Soup, Samosas, and Snow!

Yes, two posts in one day! It's crazy! And yes, there is more snow. At this point it's mostly all melted, but we got about 4 inches yesterday and it was enough to delay the public schools this morning so I didn't have to go in to teach at all. All this free time meant I got to go to the grocery store and do SO MUCH cooking.

I have been wanting to try these recipes for a long time because I really love Indian food. Samosas are kind of like empanada's but with Indian spices, potatoes, and peas. Moosewood recommends serving them with a cucumber yogurt dipping sauce called Raita and Gingered Carrot Soup. I will say that this is a dinner that requires a lot of work and investment. I started early but it took a long time.

The soup was more of a carrot puree than soup; it was very thick. Many of the spices were similar to what's in the samosa filling so it paired really well. It also did not take very long once the carrots were cooked and soft.

Similarly, the raita was a snap. Plain yogurt, with some spices and chopped up cucumber, was all it took. It's cooling quality and fresh flavor paired it to perfection with the hot and spicy samosas.

The samosas were the real time suck. First of all, the potatoes took forever to boil and soften. I actually had to put them back on for another 10 mins. I didn't totally mash them, but I did enough to make a good filling mix. I also sprinkled in some thawed peas and an onion sauté. I also had a tough time when assembling the pastries because i didn't really have enough dough for all the filling. I rolled each circle very thin, but still ran out. Because the filling is so heavy, the crust isn't really that flaky because it needs to be sturdy.

I also very deliberately halved all of these recipes so that I wouldn't overcook for just myself, which was smart because I still have a lot of leftovers anyway. But I think these will be easier to go through because this meal was SO GOOD. Seriously, this is one of my new favorites. I think if I made it again, I would make the samosas ahead of time, unbaked, and then just pop them in the oven before serving. It's also incredibly filling so it would be good to make for a dinner for non-vegetarians who are skeptical about vegetarianism. It also isn't too aggressive, as Indian food goes, which I know is a turn off for some people. It was definitely work all the prep work and will be worth scouring the massive pile of dishes that is currently taking over my sink.

And as the snow is melting and spring is finally finally arriving, I'm continuing to work my way through Moosewood. I'll get there!