
3 cups beef stock
1/2 cup uncooked organic quinoa, rinsed
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced green olives, rinsed
1/4 cup raisins
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
Optional toppings: chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, grated cheddar cheese, etc.

In a large dutch oven, add half the EVOO and cook the ground beef (or any ground meat you have on hand) until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove to a separate dish and set aside. Add the onion, red pepper and zucchini with the remaining EVOO and cook until softened, adding the garlic during the last minute, so it doesn't burn. Add the spices and stir around until it smells AMAZING (about 1 minute). Then add the beef stock and the quinoa. Cover, reduce the heat to low and set simmer 15 minutes. Add the beef back to the pot, along with the tomatoes, olives, and raisins. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to low, and allow it to simmer a few minutes. Add the tomato paste if you want a thicker chili, or leave it out if you like a looser chili. Serve with the optional toppings and nice fresh, soft bakery buns.

You could also serve this over rice, or use it as a filling for stuffed peppers, in tacos or in pastry like homemade empanadas. Possibilities are endless with a a creative mind. It is also incredibly easy to make into a vegetarian chili by omitting the beef, adding 1 cup of chopped cremini mushrooms and substituting the beef stock for veggie stock. I made the vegetarian version of this for my brother and he loved it!