Curried Vegetable Samosas with Cilantro-Mint Chutney

I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of *most* Indian food,  it's just not my thing. I am a fan of anything with mashed potatoes in it though. So today we branched out of our comfort zone and made Curried Vegetable Samosas with Cilantro-Mint Chutney.


I don't think I've ever had lentils before and I was impressed. I'll be looking for other recipes that use lentils now.  I also am a fan of the Hot Madras Curry Powder used in this recipe--so much better than regular curry powder.  The chutney is a little spicy with the serrano chili in it, so if you're not a huge spicy person you may want to choose a pepper with less kick, seed the pepper or not use it at all.  We like it spicy (which is probably obvious by now based on the number of spicy dish posts) so we throw it in, seeds and all.  


It takes a while to make the actual samosas but if you have the time, I think it's worth it. You could probably make them ahead and then freeze them or refrigerate them but I don't really know for sure.  I know Pirogies are frozen though so I would think you could do the same thing.


We didn't make any changes to the recipe, and it was DELICIOUS!  Oh but we couldn't find yellow lentils so we used brown ones. I don't know if this is like taboo for natives to this cuisine, but we live in the suburbs so we do the best we can.  To cut time we also bought the pre-made mashed potatoes rather than making our own mashed potatoes.  When you have two people working on this recipe, things come together a lot quicker.  


As of today's post, 4 people (including me) gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.


I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as we did in ours!


Recipe by Bill and Cheryl Jamison, Cooking Light, April 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 5 samosas and about 1 tablespoon chutney)

Ingredients

• CHUTNEY:
• 1/2  cup  fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2  cup  fresh mint leaves
• 1/4  cup  chopped red onion
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  water
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  sugar
• 1  serrano chile, coarsely chopped
• 1  (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger
• 
  SAMOSAS:
• 1 1/4  cups  mashed cooked peeled baking potatoes
• 1/4  cup  cooked yellow lentils
• 1  tablespoon  minced fresh mint
• 1  teaspoon  Madras curry powder
• 1  teaspoon  butter, softened
• 1/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  cup  frozen petite green peas, thawed
• 10  egg roll wrappers
• 1  large egg, lightly beaten
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. To prepare chutney, combine first 9 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Set aside.

2. To prepare samosas, combine potatoes, lentils, mint, curry powder, 1 teaspoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cumin. Gently fold in peas.

3. Working with 1 egg roll wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers to prevent drying), cut down middle to form 2 long rectangles. Moisten edges of wrapper with egg. Spoon 1 tablespoon potato mixture near bottom edge of wrapper. Fold up from 1 corner to the opposite outer edge of the wrapper, making a triangle. Fold over to opposite side again as if folding up a flag. Repeat fold to opposite side to form a triangle. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

4. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Lightly coat samosas with cooking spray. Add samosas to pan, and cook 1 minute on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with chutney.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

288

Fat:

2.6g (sat 0.9g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

11g

Carbohydrate

58.3g

Fiber:

5.4g

Cholesterol:

29mg

Iron:

4.6mg

Sodium:

574mg

Calcium:

43mg

Border-style Shrimp and Corn muffins with jalapenos and lime butter

We headed south of the border (figuratively) this Sunday for a mix of spice and heat.  Border-style shrimp is an easy 15 minute dish that calls for most of the ingredients you typically have in your kitchen (or at least I do).  

The only change we make to the recipe is to add 1/2 tsp of hot sauce (we use Cholula which isn't very spicy at all).  We may experiment in the future with more potent hot sauces since we love it spicy.  We've only made this twice and both times made it with the corn muffins but this dish has enough sauce to put over a bed of rice. The rice would soak up the leftover sauce nicely.  We also take the tails off of the shrimp before adding them into the skillet, it's easier than having to do it afterward once they are covered in sauce.

As of today's post, 27 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

As for corn muffins with jalapenos and lime butter,  we throw in a little extra jalapeno love because (as we all know by now) we like it spicy.  The recipe even suggests using habaneros in place of jalapenos and we might just do that next time.  I have most of these ingredients in my house on a regular basis so it wasn't a big trip to the grocery to make this dinner.  Here's a tip I got from CL: If you have a recipe that calls for buttermilk, instead of throwing the rest out or trying to make 4 other recipes using buttermilk, you can freeze it! Such an awesome tip. Now I just thaw it out the night before I am going to make a recipe that calls for buttermilk.  Otherwise we follow the recipe exactly. This time, we didn't make the lime butter. The first time I made it, it did not turn out well and was a bit of a disaster. I don't really think that it added that much for the effort. But you are more than welcome to try it and see if you like it. :)

As of today's post 11 people gave it an average rating of 4 out of 5.  

Border-style shrimp

Recipe by Cooking Light, December 2003

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup shrimp)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2  cups  chopped white onion
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1 1/2  pounds  medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  hot pepper sauce
• 1/4  cup  fresh lime juice
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped green onions
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, shrimp, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter, salt, and hot sauce. Stir until the butter melts. Stir in juice and green onions. Garnish with the lime wedges, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

266 (30% from fat)

Fat:

9g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.1g,poly 1.4g)

Protein:

35.6g

Carbohydrate

9.7g

Fiber:              1.8g

Cholesterol:

274mg

Iron:

4.5mg

Sodium:

618mg

Calcium:

113mg

Corn Muffins with Jalapeños and lime butter

Recipe by David Bonom, Cooking Light, June 2006

Yield: 15 servings (serving size: 1 muffin and about 1 teaspoon lime butter)

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons  butter, softened and divided
• 1  cup  chopped sweet onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 2  teaspoons  minced jalapeño
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1  cup  yellow cornmeal
• 1/4  cup  sugar
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1 1/4  cups  fat-free buttermilk
• 2  large eggs
• 1  large egg white
• Cooking spray
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1  tablespoon  honey

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn, jalapeño, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add 2 tablespoons butter, tossing to melt.

Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, cornmeal, and next 4 ingredients (through chili powder) in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk, eggs, and egg white in a large bowl. Add onion mixture to buttermilk mixture. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 15 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool muffins completely on wire rack.

Combine remaining 3 tablespoons butter, juice, and honey in a small bowl; stir until well blended. Serve with muffins.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

160 (30% from fat)

Fat:

5.4g (sat 3.1g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

3.9g

Carbohydrate

24g

Fiber:

1g

Cholesterol:

40mg

Iron:

0.9mg

Sodium:

300mg

Calcium:

53mg

Ham and Cheese Scones

I hate breakfast. Ok lemme rephrase that, I hate finding something to eat for breakfast. Cereal just isn't cutting it anymore. Plus I need a little protein in my life to get me going in the morning.  This is my favorite breakfast recipe. It's grab-n-go, it's easy to make and so delicious. If I knew how to type out the Homer Simpson drooling noise I would. 

Instead of using 2 cups of all purpose flour, I use 1 and 1/2 C of all purpose flour and 1/2 C of whole wheat flour.  If you don't have a pastry cutter and can't get the dough to look like coarse meal, put your bowl with the flour and other dry ingredients in the freezer for a few minutes and then cut in butter.  Don't overwork the dough--scone dough can get dry if mixed too much and no one likes dry scones (it will be sticky).  Since I have dark baking pans, I bake these on 375 degrees instead of 400.  And be sure to cut the dough into slices before you bake (not all the way through though)--it makes it easier to cut them later.  

As of today's post, 47 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5.

I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as I will every morning this week!! :)

Recipe by Cooking Light, 2002

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  baking powder
• 2  teaspoons  sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 3  tablespoons  chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 3/4  cup  finely chopped 33%-less-sodium ham (about 3 ounces)
• 3/4  cup  fat-free buttermilk
• 2  large egg whites
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cheese and ham. Combine buttermilk and egg whites, stirring with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times with floured hands. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut dough into 8 wedges, cutting into but not through dough. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

217 (30% from fat)

Fat:

7.2g (sat 4.1g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

10.4g

Carbohydrate:

27.1g

Fiber:

0.9g

Cholesterol:

26mg

Iron:

1.8mg

Sodium:

519mg

Calcium:

235mg

Tuna "London Broil" with Wasabi Cream

Like wasabi? Then this is for you!  This recipe includes dry wasabi powder (found in the Asian dry goods section of your supermarket) both in the rub and in the cream.  Be careful when putting sauce on your plate, this can give you that horseradish nose burning sensation very quickly! Otherwise it is a great way for us to enjoy some fish.  If you are using a charcoal grill make sure to check for doneness--ours takes a little less than the recommended time.

We served it with steamed broccoli lightly tossed with Wegman's Sesame Ginger salad dressing.  

No other changes were made to this recipe, but it is easy to cut in half if you just want to make it for two.

As of today's post, 16 people gave this an average rating of 5 out of 5!  

I hope you enjoy this in your home as much as we do in ours!

Recipe by Steven Raichlen, Recipes adapted from Steven Raichlen's books How to Grill (Workman, 2001) and BBQ USA (Workman, 2003), Cooking Light, AUGUST 2003

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak, 2 tablespoons wasabi cream, and 1 1/2 teaspoons onions)

Ingredients

• 2  teaspoons  sesame seeds, toasted
• 2  teaspoons  wasabi powder (dried Japanese horseradish)
• 2  teaspoons  cracked black pepper
• 1  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 4  (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)
• 1  tablespoon  wasabi powder
• 1  tablespoon  water
• 1/4  cup  low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4  cup  fat-free sour cream
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
• Cooking spray
• 2  tablespoons  sliced green onions

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients; rub over tuna. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Combine wasabi and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, juice, and soy sauce.
Prepare grill to high heat.
Place steaks on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with wasabi cream; sprinkle with onions.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 308 (30% from fat)

Fat: 10.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 3g,poly 3g)

Protein: 41.3g

Carbohydrate: 9.7g

Fiber: 0.9g

Cholesterol: 66mg

Iron: 4.4mg

Sodium: 500mg

Calcium: 47mg

Walnut-Crusted Potato and Blue Cheese Cakes

I've been a little delinquent on the posting so for that, I apologize! This recipe incorporates one of my favorite ingredients--blue cheese! The recipe was easy to make and I did not make any changes--I read one review that said they tried to substitute skim for 1% milk and it was too thin, so I wouldn't recommend it. 

Overall, this recipe was good, but i'm not sure making them into 'cakes' made it any better. I think next time I would just make this into mashed potatoes instead!

As of today's post, 4 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5. I would probably give it a 3.

Recipe by Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light, April 2005

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 potato cakes)

Ingredients

• 2  pounds  small red potatoes, halved
• 1  garlic clove, peeled
• 1/3  cup  (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4  cup  1% low-fat milk
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  tablespoons  chopped walnuts
• 2  (1 1/2-ounce) slices sourdough bread
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil, divided

Preparation

Place potato halves and garlic clove in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potato halves and garlic clove to pan. Add blue cheese and next 4 ingredients (through black pepper); mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Cool slightly. Shape the potato mixture into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) cakes; set aside.

Place walnuts and bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Place in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge potato cakes in breadcrumb mixture.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 6 potato cakes, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove cakes from pan; cover and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and 6 potato cakes.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

219 (30% from fat)

Fat:

7.4g (sat 2g,mono 2.6g,poly 2.2g)

Protein:

6.7g

Carbohydrate:

32.5g

Fiber:

3.3g

Cholesterol:

6mg

Iron:

1.9mg

Sodium:

489mg

Calcium:

84mg