Pull-Apart Samosa Bread,Mini Kenya-Style Packed

Pull-Apart Samosa Bread
Today’s the day I finally get to say hello to you all! I’ve
spent this sunny Saturday filming my third YouTube video and
it’s the first time I’m actually in it, albeit for just a few
moments before you get to the best bit – the recipe. Can you
believe I’ve been sharing my favourite recipes with you for
seven whole years?!
Neither can I.
This pull-apart/tear ‘n’ share/whatever you want to call it
bread has a little secret. It’s not harbouring cheese and
garlic like you’d expect. It’s packed with spicy samosa
filling instead. If you’re craving those ever-popular Indian
snacks, but want something a little out of the box for your
next party, this is the recipe for you.
Rustle up two trays, put them into the middle of the table and
watch them disappear in the blink of an eye. You can serve
them hot, as they are or with individual pots of garlic butter
for each guest. Either way, I promise everyone will be smiling
with a belly full of samosa goodness by the end of the
evening.
I’ve kept the filling really simple because hey, you’re making
your own bread here. The filling is packed with flavour, yet
doesn’t take away from the fact that the real big deal here is
the soft, fluffy bread that’s more of a dinner roll than it is
any other kind of bread. The addition of milk and butter
ensure it’s cotton-soft and the perfect, pillowy pocket for
the spicy vegetable filling.
You can add any vegetables you like here – just make sure you
chop them up really finely and cook them until they’re just
right beforehand. This is because the filling literally takes
seven minutes to cook so they won’t be in the pan too long.
I’ve written a step-by-step method here but it’s much easier
to understand the way the bread is formed from the video. Take
a look, let me know what you think and I can’t wait to hear
what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxRdhpDhDWo
Pull-Apart Samosa Bread
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
For the filling:
600g potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled
350g finely-chopped mixed vegetables (I used peas, carrots,
cauliflower and broccoli)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 large green chillies, chopped finely
1 tsp turmeric
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tbsp ginger, minced (optional)
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
For the dough:
600g strong white bread flour
14g fast-action dried yeast (2 sachets)
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
100g butter, melted
180ml warm milk
13oml warm water
Extra butter to brush the rolls
Method
1. To make the filling, heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan
and add the cumin seeds. Allow to sizzle a little before
adding in the onions. Cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the chillies, turmeric, ginger (if using) and salt.
Stir briefly before adding the potatoes and vegetables. Mix
thoroughly.
3. Next, add in the lemon juice, garam masala and coriander.
Stir and cook for a few moments before turning off the heat.
4. To make the dough, take a large bowl and mix together the
butter, milk, water, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Little
by little, add the flour until you’ve used up half of it. At
this stage the mixture will be cool enough to add the yeast.
Adding the yeast any earlier might kill the yeast. You want it
to be warm and cosy for the yeast to do its thing.
5. Finish adding all the flour and when it begins to come
together, turn the dough out onto a clean surface.
6. Knead the dough for 10 minutes to work that gluten. It
might be a bit sticky at first but keep going. If you have a
stand mixer with a dough hook, you can do it in there – it’ll
take half the time.
7. Take a large, greased bowl and place the dough inside.
Cover with a damp towel or cling film and allow to rise in a
warm place until it has doubled in size. Luckily for me it was
a really hot day so I didn’t need to take a trip to the airing
cupboard where my dough usually hangs out – I just left it on
the counter top.
8. When the bread has doubled in size, knock it back and give
it a knead. You’ll feel all the little air bubbles popping and
that’s good and will ensure your bread rises evenly in the
oven.
9. Butter two 25cm baking dishes and set it aside.
10. Take half the dough and roll it out on a floured work
surface until it’s around 2mm in thickness. Using a round
cookie cutter approx. 6cm in diameter, cut rounds of the
dough.
11. Take the cooled filling and place around a teaspoon of it
into the middle of one of the dough rounds. Using your thumb,
fold the middle up and bring the sides to meet in the middle,
almost like you’re making an open wonton or tortellini.
12. Place into the buttered baking dish – start with the
outside edge and repeat for the rest of the discs. The amount
you will need depends on the size of your dish. My recipe made
two 25cm pull-apart loaves. Repeat for the remaining dough and
filling.
13. Brush the bread with melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 45 minutes.
14. Remove from the oven and brush with more butter before
serving.
Love Sanjana
Mini
Kenya-Style
Packed
Potatoes with Coconut and
Coriander Chutney
During my lifetime, I’ve been lucky enough to be extremely
close to so many wonderful food cultures. The Gujarati cuisine
made by my mother’s hands was the stuff that put the skin on
my bones, next were my dad’s favourite East African dishes
inspired by his childhood in Mombasa.
Later came various recipes from other parts of India I
couldn’t help but experiment with once I got a taste for
cooking. Running through it all the while is the amazing food
culture of Britain – a diverse mix of true classics like
Cornish pasties and Yorkshire puddings, to dishes from
international cuisines we’ve somehow adopted. There’s nothing
quite like eating Taiwanese Bao in Kings Cross or Vietnamese
Summer Rolls in Shoreditch for lunch and going home to true
Gujarati daal-bhaat, shaak and rotli, followed by Mombasastyle mogo chips as a cheeky midnight snack.
See, I told you… totally spoilt.
These little packed potatoes are a take on the snacks loved by
Asian people all over East Africa. Here, I’ve used British New
Potatoes sandwiched together with a spicy chilli, coriander
and lemon mixture. They’re deep fried, which is not something
I always do but is absolutely necessary for this recipe
(please don’t try to bake them in the oven as the batter will
just fall off). Just do an extra 10 minutes on the treadmill
tomorrow.
I’m serving them with my favourite chutney – a blend of
coriander, coconut and heaps of lemon, sugar and salt. It will
set your taste buds alight, not with heat but sheer joy.
Purists, omit the coriander as they do in Kenya but it’s so
easy to get hold of here and really takes the flavours to the
next level. I really recommend it.
Serve in paper cones or on a sharing platter as I’ve done
here. I love food you can put into the middle of the table for
everyone to dig in. A cold beer is the perfect pairing but
then again, when isn’t it?
Mini Kenya-Style Packed Potatoes with Coconut and Coriander
Chutney
Makes 18-20
Ingredients
1.5kg baby new potatoes, skin on, boiled and cooled
Sunflower oil, to deep fry
For the filling:
150g of the boiled potatoes, roughly mashed
100g finely-chopped coriander
1 ½ tbsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
1 large clove garlic
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 tsp salt
For the batter:
100g plain flour
200g chickpea flour
1 tsp coarse semolina
Juice of one lemon
400ml cold sparkling water
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
For the coconut and coriander chutney:
150g coriander
4 green chillies
100g unsweetened desiccated coconut
100g Greek yohgurt
Juice and zest for 2 lemons
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
Method
1. To make the filling, combine all of the ingredients to make
a sticky paste. If it doesn’t combine to make a paste, give it
a very short pulse in a food processor.
2. Halve each of the cooked and cooled baby new potatoes and
sandwich the two pieces together with the paste. Repeat for
all of them and place them in the fridge while you make the
batter.
3. To make the batter, combine all the dry ingredients and
give them a quick whisk to remove any big lumps. Add the
sparkling water and whisk to make a smooth batter.
4. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan or wok until it reaches
180C or until a piece of bread turns brown in 60 seconds.
5. Take one of the potatoes, quickly dip it in the batter
until it’s coated all over, then very gently place it in the
oil. Repeat with a couple more, taking care not to overcrowd
the pan as this will bring the temperature of the oil right
down.
6. Allow to cook, turning in the oil until golden all over.
Drain in a colander lined with paper towels. Repeat for all of
the potatoes.
7. To make the chutney, combine the coriander, chillies, lemon
juice and zest, salt, sugar and coconut in a blender. Blend
until smooth. Add the yoghurt and pulse quickly. Pour into a
serving bowl.
8. Serve the packed potatoes alongside the coconut and
coriander chutney, lemon wedges and cold beer. If you can get
your hands on Tusker, go for that.
Love Sanjana