Samosa Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

Proof that potatoes do not need to be slathered in loads of butter, cheese, and sour cream to taste good! (Not that I don't enjoy the occasional butter-, cheese-, and sour cream-slathered potato but I usually prefer less artery-clogging food).

These were lovely! I made them as twice-baked potatoes but the original recipe called for making them as potato skin-style appetizers (yes, now I'm thinking I need to plan a Bollywood movie night so I can make these yummy things as part of the menu!)
As I made them, they make a great meal on their own or with a salad (I should have planned better and bought stuff to make a chutney for them...) or make them as potato skins and have them as a starter for a curry dish.


Excuse the crappy photo... hubby left for Texas this morning and took my camera leaving me to take this with my phone. The finished potato was really pretty; this does not do it justice.

I bet you could make these the night before, wrap them up and keep them refrigerated, and then just heat up for lunch the next day.

Makes 2 twice-baked potatoes or 4 potato skin appetizers

Ingredients:
2 Russet potatoes, scrubbed, baked, and cooled
1/8 cup non-dairy milk, veggie broth, or water (I used broth)
A little non-dairy, non-hydrogenated margarine (1/2-1 tsp.)
1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup carrots, cut into small dice or shredded
1/2 cup onion, cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup frozen peas (leave them frozen)
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Extra canola oil for brushing the skins
Cilantro and/or green onions as a garnish (completely forgot I was going to add those until now)

Method:
1. If you are making twice-baked potatoes, slice off the top of the potato leaving three sides intact. Scoop out the potato flesh and place it in a bowl. Be careful not to break the skins. Set the skins aside.
If you are making potato skins, slice the potatoes in half and then scoop out the filling. Again, be careful not the break the skins. Set the skins aside.

2. Mash the potato filling with the milk, water, or veggie broth and margarine until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and saute until the onions are lightly browned and both veggies are soft (7-10 minutes).

4. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute. Add the mustard, coriander, cumin, curry powder, turmeric, and salt along with a little splash of water. You can add more water if it looks too dry. Stir well.

5. Add the onion-carrot mixture to the mashed potato filling and mix well. At this point, I poured a little water into the skillet to pick up more of the spice mixture. I added the frozen peas to the skillet/water and gave them a quick stir. Drain the peas and then add them to the potato mixture. Add the lemon juice and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.

6. Brush the outside of the skins with a little extra canola oil and then scoop the potato mixture into each skin. Press gently so you have the entire potato shell filled.

7. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and sliced green onions if desired.

Note:
If you're going to eat the skins, try to find organic potatoes. Potatoes are on the "dirty dozen" list of items with high concentrations of pesticides.

Reference:
Based on Samosa Stuffed Potatoes from Veganomicon.
I made several changes:
*As mentioned above, I made mine as twice-baked potatoes.
*I added the margarine and curry powder.
*The original called for peanut oil. I just used canola.
*Original recipe called for yellow mustard seeds and coriander seeds and to add these to the skillet prior to adding the onion and carrot. I just used ground mustard and ground coriander and added them with the other spices.
*The original said to add the potato filling into the skillet and heat it through. I skipped this and just added the stuff from the skillet into the potato filling in a bowl. I also decided to throw a little water into the empty skillet and swish the peas around in that to try to get a little more of the spices.