Hi all, I have a suggestion for samosa pastry that you might be interested in, it includes ground rice flour, the pastry really bubbles up in the fryer and is really crispy.

5 oz plain flour

2 tblsp ground rice flour

1 tbsp sunflower oil

salt

water

Sift flour and salt, rub in the oil, and then add the water a little at a time to form a soft dough. Knead approx 3-5 mins, then srinkly lightly with water and cover with a damp teatowel and leave for approx 30 minutes. Next divide into approx 8, shape into balls and roll each ball on a lightly floured surface into thin circles, approx 5 inches round. Heat a tawa, and fry each circle of pastry for a couple of seconds on each side. Place inside a folded over teatowel whilst the others are being fried. Then cut each circle in half, bring the corners together to make a cone and seal using flour and water paste. Fill, then seal the open mouth again with water and flour paste. Prepare the rest and fry in normal manner and drain on kitchen paper.

Next time I make a batch I will photo and send???

Regards

Zoe

Photos are a great idea ! I'm sure Mamta will respond when she gets a chance.

Steve

Hello people

Please give it a try and let me have your feed back. I have to go on a diet for a while, so won't be making them just yet ;-)!

Mamta

I'll have a go as soon as my friend Moira from the wholefoods shop gets back from her summer hols, so that I can get some rice flour from her.

I'm fatalistic about anything involving pastry, though. I'm convinced that it's inherently fraught with difficulties.

Phil

Phil, the pastry is really easy to make, even my OH manages!

You're probably right, Zoe, that it's easy, but I find that there are countless things which I find not easy at all. Growing coriander is one of them: I've just failed for the umpteenth time.

But hey, I got fenugreek seeds to sprout! Maybe they'll come to something! Then I'll have FRESH fenugreek leaves for the first time ever! My new idea was to plant spices in a windowbox, so I can keep a close eye on them. Amazingly, tiny little snails had crept all the way up to the first floor of the house, and were eating the leaves. How do they manage that? they're only a few millimetres in diameter.

Phil

don't snails get to some odd places, I think their eggs get carried in on the mud on your boots ?

Steve

But how could those little snails get from my boots to the windowbox? I', baffled.

The fresh fenugreek doesn't seem to be doing much, despite regular watering.

The only thing I seem to be able to grow is my own toemails!

Phil

Zoe/Mamta, whoever: Is a tava an Indian wok?

We have a lovely Vietnamese woman who runs a stall at the Saturday morning market in a nearby little town here in the South of France, who does nice enough samosas, but they're not spiced enough for me, so it'd be great if I could do my own.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've always preferred vegetable to meat samosas.

Phil

Tawa is a slightly concave iron gridle used for making Chapatties/rotie/parathas/pancakes and other shallow fried things. Here is a picture of it, though not a very clear one; http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10101

the snails probably came with the soil, as eggs.

Your toes have mail!! I am impressed. Even in the UK, some people don't have mail for days, we call it snail mail :?)

cheers Waaza

Thanks, Waaza; I didn't know think that the soil I used might have snail eggs in them, and indeed I had no idea that snails laid eggs.

Yes, toemails is a new concept, as you suggest!

Phil

The snails may have been dropped by birds, as we sometimes get snails on our plants which are on a 2nd floor terrace. Are they not a delicacy in France? Here in our area of Spain they eat them while they are still very young, during May, but as yet I have not been able to convince myself to try them!

Yes, we eat snails here in France: sea snails and certain species of snail from the garden. For the garden ones, you need to find out which species are good to eat (Le Petit Gris is said to be good: we have those outside the house). Then you need to get the slime off them. That's where I fell down.

The best snails I ever had were vineyard snails in a restaurant near Cape Town: yummy!

Had sea snails on the Med coast yesterday: nice!

Phil