Semi-homemade snack and sweet

Certain foods cannot be enjoyed alone, needs absolutely another complimentary side to elevate the main dish to another level. Our ancestors have tried and tasted before coming to this final conclusion for pairing food: parathas with pickle/butter, idli + sambar, soup with sandwich, etc...
But I found weird myself when someone served Gajar ka halwa along with vanilla ice cream, and the worst gulab jamun with ice cream. I just screamed NO! Is it a double dose of sweet? Or just want to sneak the unpalatable sweet they prepared with ice cream? Why not to savor the full flavor of Carrot halwa or gulab jamun alone? I can never accept this one has a palatable combo? Have you faced a peculiar combo or I am left alone in this world....
Samosas doesn't need a bang introduction. It is symbolized as Indian food in kids educational Arthur's game in US. So what even your pre-school kid have a knowledge of samosa. A crispy pastry snack filled with a spicy or non-spicy potato in triangle shape. Very popular street snacks in India, could be served as a light meal along with garbanzo beans curry, a simple green chutney, sweet chutney or even a dash of ketchup!
The process of making the samosa from scratch is bit long ! The spring roll wrapper is a short cut and the outer layer is very crisp and very opt to baked version. This one is purely semi-homemade.
Don't be intimated seeing all the steps! 







Potato filling for samosa

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Ingredients:

Potato: 2 medium boiled/peeled/mashed
Onion: one- diced
Amchur powder/dry mango powder: 1tsp
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Coriander seeds: 1 1/2 tsp- Crushed slightly
Cilantro: 2 tbps minced
Oil: 1 1/2 tsp
Salt: adjust for your taste


Method:
Heat the oil in a pan. Sauté the onion until translucent, add the mashed potato, all the spices powders, salt and add 1/4 cup of water.
The potato mixture will thicken very quickly, sprinkle the coriander , garam masala and mix well and switch off the stove. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Let it cool completely before stuffing in wrap.


To prepare samosa

Ingredients
Spring roll wrapper / Samosa wrap: one packet
Maida/all purpose flour: 1 tbsp
Water: enough to make thin paste

How to make Maida paste?
Mix the water in maida and make sure there is no lumps. The mixture can be watery. No matter.


How to wrap it/ form samosa?

Thaw the spring roll wrapper for 30 minutes at room temperature. Now cut the wrapper into 3 equal parts. Cover with wet kitchen towel until ready to use.

Look/Refer the diagram shown below. I am not too good to make the diagram but hope it will help someone.

Take two wraps together (one wrap sucks lots of oil while deep frying- it's best when if it is baked)

Start to bring the left corner to point 1 (right side)



Now fold back and bring to point 2 (left side)




It will be a cone shape (packet) .

Hold the shape in your left hand and take a spoon full of potato mixuture.
Fill the cone (do not over stuff) If the wrap tear, the mixture will come out will frying




Squeeze the cone slightly with your fingers, so the potato spread evenly.



Now fold/cover the open area, fold to point 3

After closing and getting a triangle shape:
At this point, spread the AP+water (liquid mixture paste) at the rest of wrap. keep the seam side down , cover with wet towel or you can freeze at this level.



Note:
while wrapping all the 3 corners , you should not have a hole (gap) make sure while wrapping, if there is gap, oil will flow inside the potato mixture!
Handle with caution the wrap it may tear.
Cover all the time with wet cloth!

Deep frying

Oil enough to deep fry.

Oil should be hot enough when you drop the samosas, otherwise they will be soggy.
Once dropped reduce to medium heat. Fry until they turn golden brown, drain in paper towel.

Baking in 375

Preheat the oven at 375 degree and arrange the samosas in baking sheet, Spray oil and bake approx 35 min, try to turn the other side in between the baking time!

Sending my both dishes to Rahin who is hosting Semi-homemade Indian event


For green chutney 
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Check out my older post




Sending to Priyanka Lets celebrate with colours Holi event

Sending to Pari Combo event













Semi-homemade rasmalai sweet




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Needed items:


Can of rasgullas: contains 20 pieces.
Milk mixture: 2 cups of  skim milk and 1 can of evaporated milk (fat free)
Green cardamom: 6 pods powdered
sugar: 1/2 cup (minus 1 tbsp)

Bring to boil milk+ evaporated milk together. Add the sugar and cardamom. Let it cool .
Squeeze the rasgullas (remove 3/4 of sugar from each rasgullas)
Drop in slightly warm milk mixture
Refrigerate and serve




Comments

FH said…
The thought and visual of Gulab Jamuns and Ice cream together gave me a diabetic shock right now! :D
Leave the Gulab Jamuns and Gajar Halwas alone I would say like you too.
Yummy Samosas, crispy. I used Tortillas as wrap once, tasty too when deep fried. Dessert looks yummy and east to make.
Bong Mom said…
Cham

The samosas look perfect. Great idea to use the wrappers

About combos, I love warm gajar ka halwa with cold vanilla ice cream. I don't like GHK by itself that much. Same about Gulab Jamuns, but jamuns need to be hot. It is more of a hot & cold combo and not sweet-sweet
Samosa and rasamali. Now that is one heavenly combo no one can refuse.Kalakittinga.
Rahin said…
Cham thank you for the delicious entries , which also happen to b my favourites , love them !

Speaking of combos how about kairi (raw mango)with rock salt...makes my mouth water :P
Priya Suresh said…
Cham, kalakitinga ponga...Tempting samosas and droolworthy rasmalai....awesome!
Cham said…
Sandeepa Aah it is a matter of hot cold combination, what will happened to our teeth....
Cham,
kallakal post..i never knew that there is a samosa wrap thx for the post...i can try this out for the coming weekend:)
Preeti Kashyap said…
i love the samosas and rasmalai! a yumm combo indeed!
Bhawna said…
Rather than being in shock I was smiling reading ur post. I was really shocked when my husband once asked me to give GJ with icecream. I asked him *R U Sure".
And from than onwards I researched and found in many states people like this combo and its not new....
But i'm glad meeting you coz I thought i was the only one finding it wierd.
Oh wow the potato samosa mmm perfect and the rasmalais oh wow I drooling!!!

http://memoryarchieved.blogspot.com
Soma said…
Brilliant idea with the samosas!! I always buy the can rasgollas for the rasmalai, gone are those days of making rasgolla from scratch. But I was still making the samosas the old way:-)

I love gaajar halwa buy itself. gulab jamin at room temperature or cold.. can't think of any pair in indian dessert..except kulfi with syrup and faluda.. but that is not a pair i guess.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)
Dori said…
Semi-homemade can be so nice! I like the spring roll wrapper, makes it so much easier! Everything looks good :)
Gita Jaishankar said…
Actually my hubby loves the combination of gulab jamun with ice cream...I still cannot get the hang of it :) Both the dishes looks great Cham...love your idea of using spring roll wrappers for samosas!
Sonia said…
You made your samosa very perfect! And what a great combo! Rasmalai with samosa. Ahhh...you are killing me with your pics. :D
I love Gajar Halwa itself but warm only. I prefer everything just warm whether it dessert or spicy snack! :)
Latha said…
Lovely combo. I make the rasmalai the same way sometimes.
Nandinis food said…
Fantastic combo! Spring roll wrappers very well suits for semi- home made snack . That's an terrific idea Cham! Crispy samosas and Yummy dessert!
Nice explanation also :)
Padma said…
Nice step by step pics... looks so crispy... perfect evening snack and also loved your rasmalai.
suvi said…
Oh Cham, your step by step pictoral is such a help! Your samosas are fried a perfect golden brwon and look so crisy and non greasy.

Regarding the combos, no, I like GJs and gajar ka halwa by themselves and hate to share them with a scoop of ice cream.
Lakshmi said…
slurrpp! they looks sooooo very tempting...send me some
notyet100 said…
everythin looks so festive dear,u can send this for holi event too :-)will be glad to have these delights for the event
Unknown said…
Nice step by step pics for folding samosas...they look perfect! I luv carrot halwa with vanilla icecream :)
PJ said…
love this combo! I just made a variation yesterday which I am planning on posting soon.. these one look so delicious and yummy with green chutney.
Madhavi said…
WOW Cham step by step recipe. Samosa looks greatttt and ras-malai is just awesome!!!
Divya Kudua said…
Its been ages since I had samosas and you are tempting me!!!!!It doesn't help matters one bit as I am on a diet!!!!Love the step by step pics..I want samosa now..:):)
jayasree said…
Though I enjoy both the sweets on its own, I don't mind paring it with ice-cream. The first time I saw the combo, it occured wierd to me but when I tasted, I was fine with it.

Lovely step-by-step pics of shaping samosa.
Good job, Cham.
Anonymous said…
Totally drool worthy Cham. Both samosa's and rasmalai are my favourites..the combo must have been heaven :)
Suparna said…
I am fond on pairing food :0 and like making unusual combinations ;)
I love both the combos u've mentioned in ur post :)
Beautiful step by step pics cham, neat and def. useful. U've made both the dishes yumm..
TC
CurryLeaf said…
yummy samosas.Here also samosa wraps are available.Love the clicks Very mouthwatering rasmalai.:P
Padhu Sankar said…
Fantastic post! Cham
Nice pictorial explanation.Rasmalai looks so inviting.Keep rocking!
Rachana said…
Samosas could be made so quick, if using these wrappers...very well explained! Love both samosas and rasmalai!
Hayley said…
Wow..lots of yummy dishes to try...drooling here..like your step by step samosa pics...
Deepa G Joshi said…
lovely and tasty samosas..and my favorite Rasmalaiii...yummm

www.foodlyrics.com
Pari said…
Thanks for the entry Cham.
I used to use the samosa pattis in Mumbai to make the samosas.
So nicely explained, the post is a visual treat.
Finla said…
I always love to make semi home made food. Totally agree about making samosa form tehscrathc i only dot hem ince in a year or less :-)
Next time when i go to the asian store i should look for these rice paper. Looks crunchy delicous.
Rasmalai i am not a huge fa, but hubby and daughter loves it.
Raks said…
I too make both of these semi snack and sweet :) Lovely pictures!
Laavanya said…
I was initially very shocked too.. and almost everything was paired with icecream - even jalebis. But i tried warm gulab jamuns with a bite of icecream (from my husband's bowl) and it was quite nice - much to my surprise... I can't eat a whole bowl of that by myself though - too sweet.

The samosas look so cute and making rasamalais like this is a favorite dessert of mine.
Vanamala Hebbar said…
Lovely ... @sweet i make the same way with the rasgullas...samosas are looks very nice..
Deepthi Shankar said…
the samosas look sooper cute ..those wrappers make our jobs so easy isn't it
SE said…
i can understand the double dose of sweets...ice cream and cake, very common..jamuns nd halwa will be preferred all by themselves...samosas look very tempting !
Cham the samosa look perfect. saw this kind of recipe few days ago on Tv where they named it strip samosa. perfect recipe and great combo.
Usha said…
Yum and quick samosas ! Lovely rasmalai too :-)
Unknown said…
Pretty looking samosas Cham. Love the rasmalai as well.
Meena said…
Perfect shaped samosa...very innovative...I like the idea os semi-homemade rasgullas too...I think it is easy and ohhh! so tasty...

First time on your blog...love your recipe collection!
Shama Nagarajan said…
delicious delights..nice clicks
wow the pictures are so good. both samosa and rasmalai look great. can I come over for tasting?
subhashini said…
Hey
Me first time dropped in.Very nice collections of recipes.Keep it up.

Samosa looks perfect.
Love
Subhashini
AJ said…
Excellent choice - nothing like tea and samosas.

Apu
Fathima said…
perfect samosas... loved ur step by step demos... great presentation... first time to ur site and following u..
Unknown said…
samosas looks delicious..i buy the frozen ones..still easier!!!:)
But i love pairing vanilla ice cream with gajar ka halwa..I know you cant have much of it..but the combo does taste awesome..
sra said…
I once ate ice-cream with salt and pepper, just to show off that I could do it!
I don't mind carrot halwa or gulab jamun with ice cream, it has been in vogue for quite a long time now.
Pravs said…
Its really too much of sweet to combine gulab jamun and ice cream.. i am with you here :)
Love the samosa and rasamali..semi homemade make it easy.
Unknown said…
OMG you are tempting me hummmmmm mouthwatering cham samosas looks so crisp and very tempting rasmalai mmmmmm.Looks great
Sumi said…
yummy snack and dessert.Liked the idea of canned rasgulla's to rasmalai..this thought didnt strike me at all.
Unknown said…
Hi Cham that is one fantastic idea to use spring roll wrappers, i had recently purchased some during our grocery shopping last week. Still havent opened it. Baking sounds like a very healthy idea , so were these samosas in the pictures, baked or deep fried? I am planning to make this today itself if baking came out good :)
Cham said…
Roopa: This one is deep fried! But baking comes out excellent too, u cannot make out the difference! Spray with oil and keep in oven it is best that way!
SraIce cream with salt and pepper, LOL!
Unknown said…
wow thank you for the immediete response cham, will surely make it today :)
Vaishali said…
Love those samosas-- and love the explicit directions you've given. The potato filling sounds delicious.
I am quite fussy about my food combinations, although I guess I don't veer too far from the traditional :) I can't stand my vadas with sambar-- I only have them with chutney, for instance. Gulab jamoon with ice cream does sound weird, though :)
Panchpakwan said…
Wow smosa looks so crispy...Lovely click too..

First time her..Nice collection of recipes...

Gald to follow you..
Miri said…
Thats a great way of explaning how to make a great samosa!! And yes, I agree - leave the gajar halwa alone!!
nandini said…
hello
First time her and i am glad i found ur space. The step by step guide to samosa wraps is defenitely helpful. It looks super crisp.
Parita said…
What gorgeous pictures Cham! Fantastic!
Vani said…
Hey, you're the desi Sandra Lee!! :)

Both look excellent, Cham.
Gomathy S said…
Rasamali looks yummmmy.. and your profile pic looks so cute :)
Namitha said…
oops..somehow I missed this post..how could I, when you have 2 most fav of mine here...:D
Personally I don't like those combos you mentioned too. But I keep these combos whenever I have a party, so that people who like it, can have them together :D
Malar Gandhi said…
Thanks for this step-by step picture...now it makes a lil sense why my samosas go soggy...I going to try ur version:)
yeah..I am munching some crackers now ;)

Design mathalilla? Innum cupid uum valentines uum thaana?
Again two of my favourites. I totally agree with you. I cannot figure why anyone would serve ice cream with gulab jamuns or carrot halwa.
It happened 2 days ago at a party we were at. Gulab jamuns and butterscotch ice-cream!!!
Unknown said…
Have you ever seen somebody lick the chutney spoon in an Indian Restaurant and put it back? This would never have happened under the Tories.