Orange Marmalade & Cream Cheese Stuffed Samosas ((served with Orange Chilli Dip, garnished with candied walnuts & orange peels, orange spun sugar, fresh mint & edible flower petals. )
*For samosa crust Plain flour dough for 16 medium samosas *For samosa stuffing 1+1/2 cup Orange Marmalade 1+1/2 cup Cream Cheese * Dip 1+ 1/2 cup Orange Chilli Sauce *Garnishings (optional) 1 cup Candied Walnuts 3/4 cup Candied Orange Peels 8 Caramelized Orange Slices 2 cups shards of Spun Sugar a small bunch of Fresh Mint leaves Fresh Marigold Petals of 1 flower INGREDIENTS FOR INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS: *For Orange Marmalade Ingredients: 5 oranges 4 cloves Peel of 1 orange 3 tablespoons lemon juice 2+1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2+1/2 cups water *For Samosa Crust Dough : Ingredients: 1+1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons ghee or softened butter cold water to knead the dough Vegetable oil for deep frying *For Orange Chilli Sauce: Ingredients: 2 cups orange juice 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder 1 tablespoon corn flour diluted in 1/4 cup water. *For Candied Walnuts Ingredients 1 cup walnuts halved 4 tablespoons maple syrup A pinch salt (If you don\'t have maple syrup, use 1 teaspoon butter and 4 tablespoons brown sugar instead). *For Candied Orange Peels: Ingredients: Peel from 1 orange 1 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup orange juice *For Orange Spun Sugar: Ingredients: 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup orange juice a few drops orange food colour (optional) *Caramelized Orange Slices: 2 oranges, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices 2 tablespoons sugar
INSTRUCTIONS: * Orange Marmalade: (can be made days ahead) METHOD: Prep : 1 hour Cook : 30 minutes Peel oranges, remove pips and white pith. Remove orange flesh from skins. Tie the pips, pith and skins in a cheese cloth to make a bouquet garni. Roughly chop the flesh. Save the peel of one orange. Scrape away white pith from it with the tip of a teaspoon or vegetable peeler. Cut the zest into thin fine strips. Add the orange pulp and water to a sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients and the bouquet garni of pips and pith. Bring to a boil. The pips and pith will release pectin into the marmalade, essential for fresher fruit flavour and shoetened cooking time. Reduce heat to a simmer and leave it to bubble away for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the marmalade resembles bubbling hot lava. Don’t thicken it too much in the pan or it will become very thick and hard after cooling down. To do the consistency test of marmalade, place a small plate to chill in the freezer for a few minutes. Pour a teaspoonful of hot marmalade over it and leave it to set for a minute. Make a streak in the middle of marmalade with your finger, if it maintains it\'s shape, it\'s ready to be stored in a clean airtight jar. If it\'s still runny, cook some more and repeat the consistency test. *Samosa Crust Dough: (can be made ahead) Prep: 15 minutes Rest : 15-20 minutes Method: In a big bowl, mix flour and salt. Rub in ghee or butter a little at a time, with your fingers till the mixture resembles wet sand. Make a hollow in the middle of the bowl, add cold water one tablespoon at a time, knead softly just till the dough comes together, do not over work the dough. Wrap in a plastic sheet and leave to rest for atleast 15-20 minutes so that the flour can begin to release its gluten. To Make Samosas: (can be made ahead) Prep: 15 minutes Cook : 15 minutes Flour a work surface very lightly. Divide dough into 8 equal balls, flatten them with your hand on the floured surface. Roll out a slightly long circle with a dough ball. Cut in the middle into two half circles. Wet the edges. Bring the cut side edges together to make a cone shape. Fill the cone with 1 heaped teaspoon cream cheese and 1 heaped teaspoon marmalade. Seal the samosa. Repeat with all dough balls. Cover and refrigerate till you need to fry them. * Orange Chilli Sauce: (can be made a day ahead, tastes best fresh) Prep: 10 minutes Cook : 10 minutes - 12 minutes Method Add orange juice, sugar, salt, paprika, red chilli flakes and ginger powder to a saucepan. Cook till the sugar dissolves and the juice is slightly reduced. Add corn flour slurry. Stir continuously till the sauce thickens to a honey like consistency. Remove from heat and let it cool. Candied Walnuts: (can be made ahead) Prep : 5 minutes Cook : 3 minutes Cool : 10 minutes Method: Preheat a heavy bottom frying pan over medium heat. Add the walnuts, maple syrup and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until syrup is caramelized and nuts are completely coated in it. Takes only 2-3 minutes. Spread on a baking sheet and allow to cool. *Candied Orange Peel: (must be made a day ahead) Prep : 5 minutes Cook : 20 minutes Dry : 8 - 24 hours Method: Remove peel of one orange with a vegetable peeler. Cut into thin trips. Cover with water and boil in a saucepan. Strain. Repeat. Add 1/2 cup sugar, orange juice and orange peels to a small heavy bottom frying pan. Let simmer in sugar till tender and coated completely. Remove them from syrup. Dust a baking sheet with remaining sugar. Spread out orange peels over baking and toss to coat with sugar and leave to dry for at least 8 hours, best for 24 hours. * Orange Spun Sugar: (can be made a short time ahead) Prep: 10 minutes Cook : 10 minutes Method: In a clean dry pan add sugar and orange juice. Cook it over medium high heat till the sugar melts and begins to change colour. Add a few drops orange food colour. Do not stir or the sugar will crystallize. When the sugar syrup is thick enough to make a thread when picked up with a fork, remove from heat. Let it cool for a few minutes so that the spun sugar can hold its form. Spread an old newspaper over your work top to avoid messy cleaning afterwards. Spread a baking sheet over the news paper. Dip a fork in the caramel syrup. With swift movements of arm, drop stretched threads of caramel over baking sheet. Let it cool off for 5-10 minutes. Shouldn\'t be exposed to moisture or heat meanwhile. Carefully pickup the spun sugar from paper when dry. Break into desired sized pieces or gather in a nest form. Store in an airtight container in fridge. *Caramelized Orange Slices PREP TIME: 5 minutes COOK TIME: 5 minutes Method: Add sugar to a pan over medium high heat. Place orange slices over it in a single layer. Let sugar melt and caramelise, leaving the ornage slices with slightly charred faces. remove from heat. Set aside. *To Assemble the Dessert: 30 minutes If you have made ahead most components of the dish, it will not take more than 30 minutes to assemble 8 individual servings. Deep fry samosas on low heat till evenly golden and crisp. Remove from oil and set aside. In a clean plate, place a caremalized orange slice. Make a tiny heap of orange spun chards close to it. Prop two Samosas over it. Decorate the surroundings with mint leaves, marigold petals, candied walnuts and orange peel. And serve with chilli orange sauce. Repeat for all the servings. (If you don\'t want to go all gourmet on your samosas, you can simply serve the warm Samosas with orange chilli sauce as well). *COURSE OF DISH: Dessert * EXPLIAN HOW DID YOU USE THE MYSTERY INGREDIENT IN YOUR DISH? I chose Orange as my mystery ingredient. It\'s prominently used as the star ingredient in a variety of ways in this dessert. It\'s the most rich and decadent flavour in samosa filling as the bitter, sweet & sour orange marmalade. It also gives a robust and refreshing contrast to cut through the sweetness of the samosas in the form of the spicy citrus suace on the side. Then again it appears in the garnishings and edible decor of the dish to add shades of flavour and layers of textures - be it the chewy candied ornage peels or the crunchy caramel of orange spun sugar. I imagined this dish as a new take on sweet samosas that can be served just with the sweet and sour dip as a fun comfort food or can also be taken a step ahead to a being a gourmet delight.
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