Veggie Patties or Puffs

Story:
This recipe has a really special place in my heart! I takes me back home.. to fond memories of a common scene on Sunday mornings - Neeraj, my brother has got Patties from the legendary Santosh Bakery.. me, Manasi and Neeraj are eating Patties in front of the TV - along with coffee (mostly milk) that my mom made (chai was only for grown ups!). We are watching He Man or Ramayan or Mahabharat or Chanakya (depending on the timeline) and on very rare occasions we would get up early enough to watch Rangoli! I used to hate eating the bhaaji inside the Patties.. so I would give that to Neeraj and just eat the puffs. and the whole family would be enjoying the lazy Sunday morning together...

But all this joy came for a price - you had to wake up early to get the Patties - otherwise Santosh would run out of them really quickly. Also there was this tiny 6 by 2 feet area in front of the counter full with customers.. as kids - we had an advantage we could sneak in between and get in front of the line pretty quickly. It was not easy to acquire this skill - I took formal training from Neeraj before I could buy Patties on my own.. :-).

The Patties are special because they are made fresh completely from scratch in a brick oven right in front of your eyes.. Santosh is still there.. and I will find a way to get pictures of this place to share with everyone..Just an outstanding bakery!

I was thrilled to get to a recipe for the veggie puffs that taste even remotely similar to taste of Santosh Bakery!


Source: Masala - Wah Wah Productions & Technique - First learned it from Richa and Vinay Mooley
Time: 1 hrs
Ingredients:

• 1 Large Potatoe - Boiled, peeled and cut into 1 inch squares
  
• 1.5 cup of frozen mix veggies: with pieces of beans, carrot, corn and peas. (defrosted)
  
• 1 inch of fresh ginger - grated
  
• 2 green chillies - cut into small pieces
  
• 4-6 curry leaves
  
• a pinch of red chilly powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• 1tbsp Oil, hing, turmeric powder and mustard seeds for Tadka
• 1 pack of Pillsbury frozen puff pastry sheets
  

Recipe:

Pre heat the oven at 400 F.
Take the Pillsbury pastry sheets out of the fridge for defrosting.

Mix the spices with the Potatoe pieces (ginger, chillies, salt, red chilly powder, garam masala).
Mix well, taste a piece and keep covered for about 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan and add hing, turmeric powder and mustard seeds for tadka.
Add Potatoes and Mix veggies to the Tadka and saute for a couple of minutes. Cover the pan and keep the heat at slow-medium flame for 3-4 minutes.

Turn the heat off - the filling is ready.

There are two large sheets in a Pillsbury box. Each sheet makes 6 veggie puffs. Cut the pastry sheet into 6 pieces. Fill one piece at a time and fold the press lightly to close the puff.
Put little more than a spoonful of the masala in each puff.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or till the color is golden brown.
Enjoy with Chai or Coffee..