Somali Sambusas

I found out about sambusas just a few weeks ago, at Fargo's newInternational Grocery store. They have home-made sweet breads and other Somali specialties, and were very generous with free samples, so they've earned a fan here :) Their sambusas - Somalia's samosa, you could say - looked good, but had a beef filling. I was curious to make my own, and found a very nice recipe at My Somali Food. That recipe is also for beef sambusas, but I just substituted cooked lentils and was on my way. Browned onions, garlic, scallions, and green chile, along with generous shots of cardamom, cumin, and coriander, make the lentils something special. Here's my recipe, heavily borrowing from My Somali Food: Filling 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 1/2 cups cooked and drained brown lentils 1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic 1/2 cup chopped scallions 1 chopped green chile (I used one serrano pepper) 2 tsp. cumin powder 2 tsp. cardamom powder 2 tsp. coriander powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped Wrapper dough 2 cups all purpose flour 2 tbsp. olive oil 2/3 cup luke warm water 1/2 tsp. salt

I made the filling and wrapper the night before assembling and frying, just so the filling was cool and the dough had rested. For the filling, saute the onions in oil for about five minutes on medium heat, until they start to soften. Then add the garlic, chopped serrano pepper, and scallions, and saute for a minute or two more. Add all of the spices, and saute another minute, just until they become toasted and fragrant - you'll know :) Add the cooked lentils and fresh cilantro at the end, give it a stir, and remove from heat. Cover and let sit a couple hours or overnight. I lightly processed it all in the food processor at the end, which helps the lentils stick together and makes

the filling easier to work with. Mix the dough ingredients well, and let it rest at least a half hour or overnight as well. The rest is easy, as long as you're careful while frying. Roll golf ball size pieces of dough out very thin - between 1/4 and 1/8 of an inch, if you can, and cut them in squares. Place a heaping spoonful of lentil filling in the center of each square, like this:

This dough is fairly moist, so you should be able to seal it just by pressing firmly, without fussing with water or a water/dough paste. I pressed the edges together and trimmed them with a scissors, making a neat, sealed triangle. That's about it! I fried these in a half inch of canola oil in my cast iron pan, about 4 at a time over medium-high heat. A deep fryer is a better option, and they would be nice baked too.

And now for something completely different. From deep-fried and spicy to sweet and mostly raw, this is the cashew-cranberry cheesecake from the Nov/Dec 09 Vegetarian Times. It's straight from the magazine, though I subbed agave nectar for honey...there might be a little maple syrup in there too. I brought these home for Thanksgiving - my mom loved them, which is a good endorsement. The cranberry topping is awesome, and my mom couldn't believe there wasn't cream cheese in the filling.All the cashews make this recipe a little pricey, but it's worth it for company or a holiday.

Samosa Recipe

For the pastry: 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp. salt 4 Tbsp. oil 4 Tbsp. water For the stuffing: 4-5 medium potatoes, boiled in their jackets and allowed to cool 4 Tbsp. oil 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 cup (175 g) shelled peas 1 Tbsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger 1 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped 3 Tbsp. very finely chopped fresh green coriander (cilantro) 3 Tbsp. water 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground coriander seeds 1 tsp. garam masala 1 tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp. lemon juice oil for deep frying Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the 4 tablespoons on oil and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Slowly add about 4 tablespoons water -- or a tiny bit more -- and gather the dough into a stiff ball. Empty the ball out on to clean work surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Make a ball. Rub the ball with about 1/4 teaspoon oil and slip it into a plastic bag. Set aside for 30 minutes or longer. Make the stuffing. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch dice. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the onion. Stir and fry until brown at the edges. Add the peas, ginger, green chili, fresh coriander (cilantro), and 3 tablespoons water. Cover, lower heat and simmer

until peas are cooked. Stir every now and then and add a little more water if the frying pan seems to dry out. Add the diced potatoes, salt, coriander seeds, garam masala, roasted cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice. Stir to mix. Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently as you do so. Check balance of salt and lemon juice. You may want more of both. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Knead the pastry dough again and divide it into eight balls. Keep 7 covered while you work with the eight. Roll this ball out into a 7 inch (18 cm) round. Cut it into half with a sharp, pointed knife. Pick up one half and form a cone, making a 1/4 inch wide (5 mm), overlapping seam. Glue this seam together with a little water. Fill the cone with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the potato mixture. Close the top of the cone by sticking the open edges together with a little water. Again, your seam should be about 1/4 inch (5 mm) wide. Press the top seam down with the prongs of a fork or flute it with your fingers. Make 7 more samosas. Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4-5 cm) of oil for deep frying over a medium-low flame. You may use a small, deep, frying pan for this or an Indian wok. When the oil is medium hot, put in as many samosas as the pan will hold in a single layer. Fry slowly, turning the samosas frequently until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towel and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

chicken pie

noridahling@myresipi.com

~resepi ni dari internet tp dah di ubah mengikut citarasa saya..

Bahan-bahan ( ~dapat 8 biji pie kecil.. )

pasrty: -150gram butter -250gram tepung gandum -1 sudu kecil gula -1 kuning telor -secubit garam inti: ~1 bijik bwg bsr dicincang ~1 cwn kentang yg dipotong dadu ~1 cwn mix vegetable

~cendawan butang dihiris ~2 keping dada ayam diptg kecil ~minyak ~1\2 cawan air. ~1 sudu bsr tepung jagung+2 sudu bsr air ~1 sudu bsr gula & sos tiram ~garam dan lada sulah Cara-cara

1. pastry: ~gaul dgn tgn sume bhn2 pastry sehingga jadi mcm breadcrumbs. ~masukkan sedikit air sejuk sehingga doh menjadi lembut. inti: ~goreng kentang sehingga berwarna keemasan..set aside. ~panaskn 2 sudu minyak..tumis bwg besar kemudian masukkn mix vegetable..cendawan..ayam dan kentang yg telah digoreng td.. ~masukkan air..sos tiram..gula..garam & lada sulah. ~akhir sekali masukkan tepung jagung supaya inti menjadi pekat. ~sejukkan inti. 2. ~roll out doh dan potong mengikut acuan pie.. ~letakkan inti kedalamnya dan ditutup dgn kepingan doh.. ~atas pie dicucuk dgn garfu dan disapu dgn kuning telor.. ~bakar ke dlm oven 180celcius selame 25-30 minit. ~lebihan doh boleh digunakan untuk menghias pie..

Kek Lumut

Bahan-bahan ( sekeluarga )

400gm mentega 1 gelas holicks 1 tin kecil kaya 4 gelas susu tepung sedikit pewarna hijau 1 tin kecil susu pekat manis 1/2 gelas tepung gandum 10 biji telur 1 gelas gula halus Cara-cara

1. Pukul mentega dgn gula sampai kembang. kemudian masukkan telur satu persatu,kacau lagi hingga adunan sebati. 2. masukkan 1 tin kecil kaya, susu pekat manis, holicks dan akhir sekali masukkan susu tepung dan tepung gandum. gaulkan sampai adunan rata. 3. sediakan bekas utk mengukus.Masukkan adunan tadi ke dalam bekas yg telah di sediakan dan kukus hingga masak..setelah kek masak,sejukkan sebentar,kemudian di masukkan ke dalam peti sejuk,biar semalaman..(Kek ni mmg lembut,so kena keep dlm peti sejuk)

American Risoles
Biar gak bosen dengan camilan yang akhir-akhir ini sering saya buat dan demi bikinin kesukaan hubby yang lebih cenderung suka camilan yang gurih-gurih maka hari minggu lalu saya coba bikin risoles yang lain dari yang biasa saya bikin yaitu Amris (American Risoles). Resep saya intip dari webnya NCC-Indonesia yang kelihatannya yummy dan gak susah cari bahannya.

Bahan kulit: 100 gr tepung terigu 1 sdt garam 3 btr telur 250 ml susu cair 1 sdm mentega, lelehkan margarine untuk olesan

Cara membuat: Ayak terigu, taruh dalam mangkuk bersama garam. Buat lubang ditengah, pecahkan telur di dalamnya, aduk satu arah. Tambahkan susu sedikit demi sedikit, hingga adonan menjadi licin dan halus. Tambahkan susu hingga habis, masukkan mentega leleh. Tutup adonan dengan plastik, diamkan 30 menit. Olesi wajan dadar diameter 12 cm dengan margarine, panaskan. Tuangi 1 sendok adonan, ratakan sambil diputar, 2-3 menit, angkat. Bahan isi : 4 lbr 100 gr 4 btr 1 butir 250 gr Kg Smoked beef, potong kecil 1 x 3 cm keju cheddar parut telur rebus, potong kecil telur, kocok lepas. tepung panir. minyak goreng

Penyelesaian : Bentangkan kulit, isi dengan potongan smoked beef, potongan telur rebus, sedikit keju parut, lipat spt amplop. Sisihkan. Lakukan hingga kulit habis. Celupkan risoles isi kedalam telur kocok, lalu gulingkan dalam tepung panir. Simpan dalam lemari pendingin kira-kira 1 jam. Goreng hingga kuning kecoklatan Sajikan dengan saus pedas, atau cabe rawit. Setelah jadi dan dihidangkan, ternyata anak-anak pada suka dan minta dibikinin lagi karena rasanya memang yummy. Tapi karena sudah sore dan sudah capek, saya janjikan untuk bikinan krucil-krucilku camilan jenis ini lain kali saja.