If you're meal planning and looking for an easy, nutritious and delicious appetizer that is restaurant-worthy, then you must try these flavorful bites! We love the samosa appetizer you get at Indian restaurants — you know, the yummy deep-fried kind that is stuffed with peas and potatoes. However, as you probably know, they are for limited consumption since they're fried. But they are so good! These samosa-flavored bites taste very similar to the samosa appetizer, however, they're much healthier since they're baked and don't have the fiberless pastry dough wrapped around the veggies inside. Add a nice dose of mint chutney alongside and you'll have yourself a fabulous homemade Indian appetizer!
Below is the full recipe and here is the cooking demo.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes (10 minutes to boil potatoes and 30 minutes to bake the bites)
Makes: about 24 bites
Ingredients
2 cups potatoes, cubed for easy boiling
1 cup chickpeas (either homemade or canned)
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup minced cauliflower*
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)
*yellow or green summer squash works well as a substitution for cauliflower. Use 1 cup of grated squash to replace 1 cup minced cauliflower.
How to make
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, add the potatoes and enough water to cover them. Heat on high and boil for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, in a grinder or food processor, grind the cashews into a fine meal consistency.
Once the potatoes are cooked, add them and the chickpeas into a large bowl. With a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes and chickpeas until about 3/4 of the chickpeas are mashed. It's okay to leave the rest whole. The potatoes should be fully mashed (helps the bites stay together).
Add the cashews, cauliflower (or grated summer squash), green onion, cilantro, curry powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne, if using. Mix together all of the ingredients.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
With a spoon, scoop out enough of the mixture to fit into your palm and form into mini bites, about 1 1/2 inches x 1 1/2 inches then place each one on the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, flip the bites and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Mint Chutney
Ingredients
1/2 packed cup mint
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 small garlic cloves
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp jalapeno
2 Tbsp avocado
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
How to make
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor or blender. Blend until a pesto-like consistency (tiny pieces of mint will remain). Taste for additional flavors of your choice (more lemon, salt, garlic, etc).
I hope you enjoy these! You could also add mango chutney, pickled onions (tried this too and it was really tasty on top of the burgers!), homemade vegan mayo or coconut yogurt (yum!) on top. Let me know what you think and any toppings you added and loved!
P.S. they also make great burgers! Instead of making them into "bites," form burger patties and bake at the same temperature for the same time (30 minutes), flipping halfway through. You should get about 8 patties out of this recipe. Double the recipe for larger gatherings or if you want to freeze half for later!
Also, consider serving these yummy bites or burgers with Cooling Cucumber Raita — or a combo of the raita and chutney!
Nutrition Facts Samosa Bites (per bite):
52 calories, 2 grams protein, 6 grams net carbohydrate, 1.5 grams fiber, 2 grams total fat, .3 gram saturated fat, 66 mg sodium
Nutrition Facts Mint Chutney (entire batch):
89 calories, 2.5 grams protein, 5 grams net carbohydrate, 6 grams fiber, 5 grams total fat, .7 gram saturated fat, 609 mg sodium
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