Mediterranean Chicken Samosas With Apple Cumin Chutney Recipes

THANKSGIVING SAMOSAS

Steps:

• For the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Rub the grapeseed oil into the flour mixture until well incorporated. Add the ajwain and nigella seeds. Gradually add the water, mixing after each pour, until a smooth dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes. Drizzle the bowl with a little oil; turn the dough to coat. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside on the counter.
• For the filling: In a medium skillet over medium heat, saute the red onions, chiles, ginger and turmeric in grapeseed oil until softened and slightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the cranberries and peas; cook just until the peas are thawed, a couple minutes. Season with salt.
• Transfer the mixture to a bowl with the potatoes and turkey and sprinkle with some lime juice and cilantro. Stir together, then taste for seasoning.
• To make the samosas: Heat 3 inches of oil in a Dutch oven over medium until the oil reaches 375 degrees F on a deep-frying thermometer.
• Divide the dough into 9 balls. Roll each ball into a 5- to 6-inch round. Slice each round into two semicircles. Set up a small bowl with water. Wet the straight edge a semicircle with a little water, then set the semicircle on a work surface with the straight edge facing away from you. Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of the semicircle. Fold one corner over the filling, forming a triangle; fold in the other corner to make a cone. Seal the ends with water, pinching and folding the edges to seal tightly. Repeat with the remaining semicircles.
• Fry the samosas in batches until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet on a paper-towel lined plate. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
• For the green chutney: Add all the ingredients except for the creme fraiche to a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the creme fraiche and blend until incorporated.
• Serve the samosas hot or at room temperature with the chutney.

BAKED SAMOSAS WITH MINT CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Filling: In a small saucepan, add the potato and enough cold water to cover. Add a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
• In a second small saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a simmer and add a generous pinch of salt, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, peppercorns, chili flakes, and chicken breast. Simmer until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Mash the potato and finely shred the chicken and put into a large bowl. Combine with mango, lime juice, chipotle sauce, remaining coriander seeds, cumin, cilantro, and salt and pepper, to taste. Mixing with a spoon or your hands, until well incorporated. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Set aside.
• Samosas: Roll the puff pastry out slightly, to flatten the seams. Using a paring knife to trace a 7-inch ring mold or bowl, cut the dough into 8 (7-inch wide) rounds. Cut each into 2 semicircles.
• Put a tablespoon or so of the filling in the center of a semicircle. Have a small bowl of water handy. Dip your finger in the water and run it along the edges of the semicircle. Arrange the samosas so the flat side is facing away from you. Grab the left corner and fold it over the dough in a triangular motion, so that this corner lands on the bottom right side of the filling. Do the same with the other corner.
• Squeeze bottom shut, and fold over, sealing with water. If you like, seal using a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Arrange the 8 samosas on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg and 1 teaspoon water with a fork until thoroughly combined. Brush the tops of the samosas with the egg wash.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then turn heat down to 375 degrees F and bake for 10 more minutes. You can flip them over just before you turn the heat down, if you like.
• Chutney: In a food processor, whiz together the mint, cilantro, ginger, lime juice and water until it all comes together as a sauce. There'll probably still be little bits of leaf in the sauce, but I like how those taste, so no worries. Pour the chutney into a bowl.
• In a small pan, over medium heat, warm the oil until it shimmers. Add mustard seeds; they should sizzle. Immediately cover with a lid until they stop spluttering. Make sure they don't burn! If they do, start over. No big deal. I do it all the time! Immediately add the seeds and oil to the chutney. It will sizzle so stand back. Once you've poured in all of the oil, you can even spoon a little chutney into the pan (cue sizzling again!) so that you pick up all that lovely oil. Pour into the bowl with the chutney.
• Serve samosas hot, with the chutney... and bask in gratitude for the great ideas we all come up with, for our sensitive taste buds and for the blessing of good friends!
• In large bowl, combine the flour, buttermilk, oil, salt and ajwain seeds. Bring the ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead until it has softened a bit, about 5 minutes. Allow to rest, at room temperature, for 15 minutes. You can put this in the refrigerator, but make sure you let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, in order for it to soften.
• Roll the dough into a short cylinder. Slice in half, then slice each half into 2 pieces, so you have 4 bits. Roll each bit into a ball. Flatten the balls into discs then, on a floured surface, roll them into a 1/8-inch thick, 7-inch wide circles. Cut in half to form 2 semicircles.

CHICKEN SAMOSAS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour salt and oil until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and potato; cook and stir until potato is almost tender, 5-7 minutes. Add curry, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and cayenne; cook 2 minutes longer. Add chicken; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink and potato is tender, 5-6 minutes. Stir in peas an salt. Remove from heat., Divide dough into eight pieces. Roll one piece of dough into a 9x6-in. oval. Cut dough in half. Moisten straight edge with water. Bring one corner of half moon up to meet the other corner of the half moon, forming a cone. Pinch seam to seal. Fill with about 2 tablespoons chicken mixture. Moisten curved edge of dough with water; fold over top of filling and and press seam to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Add samosas, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with chutney if desired.

SAMOSAS WITH TAMARIND-DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• For the pastry: Add the flour, salt and nigella or ajwain seeds to a medium bowl and mix. Add the ghee or oil and mix in with your fingers until the dough looks crumbly. Begin by adding 3 tablespoons of cold water, then add more water a little a time to make a stiff dough. Try to knead the dough as little as possible (think flaky pie crust). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• For the spice blend: To roast the spices, heat a small cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the whole spices: coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, clove, cardamom and cinnamon and roast, shaking the skillet often, until the mixture darkens slightly and becomes toasty and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a small bowl to cool. Add the amchur powder, red chile powder and turmeric. Once cool, transfer to a grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a medium-fine grind.
• For the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle until they darken slightly, about 30 seconds Add the peanuts if using and cook until crunchy, about 2 minutes. Add the chiles and ginger and cook, stirring often, until the raw aroma of the ginger goes away, about 1 minute.
• Add the potatoes, peas, roasted spice blend and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook until the peas soften and the mixture is well mixed and seasoned, about 3 minutes. Add the cilantro if using. Add salt to taste, amchur for additional tang and red chile powder for spice.
• To assemble and fry the samosas: Pour enough oil into a large Dutch oven or wide heavy-bottomed pot to come up the sides about 3 inches. Place over medium heat and heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil registers 340 degrees F.
• While the oil is heating, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (a kitchen scale is helpful here but not necessary). For smaller samosas, you can divide the dough into 8 balls. Cover all but 1 ball with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Flatten the uncovered ball into an oval patty. Lightly brush with oil and roll the patty into a thin oval (8 to 9 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide). Cut in half widthwise into 2 semicircles.
• Set a small bowl of water beside you. Working with one semicircle at a time, fold over one end of the straight edge halfway toward the rounded edge. Using a fingertip, lightly wet the outside edge with a little water as well as the inner edge of the other half of the straight side. Then fold the other half up and overlapping the wet sides, about 1/4 inch, to form a cone. Press the edges together to form a seal. Hold the cone in one hand, pinch the seam again to make sure it's sealed and fill it with 2 tablespoons of the potato filling. Make a little pleat opposite of the sealed edge by pinching it over about 1/4 inch. This is the backbone of the samosa and will help it stand. Wet the inside of the rounded edge and fold it over the filling to enclose it. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat with a second dough ball and some of the filling to make 4 samosas.
• Double-check that the oil temperature is 340 degrees F (it's important for the oil to be medium hot; if it's too hot, the outside of the samosas will brown too quickly, while the inside dough will not be cooked enough and the samosas won't crisp up). Gently slip in the 4 samosas and fry until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. If the samosas haven't browned by then, increase the temperature to 360 degrees F and cook, turning over as needed, until golden brown. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
• While the samosas are frying, shape and fill 4 more samosas, then repeat until all the samosas are shaped, filled and fried. Serve immediately with Tamarind-Date Chutney.
• Stir together the seedless tamarind, date paste, jaggery, cumin powder, red chile powder, ginger powder, fennel powder, black salt, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium low so the sauce is simmering. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes; when you dip a spoon into the sauce and run your finger across the back of it, it should hold a line. Taste and add more salt or jaggery if needed. Remove from the heat and strain. Allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight glass jar and refrigerate.

SPICY MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN WITH SAUSAGE-STUFFED CHERRY PEPPERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chicken thighs in a large bowl; season with black pepper, cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
• Stuff each cherry pepper generously with Italian sausage. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, skin-side down, in pan and brown, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and brown other side, about 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan.
• Cook onion in the Dutch oven with pinch of salt over medium-high heat; cook and stir until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in garlic, herbes de Provence, and crushed red pepper.
• Stir in pepperoncini and juices; cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place chicken, skin-side up, in a single layer on top of the onions and pepperoncinis in the Dutch oven. Pour stock into the pan until almost covering the chicken.
• Sprinkle artichoke hearts, olives, and stuffed cherry peppers over top of chicken.
• Return to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
• Cover and roast in preheated oven until sausage is cooked through and liquid is bubbling, about 1 hour.
• Garnish with chopped basil, oregano, and marjoram.