Indian Samosas

The seasonings used in India are intriguing and bring the hot and spicy dishes to life. Ginger gives curry a delicious dimension and grows in Asia, Africa, India, China and Jamaica. When the plant dies down in the hot summer months, the root is harvested and either dried, ground or preserved in syrup. Ginger stimulates circulation and helps reduce nausea. Traditionally these samosas would be deep-fried.

    6 russet potatoes (1 ½ pounds)
    1 teaspoon canola oil
    1 ½ cups finely chopped yellow onion
    1 cup cooked baby peas
    2 garlic cloves, crushed in a garlic press
    1 teaspoon mild curry powder
    1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
    1 teaspoon seasoning salt
    ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground Tellicherry peppercorns
    ¼ teaspoon chili powder
    1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger
    1 (16-ounce) package phyllo dough thawed in refrigerator
    ½ cup butter, melted

1.  In a 12-quart stockpot, bring water to a boil while peeling and     
     dicing potatoes. Boil potatoes for 15 minutes.

2.  Heat the oil in a 5-quart nonstick sauté pan, cook the onions
     until golden. Add the peas, garlic, curry powder and lemon
     juice and stir until just mixed.

3.  Add the cooked potatoes and enough salt, pepper and chili    
     powder to suit your taste.

4.  Peel the fresh ginger and chop it finely or use a ginger grater.
     If chopping, press the ginger in a garlic press to extract the
     juice. Add the ginger fibers from the garlic press to the potato
     mixture in the sauté pan.

5.  Preheat the oven to 350° .

6.  Use 1 sheet phyllo dough for each triangle; keep the rest of
     the pastry covered with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen
     towel. Using a pastry brush, spread melted butter over a third
     of the phyllo sheet. Fold in thirds, making a long strip. Place a
     heaped tablespoon of filling at one end.

7.  Brush the open pastry with butter and fold one corner of the
     strip diagonally over filling. Continue folding over at right
     angles until you end up with a triangle-shaped pastry; place
     on a baking sheet. Brush with more melted butter.

8.  Either freeze the pastries and store in plastic bags or bake     
     immediately in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

     Potatoes: There are many varieties of potatoes. I like the
     russet potatoes for this dish, but you can experiment with
     different varieties. The Russet are mostly used for baking and
     are also called Idaho potatoes. Red and new potatoes are best
     boiled and served with butter, salt and freshly ground pepper.
     Blue and purple potatoes are interesting and microwaving
     will preserve their color. Yellow potatoes have a buttery
     flavor and can be used to make mashed potatoes.

     Makes 36 pastries