Among my many food related hobbies, reading food blogs, looking up recipes, watching Top Chef, watching other cooking shows and memorizing menus, is finding new spins on Argentine favorites. On an empanada wrapper binge, I thought to myself – what fun goodies can I stuff inside? With a craving for some intense spices, it was the perfect time to bust out the Indian flavors and make a hearty dal with side of baked vegetarian samosa-esque empanadas.
Vegetarian Samosa Ingredients:
- 3 large peeled potatoes, boiled, then mashed
- 1/2 can peas
- 1/2 cup sauteed minced onion
- 2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 hot chile pepper (red or green)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Directions
1. Saute minced onion with hot chile pepper and fresh ginger. Mix around until it smells nice and gingery. Add mashed potatoes and mix up good.
2. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and garam masala. Set aside.
3. One mixture is cooled, begin assembling the samosas, similar as how you would fill an empanada. I still haven’t perfected how to close these samosas, in the attempt to get a more triangular shape, mine began to look much more like hamantashen.
4. Baked in the oven until golden brown.
I’m all about muling spice packages from the US back to Argentina, and this package of Dal Makhani did not disappoint. If you do not have the luxury of an assortment of chemical-enhanced flavor packages, probably the more respectable thing to do would be making it yourself. This dal recipe works pretty good, although since it requires lots of ingredients that I don’t have, I like to stick to the shameful way to make it and go with the flavor packet.
Ingredients:
- Spice mix
- Canned tomatoes
- Milk
- Lentils, Kidney Beans
Directions
1. Follow the packaged instructions, stoopid.
I actually had left over dal, so I experimented and put the lentils inside the empanada wrapper. Weird you say? Perhaps. But I am proud to report that the empandas de lentejas were pretty damn good.
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Maggie says
Coming late to this party but great recipe! i tried it and it turned out great.
Duane Storey says
Pretty similar to a samosa by the looks of them.
C says
In case you want to also try out the samosa dough, which I really recommend as the empanada wrapper is just not the same, I found a really easy recipe in Manjula’s Kitchen blog…
Angela says
Please start a business with varied empanadas. We made some with corn moque choux, some with broccoli and sausage, and the last ones with shrimp etouffee. They were fantastic. Oh, the possibilities.
razalba says
I know.. right?! The possibilities are ENDLESS! Each fun flavored empanada would be accompanied with a special dipping sauce…
NOLAchef says
I would like to try them more Mexican style with black beans, cheese, and chilis. And of course a lovely lime/chipotle/sour cream to dip them in! Thanks for the inspiration!
razalba says
Good idea… I like the lime chipotle dipping sauce. So many things to stuff in empanadas, the options are endless ..
Pearl says
mmmmmmmmmm! I will try tonight!!
Vanessa says
They have garam masala in Casa China (in Barrio Chino).
razalba says
Thanks for the tip Vanessa!