Coconut samosa potato salad

February 16, 2015

Cindy had this samosa salad bookmarked for a while, and with some leftover mint to use up and tons of flaked coconut in the cupboard, we decided it was time to give it a shot. It's a pretty straightforward recipe, although it gets a bit more annoying if you don't realise you need to toast/roast your coconut and cashews until the last minute. Also: the original recipe wants you to make papadums and then crumble them up, but the lazy option of papadum chips worked fine for us and saved on deep-frying. 

We've had curry leaves in our freezer for ages, but suddenly they're cropping up in a few recipes and I'm starting to get a better sense of their role. They didn't add a lot of flavour to this dish - I'd think about doubling the amount next time - but the curry powder and herbs meant that it still packed a pretty flavoursome punch. It really did taste like the filling of a particularly fresh and well executed samosa. On its own, this might be a bit potato heavy - we served ours up with a generous base of baby spinach to mix things up a little bit - but it would make a brilliant potluck contribution or dinner party dish.

Coconut samosa potato salad
(based on this recipe from Terry Hope Romero)

salad

1kg potatoes (the recipe wanted russet potatoes, but I wound up with desiree), peeled and diced into 2cm cubes

1 cup frozen peas

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 bunch coriander, leaves only, washed and roughly chopped (1-2 cups)

1/2 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup unsalted cashews, roasted (we had raw cashews so I roasted them ineffectually under the grill - it's probably easier to buy them pre-roasted)

dressing
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
10 curry leaves, roughly chopped
4 teaspoons curry powder
juice of 2 limes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

garnish
1 small bag of pappadum chips, gently crushed
3/4 cup coconut flakes, lightly toasted

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and throw in the potato cubes - simmer them for about 25 minutes until they're cooked through. Throw in the peas for 2 minutes and then kill the heat, draining the veggies and leaving them to cool.

Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and then throw in the curry leaves, stir-frying for a minute or so. Turn off the heat and, while the pan is still hot, stir through the curry powder. Add in the lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper when things have cooled off and stir it all together.

Put the veggies in a large bowl and stir through the chickpeas, herbs and cashews. Mix through the dressing and serve, garnishing liberally with the crushed pappadum chips and coconut flakes.