Recipe: Samosas

Samosas are an Indian appetizer, commonly served in Indian restaurants. They are fairly easy to make at home, although they can be time consuming to assemble. To keep cooking time low, I recommend using egg roll wrappers as a substitute for actual samosa pastry dough, which is also time-consuming to prepare.


Ingredients:
4-5 medium Potatoes, boiled in the skin and cooled
4 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 medium Onion, peeled and very finely chopped
1 cup of Peas, fresh or frozen
1 Tbsp. Ginger (fresh, minced)
1 fresh Green Chili Pepper, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. Water
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. ground Coriander
1 tsp. Garam Masala (an Indian spice mixture)
1 tsp. Cumin
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp. fresh Cilantro/Coriander/Parsley (whatever you can get)
One package of Egg Roll Wrappers

Steps:

1. Peel the potatoes and dice them into quarter-inch cubes.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and put the onions into it. Fry them until they begin to
   turn brown at the edges.
3. Add the peas, ginger, chili pepper, fresh coriander, and water.
4. Cover the frying pan, lower the heat to simmering, and simmer until the peas are cooked, stirring occasionally. Add water if needed to keep the mixture from drying out.
5. Add the potatoes, salt, etc., and mix. Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
6. Let the mixture cool slightly, so that it can be easily handled.
7. Stuff the egg roll wrappers with the filling and deep fry to a golden brown.

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Recipe: Red Dwarf Vindaloo

Vindaloo is an Indian dish, made with meat (chicken, pork, etc.) and potatoes. It also includes a hefty amount of spices. If you like spicy food, use this recipe as-is. If you prefer things a little less spicy,
cut back on the crushed red pepper. I call it Red Dwarf Vindaloo because I got started eating Vindaloo after hearing the characters on the Red Dwarf British TV series mention it.

Ingredients: 
10 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Onions, chopped coarsely
2 tsp. Cumin
1-3 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Cardamom
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. Dry Mustard
2 tsp. Curry Powder
5 Tbsp. Vinegar
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 1/3 cups Water
2 pounds Chicken (or Beef, Pork, etc.)
1 tsp. Ginger (minced or dry)
1 small head Garlic (6-7 cloves)
2 tsp. Coriander
1/2 tsp. Turmeric
1 Can of "New Potatoes" (small white potatoes)

Steps:

1. Fry the onions in the oil until they are deep brown, almost burnt.
2. Remove the onions from the oil and put them in a blender.
3. Put all of the remaining ingredients, except for the meat and the potatoes, into the
   blender.
4. Blend the spices and onions until you have a relatively smooth paste, which will be a greenish brown color. This is the "vindaloo paste".
5. Sear the meat in the oil until it is browned on the outside. It does not necessarily have to be cooked, just "sealed" by the heat.
6. Mix the vindaloo paste in with the meat and oil until the oil "disappears" into the
   paste.
7. Add the potatoes and stir.
8. Simmer for about 1 hour or until meat is cooked.
9. Serve over cooked white rice.

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