Spicy Chickpea Samosas

These little samosas turned out great, though I had my worries and complications. First, I went to 3 different stores looking for hara masala or coriander sauce, and found nothing remotely similar. I decided to search online for recipes to make my own sauce and ultimately settled on a coriander sauce that sounded good and was easy to make. I'm glad I found it though, it worked out great. My 2nd problem arose when I was trying to role up the filo. I'd never worked with filo pastry before and at first wasn't sure why it was flaking as I folded and wasn't rolling up right. I figured out though that the one sheet had dried up too quickly before I was able to roll it. So I used two sheets at a time and it helped it to not dry out as fast. Another note, I didn't have chili and garlic oil, so I just added some ground cayenne pepper and garlic powder to some vegetable oil...worked out just fine!

Makes 18

Ingredients:
2 - 14 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup hara masala or coriander sauce (recipe follows)
10 oz. filo pastry
4 tbsp. chili and garlic oil
salt & black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Process half the chickpeas to a paste in a food processor. Tip the paste into a bowl and add the whole chickpeas, the hara masala or coriander sauce, and a little salt. Mix until well combined.

2. Lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface and cut into three strips. Brush the strips with a little of the oil. Place a dessertspoon of the filling at one end of a strip. Turn one corner diagonally over the filling to meet the long edge. Continue folding the filling and the pastry along the length of the strip, keeping the triangular shape. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining filling and pastry.

3. Brush the pastries with any remaining oil and bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Cool before serving.

These samosas look pretty garnished with fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and finely sliced red onion and are delicious served with a simple dip made from plain Greek yogurt and chopped fresh mint leaves.

Coriander Sauce

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed (about 1 cup loosely packed leaves)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno or other hot chile, seeded (for a spicier chutney, leave the seeds in)
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
2 to 4 tablespoons water, or as needed

Combine the cilantro, garlic, chile and walnuts in a blender or food processor. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin (if using) and process to a smooth paste. Add enough water to obtain a pourable sauce.

Taste for seasoning, adding salt and lemon juice as necessary; the sauce should be very highly seasoned. Serve immediately, or at least within 4 hours of making; serve at room temperature. Makes about 1 cup.