Chilli Chocolate Vegan Samosas
I was inspired to create this for a competition where we were asked to use cacao in a creative way. My first thought was to make my grandmothers samosas with a chilli chocolate slant on them. (Mr B’s influence as two of his favourite flavour profiles). I wasn’t sure this would work, but I felt my grandma was urging me on, if only to see me make my first samosa
Well it did work and I’d encourage you to give it a try. It has some wonderfully deep, rich flavours from the garam masala and chilli, with an earthy tone from the cacao and smoked paprika
‘Creativity is the courage to let go of certainty’.
I didn’t want to let go of the certainty of my grandma’s recipe, but this competition pushed me out of my comfort zone and to something new in our relationship. A collaboration of sorts, a recipe created hand in hand, partly from heritage and partly from something new. Growth isn’t just a case of learning something new but about unlearning old limits too
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp. chilli powder (adapt to heat preference)
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 500g vegan mince
- 20g cacao powder
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. flour
- 2 tbsp. water
- 10 spring roll wrappers
Method
- Heat the olive oil, add the onion and fry till translucent, add garlic and fry for 30 seconds
- Add spices for 30 seconds
- Add vegan mince and stir till equally distributed
- Cook down for 20 minutes
- Taste and adjust for seasoning
- Let cool
- Mix the water and flour together to use as a glue for the samosa pastry
- Fold, fill and seal (see picture for instructions)
- Bake or fry and serve with a coriander dipping sauce
