Casserole Pockets

Casserole Pockets
Servings: 18

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes, peeled
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay leaf, crushed
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green chile peppers
1 quart oil for deep frying
1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough

Directions:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in potatoes and peas. Cook until potatoes are tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash together and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Brown cumin seeds and bay leaf. Mix in onions and ground beef. Cook until beef is evenly brown and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in garlic, fresh ginger root. Season with black pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in the mashed potato mixture. Remove from heat and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until cool.

3. Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat.

4. Mix cilantro and green chile peppers into the potato and beef mixture. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto each phyllo sheet. Fold sheets into triangles, pressing edges together with moistened fingers.

5. In small batches, fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

For making your own more traditional dough: 2 cups of plain flour ¼ tsp salt 4 tbsp of oil/ghee 4 tbsp of water
Method for base

1. Mix all the ingredients for the base together with your fingers until it forms a dough. Add tiny bit more water if needed.

2. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth.

3. Put it in a plastic bag and set aside for 30 minutes or longer, in the refrigerator if possible.

4. Then take a walnut-sized portion of dough, and then roll it out to about 4 inches across. Put a couple of TB of filling in, fold dough over to make a semicircle, press seams together, roll edges over, and fry 'til golden.

Jeanne