Meatless Monday: Indian Samosa Casserole

I love Indian food. I think. I’ve never eaten at an actual Indian restaurant, but I’ve sampled things here and there. I’ve had the pakoras at Duke of Devon – which, if I could have my way, would absolutely be included in my last meal on Earth – and curries, korma, and chicken tikka masala, but that’s about it. I’ve always been curious about the cuisine since I love warm spices and easy vegetarian recipes, so I experiment frequently with Indian spices and recipes at home. Are they traditional? I don’t know. But they’re delicious!

Today I want to share one of my favorites, based on the tasty Indian samosa. Samosas are popular fried snacks: a triangle-shaped flaky pastry filled with vegetables and spicy potato, chicken or lamb. Every culture has their version of this hand-held pocket: the Indian samosa, the Latin empanada, the Vietnamese bánh gối, the English hand pie, the obviously American Hot Pocket. Since it’s Meatless Monday and I’d like to keep this dinner on the healthier side, instead of frying up actual samosas, we’re going to take all the flavors of a samosa and bake it into a casserole.

This casserole has all the familiar tastes and textures of a fried samosa. The casserole is baked with a crust on top to replicate the flaky pastry. This is a delicious dish that utilizes a lot of basic pantry ingredients and spices. For my recipe, I’ve kept the ingredients vegan, but if you’re not on a plant-based plan, feel free to swap in dairy milk, an egg wash, chicken stock, or whatever you enjoy. Also, if you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, you can omit it and increase the all-purpose flour to 1 cup total.

Enjoy!

SAMOSA CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

For the Crust:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• Cold water

For the Filling:

• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tsp plant-based milk (soy, almond, rice)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Make the crust. In a bowl, whisk together the flours and salt. Stir in the oil until small clumps form. Add 7-10 Tbsp of cold water, one spoon at a time, until the dough holds together. Shape into a ball, cover with a damp towel, and set aside.
3. Make the spice blend. In a small bowl, stir together the mustard seeds, curry powder, ginger, garam masala, cumin and turmeric. Set aside.
4. Cook the potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain, return to the pot, and mash into small chunks.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic and sauté 5 minutes, or until carrots are fork-tender. Move onion mixture to the outside of the pan, and add the spice blend in the center. Toast spices for about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth and the peas. Fold the onion mixture into the mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the filling in a 9-inch pie pan then set aside.
6. Flour a work surface and roll out the crust dough into an 11-inch circle. Cover the filling with the dough, pressing down to eliminate any air pockets. Trim away excess dough and crimp the edges. Cut an X in the center to vent. Brush crust with milk before baking.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.