ALADDIN – Pea and Potato Samosas with Coconut Jasmine Rice

Geez, isn’t it time for Disney to re-release Aladdin or what?  Maybe I missed it when it came out of the vault last, but we were stuck watching a really old ($0.95 found-in-a-bin-old, to be exact) VHS version with very poor screen & sound quality.  I really did feel like I was in “a whole new world” (or should I say 1993 revisited)!

So, for our feature film, Aladdin, we decided to make a nice Indian dish: Pea & Potato Samosas (baked instead of fried) and Coconut “Jasmine” Rice.  I was really impressed that the kids loved it so much!  I guess we havent eaten much curry with them before, but that’s all about to change now!  The rice was too good for words – in fact, mine may have been “where have you been all my life?” The samosas were delicious and plentiful… in fact, I only made half the batch and threw the rest – dough and all – in the fridge to make later today!  It was a bit of a process, but it was all worth it.  It probably would’ve been even better if I had had some kind of sauce or chutney to dip our samosas in, but no one was complaining. They were goooooood 🙂

Pea & Potato Samosas

The dough:

• 3/4 cup soymilk
• 1/4 cup canola (or vegetable) oil
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 turmeric
• 1/4 baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 3 medium-sized russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ chucks
• 2 Tbsp canola or veg oil (plus more for brushing)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 medium-yellow onion, very finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• >3/4 cup frozen peas

1) In a saucepan, boil the potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes.  When they are ready, drain and set aside.  Preheat oven to 400 F.

2) Start by making the dough: pour the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Add 2 cups of flour, turmeric, baking powder and salt.  I let my mixer with the bread hook do the work for me, though you could knead it by hand. Let the mixer knead the dough, and add the rest of the flour gradually until a smooth, not sticky, dough is formed, about 10 minutes.  Now set the dough aside, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and begin making the filling.

3) The filling: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.  The seeds will start to pop.  You may want to cover them if you have a lid! Let them pop for about a minute, then add the onions and carrots.  Saute on med-high heat about 7-10 minutes until the onions begin to brown.  Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, salt and lemon juice and saute another minute.  Add the potatoes, mashing them with a masher or spatula as you mix them in. When everything is mixed together well and heated through, add the peas.

4) To assemble: Divide the dough in half and on a floured surface (or atop parchment paper) & roll out the dough thinly.  Get a small bowl of water ready.  With a large cutter (I used one with a close a 3.5″ circumference) cut out 8-9 (or as many as you can) circles.  Place a heaping 1 Tbsp of the filling into the center of the circle, dab around the edges with water & fold over the filling to form a pillowey semi-circle, sealing the edges with your thumb and forefinger. Repeat until they are all done! (We baked half the dough one night and baked the other half the next day after letting the dough sit at room temperature!)

5) To bake: Brush each side of the samosa lightly with oil and place on an oiled (or non-stick sprayed) baking sheet.  Bake 15 minutes.  Flip samosas over and bake another 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned. (Truth be told, after flipping, I brushed mine again with oil). Let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  These can be easily be fried if you desire, though I have never done so, but I dont see why not.

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Dont skimp on the lime zest in this recipe.  You would really be missing out! It adds a very subtle yet noticeably delicious flavor!  (This makes a really big pot – enough for 6-8 people.)  We all decided last night that we are gonna make this yummy rice a LOT more often!

• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 1 (13.5 oz) can of regular coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cinnamon stick (opt)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• finely grated zest of 1 lime

Combine the rice, coconut milk, water, cinnamon stick, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover pan and simmer 20 minutes.  Add the lime zest and stir in to fluff with a fork.  Remove from heat, cover and let sit 10 more minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick and serve.  Garnish with lime wedges if desired.

This movie night has been lots of fun so far 🙂 It’s nice to know that there will be 2 hours (or more) that we will be spending time together without interruption. Not only that, but the movies (and the food) tend to ignite some kind of thought provoking discussion… & as its been turning out, the kids usually end up having had a small geography and history lesson by the end of the night… which makes me wonder… why wasnt I doing this before?!

ANOTHER IDEA: This delicious Thai Carrot Soup is another option for this Dinner and a Movie night!