Category Archives: Fusion

Wonton Samosas (Spicy vegetable samosa)


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Here is an easy ‘shortcut’ recipe for the national snack of India. I am a big time samosa fan , right from school days. Hot samosas, freshly delivered to the school tuck shop at 4 p.m. every day..yummmmmm….Along with homeworks, record note books and tests, it was also a daily chore to make sure I had 65 paisa with me to buy samosa 🙂

The fillings are made different in different places. I am a little disappointed that most samosas available these days in the grocery stores and restaurants are the standard potato and peas samosas. While I love any filling, I crave for the spicy and crunchy onion and cabbage filling as we get in my hometown in India.

With rainy evenings forecast  fora week (NJ) , sounds like the perfect time to enjoy these samosas with a hot cup of tea 🙂

  • First step is to make the filling. Slice the onions and cabbage thin and long.

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  • Also dice one potato and two carrots. I have one jalapeno (seeds removed) chopped for an extra kick.

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  • Heat  1 tbsp of oil in a wok and saute the jalapeno.

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  • Now add the potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle some salt and cook for a couple of minutes.

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  • Add the cabbage and onion together. It is very important to have the crunchiness of the onions and cabbage until the very end, so a quick stir fry for a minute is all the cooking that is needed.Image
  • Add 1 tsp. of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. Add more salt if needed.

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  • Mix well and cook for 2 minutes until the raw smell of the powders go away. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for sometime. That makes the filling.

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  • For the outer covering, I am taking a shortcut by using wonton wrappers. I find these in the vegan section of my grocer right next to Tofu.

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  • Mix 2 tbsp of all purpose flour with little water to make a paste which will be used as a glue to seal the samosas.

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  • In the wrapper, place the filling in one half (diagonally). If you place too much filling, the wrapper will rip, and too little filling makes for a tasteless samosa. But I assure you that you will find your happy medium by the time you are making your third samosa 🙂

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  • Apply the flour glue to the two edges and fold the wrapper over. If possible, tuck the edges to secure the filling.

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  • Prepare all samosas like this. If for a party, you can make these a day or two ahead and refrigerate  until you need them. Also you can freeze these  until when needed.

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  • Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and fry the samosas to a golden brown.

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  • The only thing left to do now is, sit by the window and enjoy the crunchy samosa, with hot tea while watching the rain 🙂

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Related articles

Indian Finger Fish (Fish sticks)


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I grew up in a small coastal town, Tuticorin. My parents were busy doctors (still are..) and the earliest they would come home is 10 at night. It was our routine that we went out for dinner every Saturday night, and we always went to this particular restaurant called “Sugam”, coz’  it was the only restaurant that had most items in the menu still available at 10:45 p.m. ( Yeah, in our town, in the 80’s , night life ended in the early evening 🙂 ). As a child , there is not much to look forward to a late night dinner, as by then, hunger would have arrived and left and sleep was fast approaching. One of the few things that kept me awake and interested in dinner was the amazing “finger fish”  in that restaurant, crunchy on the outside and super juicy on the inside with the perfect blend of spices. That was my standard order every week. I will stop by the restaurant during my visit next month. I won’t be eating finger fish anymore, neverthless, I just can’t wait to relive the memories.

  • I am using Tilapia for this recipe. Any mid fish can be used. Clean and cut the fish fillets into finger shaped pieces. I used about three fillets today.

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  • Mix turmeric powder, chilli powder, black pepper, salt and garlic powder with a little water to make a paste. If you do not have garlic powder, you can use garlic paste.

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  • Marinate the fish with the paste and set aside for 30 mins.

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  • Beat an egg for the egg wash.

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  • Dip the fish pieces in egg wash and roll in bread crumbs. I prefer regular bread crumbs. Breading should be minimal, so I avoid panko.

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  • Prepare all the fish pieces this way.

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  • Heat oil for deep frying and fry the fish to golden brown. Once oil becomes hot enough for frying, lower the heat. If your fish sticks turn brown as soon as you drop them in the oil, it means the oil is too hot. The sticks should gradually turn from light brown to golden brown.

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  • As you know, fish cooks quickly. However, make sure it is done.

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  • Serve with ketchup. This is usually a big hit with kids.

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Green Pasta


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No, its not halloween and this is not one of Dr.Seuss’s recipes 🙂 Its just pasta with some stir fried green veggies and a simple green chutney.

  • I am using angel hair pasta. Any pasta , noodles or vermicelli will do. Cook the pasta according to box instructions. Image
  • To make the green chutney you will need a bunch of mint leaves and a bunch of cilantro. If you get cilantro with thin stems, use the stems too as they are packed with flavor.

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  • You will also need green chillies and ginger.

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  • Heat oil in a pan  and saute the green chillies and ginger and then saute the mint and cilantro.

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  • Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes and then grind them to a chutney. Add little water if needed.

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  • For the stir fry I am using green peppers and green peas. I also have one jalapeno, seeds removed and thinly sliced.

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  • Heat oil in the pan and saute the veggies.

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  • Add the pasta to the pan for a quick saute.

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  • Add the green chutney and mix well.

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  • Keep mixing until every angel hair has its good share of the chutney.

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Sprinkle some parmesan if you wish. (This is a very simple recipe with the basic green chutney. The chutney is multi purpose, it can be used in sandwiches, wraps or even as salad dressing.)

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Chicken Noodle Soup


Traditional chicken noodle soup with Indian flavors.
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Carrots, corn, celery, onions , tomatoes, chopped cilantro and a spoon of ginger garlic paste.
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4 cups of chicken broth and chicken breast cut in cubes.
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I am using campanalle pasta for the noodle part. You can use any pasta or noodles. Cook the noodle/pasta as per box instructions.
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bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, black pepper and cardamom
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Give a quick crush to the spices to release the flavors.
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Tie the crushed spices into a bundle, I have used a bounty paper towel. A clean cloth can also be used.
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In the pot, add a spoon of oil, and sauté the onions, ginger garlic paste, carrots and celery.Add the chicken, tomatoes and cilantro. Sprinkle some salt to sweat the veggies and sauté until chicken changes color.
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Add 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water.
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Place the spice bundle in the soup. Cover and cook in low heat for at least an hour.
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After an hour, remove the spice bundle.
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Add the cooked noodles/pasta. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
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To make the vegetarian version, replace chicken with chick peas or black beans and chicken broth with vegetable broth.
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Spizzzzy..rice noodles (strictly vegetarian :) )


Fresh flavors, bright colors …spring is here 🙂
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Cook the rice noodles according to box instructions. Thin noodles just require soaking in boiling water. Thicker noodles may require 5-6 mins cooking .
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cut all the veggies in thin strips. mince garlic and ginger.
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For the sauce :
soy sauce – 2tbsp
red chilli garlic sauce – 3 tsp
green chilli sauce – 2 tsp
rice wine vinegar – 1 tsp (optional)
brown sugar – 1tbsp
Mix them all together, and if you taste it now, you will be thrown off by the intensity of the sauce, but whe we mix with the noodles it will be perfect.
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Cut some paneer in thin strips and shallow fry them. You can replace with Tofu or scrambled eggs.
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Now for the easy part, heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a wok and sauté chillies, minced garlic and ginger.
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Saute the onions…
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Add the carrots and green beans.
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Now add cabbage.
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Finally add all the colored peppers… (when you add veggies in this order, it is easier to maintain their crispiness).
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The sauce goes in….
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Mix well with the veggies.
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Now ad the noodles , make sure the heat is ‘high’.
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Gently toss the noodles to mix with the sauce and veggies.
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Turn off the heat add the fried paneer and some chopped cilantro.

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Grab a fork and say “hello, spring…. ”  🙂
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