Vegetable Puff

Valentine's Day Special.. for the Wonderful Man I love ;-)

 A Love Leaf from Thenu's Diary:  A little celebration of Love.. through a tangible token called Veg Puffs. :-P

Now for the recipe:
Filling:

• Boil 1 Potato. Peel and Grate.
• Steam a cup of mixed vegetables of your choice (Peas, Carrot mostly) 
• Gently squeeze out extra water from the veges and coarse grind the vegetables
• In a hot pan, add 3 tsp of oil
• Season it with 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, a pinch of hing, 1 curry leaf (crumbled to pieces)
• Add 1/2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste, a pinch of turmeric and saute on low flame
• Toss in the ground veges and suate them along for couple of mins
• Add 1/2 tsp of any masala powder (Pav bhaji or garam masala or curry powder)
• Add salt per taste and 1/4 tsp of red chilly powder
• Saute the veges till they all incorporate well (should take about 2 more minutes)
• Optionally add very little butter or ghee or 1/2 tsp of oil
• Mix them well and set it aside to cool

Now make small balls out of the fillings. Make a dent in the middle of each ball and add few drops of Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce. gently close the dent with a thin layer of the same filling. The fillings are ready. Let us see how to assemble them. Before that, you need some sort of edible glue to seal the pastries.. You can either mix Maida with little water and use that OR use Egg Whites..Once you have that ready, proceed further along with the below instructions.

Method:

• Lay your pastry squares (fresh or frozen) on a clean flat surface (cutting board, or plate etc)
• With your fingers apply the egg white (or maida mix) on the top and right edges of the square
• Gently flatten the Vege ball and place it closer to a corner of the square
• Now pull the top right corner of the square to touch the bottom left corner
• This makes a neat triangle covering the filling at the center
• Seal the edges by pressing them together gently. The egg white will make them stick
• Do the same for the rest of the squares
• Place them all on a cookie sheet leaving an inch on all sides around each puff 
• This is to ensure that the puffs have room to expand during the baking
• Using a brush coat the top of the puffs with the remaining egg white  
• Garnish the top with sliced nuts of your choice.. Almonds, pistas, cashews...

Preheat the Oven to 385 degrees and bake it for about 23 to 25 minutes (or until the puff gets that golden brown glaze). Serve it with Chai or as is and ofcourse with your irresistible love. ;-)
Happy Day to all of you!