Vegetable Pies (Turnovers)

I was recently introduced to this menu item and I loved it. Up until now, I had only eaten samosas. These vegetable pies, on the other hand, use flaky and buttery puff pastry for the outer crust so you can never go wrong. For the first time, they turned out pretty well. It looks like alot of steps, but it's really easy and cleanup is even easier. Here's the rundown ...

1 sheet of Pepperidge Farms puff pastry, defrosted

1 pack of frozen mixed vegetables

1 potato, peeled and diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp asafoetida powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

Chopped cilantro

For stuffing:

1. In a bowl, soak chopped onions in vinegar. Keep aside.

2. If you do not have time to defrost the mixed vegetables, just run them under hot tap water in a colander. Drain well. The green beans were bigger in size compared to other vegetables, so I chopped them into thirds. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter fully. Remove from heat. Off heat, add asafoetida powder followed by potatoes. Mix well.

3. Return to medium high heat and add salt next. Cover lid.

4. After about 5 minutes, add the mixed vegetables to pot. Also, add the turmeric powder, garlic paste and ginger paste. Cover lid.

5. After about 5 more minutes, reduce heat to medium and add the garam masala and red chili powder. Mix again and cover lid.

6. When the vegetables are cooked, add in the sugar, lemon juice and hot sauce.

7. Squeeze out the vinegar from the onions and add the pickled onions to the stuffing. Also, add the chopped cilantro and mix one final time. Adjust seasoning per taste, keeping in mind that the spice level should be higher due to the pies being baked in the oven. (Stuffing should be spicy and sour.)

For pies:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Spread a generous amount of all purpose flour on your work surface. Lay out your sheet of puff pastry on top of the flour.

3. Roll out the pastry into a rectangular shape.

4. Cut the pastry in half horizontally and into thirds vertically until you have 6 fairly equal size pieces.

5. Take each piece one at a time and roll a few times more. Place stuffing in center of the pastry, leaving one inch open for closure. Using your finger, brush water or milk along the border of the pastry.

6. Fold the pastry over. Pinch closed and prick with fork on all three sides. Make a slit on top with a knife to release steam. Finally, brush the tops with milk.

7. Spread a generous amount of cornmeal on top of a baking sheet. Place the vegetable pies onto the baking sheet.

8. Bake the pies for 30 minutes.

For instant spicy chutney/sauce:

1. Mix together equal amounts of Asian chili-garlic sauce with ketchup.

2. Enjoy with hot vegetable pies!

We gave these pies a 5 out of 5! The flavor was just right, having the perfect balance of sourness and spice. The pies were also the perfect golden brown, although some of the sides may have gotten too crispy. I would suggest reducing the baking time by a few minutes to resolve that issue. Also, I will also lay down parchment paper on the baking sheet next time (rather than using cornmeal). Otherwise, it was a great dinner!