We are just a few days from the official start of the holiday season, which means everyone is preparing for many family dinners, holiday parties, and get-togethers with friends. First up is Thanksgiving! This year, I have several out-of-town family members coming to stay with me and I am in charge of the menu on Thanksgiving. After much thought (and many drafts), I came up with a menu that I hope will please everyone. The one dish I'm making that I know everyone will definitely love is my favorite go-to party snack: Samosa Pinwheels!
A samosa is a savory snack food consisting of a flaky pasty filled with either vegetables or meat. In India, most samosas you will find are filled with a combination of spiced potatoes and peas. I have always loved samosas, but when I was younger I would often eat the pastry shell (because it was fried and delicious) and leave half of the filling on my plate. That is why I love this modern take on the samosa--you get both pasty and filling with every single bite!
This is one of my mom's recipes and is one of my favorite foods she makes. She would often make them for parties because they were so popular and easy to eat in just two bites. I have fond memories of coming home from school on a day my mom was home from work early, and to my delight she had made samosa pinwheels for us. Really, what is not to like: puff pasty, potatoes, and sesame seeds ... um, yes!
First, you will need to make sure your puff pastry sheet is thawed; it takes about 40 minutes out of the freezer for the pastry to thaw and become pliable.
Once the puff pastry is thawed, bring a pot of water to boil with half-a-teaspoon of salt. While the water is heating up, wash and dry the potatoes. Then, using a fork, create holes all over the surface of the potatoes. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes to the pot for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Once the puff pastry is thawed, bring a pot of water to boil with half-a-teaspoon of salt. While the water is heating up, wash and dry the potatoes. Then, using a fork, create holes all over the surface of the potatoes. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes to the pot for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
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While the potatoes cook, pick the cilantro leaves off the stems. Wash the leaves, and then chop them very finely.
Take the thawed puff pastry and unfold it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry to a thinner and larger sheet of dough. I rolled mine to 11 inches by 13 inches in size.
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Once the potatoes are done cooking, take them out of the pot and cut them in half. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, until you are able to handle them with your hands. Using your hands, remove the skins from all of the halved potatoes.
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Place all the potato halves in a big mixing bowl. Using a large fork or a potato masher (if you have one; I need to get one!!), mash up the potatoes. This should be fairly easy to do; if not, you will probably need to boil your potatoes once again for a few more minutes.
Once the potatoes have been mashed, add the chopped cilantro, salt, turmeric, red chili powder (lal mirch or cayenne), and amchur powder. Amchur powder is made from dried unripened mangoes, so the purpose of amchur powder is to add a sour flavor to food. If you don't have amchur powder, you can use lemon juice instead! You will probably need more lemon juice than amchur powder (because the powder is concentrated), but just add it 1 tablespoon at a time until you can taste the sourness in the mixture.
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Add 5 to 6 tablespoons of water to the mixture, and then using a spatula (and some elbow grease), combine all the ingredients until it is a smooth dough-like paste and the spices and cilantro appear evenly distributed. You can even use your hands if you want, if you find that easier than using an utensil!
*Make sure you taste the mixture before you start spreading it on the puff pastry. It should be spicier and more sour than you would normally eat, because the puff pastry and baking it in the oven will tone both of those flavors down.
Once the mixture is ready, put half of it on one side of the puff pasty sheet, leaving a 1/2 inch border of puff pastry without any of the mixture on it. Use your spatula, a fork, a knife, or your hands (whatever works!) to spread the mixture even along the surface of the puff pastry.
Once the mixture is ready, put half of it on one side of the puff pasty sheet, leaving a 1/2 inch border of puff pastry without any of the mixture on it. Use your spatula, a fork, a knife, or your hands (whatever works!) to spread the mixture even along the surface of the puff pastry.
Once the whole surface is covered, start rolling the puff pastry from the edge you left free of any mixture. Keep rolling the pastry tightly until you have a log.
Cut the log in half--and this is what the inside of each half should look like. So fun!! Didn't look that pretty before, but the puff pastry has started working its magic. After cutting the log in half, wrap each half in some kind of covering (wax paper, parchment paper, aluminum foil, saran wrap, whatever you want). Place each half in the fridge for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take one half-log out of the fridge and place onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife (one with ridges) cut the log into 1/4th inch thick discs. Once they are all cut, take out the second half-log out of the fridge and repeat the same steps.
Once all the pinwheels are cut, sprinkle sesame seeds onto a plate. I used a combination of black and white sesame seeds, but just plain white is fine! Take each disc and press one side into the sesame seeds; they will automatically stick to the pinwheels.
Once all the pinwheels are cut, sprinkle sesame seeds onto a plate. I used a combination of black and white sesame seeds, but just plain white is fine! Take each disc and press one side into the sesame seeds; they will automatically stick to the pinwheels.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or whatever temperature your puff pastry box states). Place the pinwheels on a parchment-paper covered baking sheet. Once the oven has heated, put the baking sheet in the oven for 17-20 minutes, until the pinwheels are golden brown.
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Serve the samosa pinwheels fresh out of the oven with tamarind chutney, spicy mango cilantro chutney (hari chutney), and/or ketchup. Or freeze them and use them within 2 weeks! Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, happy eating :)
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PDF Ingredients (for 25 pinwheels):
| Ingredients (for 50 pinwheels):
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Necessary Kitchen Tools:
- Pot for boiling potatoes in water
- Mixing bowl
- Fork or potato masher
- Spatula
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Serrated knife
Recipe:
- Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge (instructions should be on the box).
- Bring a pot of water and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to a boil. While it is warming up, use a form to prick holes into the potatoes. Once the water has boiled, add the potatoes and boil them for 20 to 30 minutes, until they are soft.
- While the potatoes boil, remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and rinse them. Pat the leaves dry and then finely chop them.
- Unfold the thawed puff pastry onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough so that it is thinner and bigger--about 11 inches by 13 inches.
- Once the potatoes have cooked, take them out of the water and cut them in half. Let them cool (roughly 5 minutes) and then remove the skins with your hands.
- Place the halved potatoes into a mixing bowl and use a fork or potato masher to break up the potatoes.
- Add the chopped cilantro, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin, amchur powder (or lemon juice), and water. Use a spatula (or your hands!) to combine all the ingredients until a doughy paste is formed and the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- *Make sure you taste the mixture before you start spreading it on the puff pastry. It should be spicier and more sour than you would normally eat, because the puff pastry and baking it in the oven will tone both of those flavors down.*
- Spread the mixture onto the puff pastry, leaving one edge with a 1/2 inch of a strip of dough without any mixture on it.
- Use your hands to roll the dough into a log, starting with the exposed edge, making sure that you keep the roll tight.
- Cut the log in half using a serrated knife. Wrap each half in foil, saran wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper, and keep them in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 400 degrees (or the temperature that is recommended on the puff pastry box).
- Take one log out at a time, and slice them into 1/4-inch-thick discs. Sprinkle the sesame seeds onto a small plate and press each pinwheel into the seeds to coat one side.
- Place the pinwheels onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve warm with tamarind chutney, spicy mango cilantro chutney (hari chutney), and/or ketchup; or freeze and use within two weeks!
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