The samosas you find in an Indian restaurant are typically made with a wheat flour pastry and fried in oil. This vegan recipe makes this tasty Indian appetizer much healthier with the use of protein-rich buckwheat flour, flavourful spelt flour and suggests baking rather than frying the vegan samosa pastry.
Buckwheat flour is most commonly used in the United States in pancake batter, but the high protein value and mineral content make it great for use in other breads and pastries as well. Buckwheat, however, is not related to wheat, rather it is in the Polygonaceae family, which also contains sorrel and rhubarb. This means that the buckwheat flour does not have gluten (the proteins in wheat that give dough its elasticity) and will not rise in the same way as wheat breads do. Typically, wheat flour is added to a buckwheat flour dough so it will rise and form a loaf.
Buckwheat is a great addition to any diet as it is a very good source of manganese, magnesium, dietary fiber and protein, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database.
Spelt flour is also a good source of manganese, as well as B2, niacin and copper. Because it is in the wheat family (Triticum), it does contain gluten and is not suitable for those suffering from Celiac disease. In this vegan samosa pastry recipe, the gluten in the spelt develops around the buckwheat flour to form a hearty, flaky crust.
How to Make Vegan Samosa Pastry with Buckwheat Flour and Spelt Flour
Makes enough pastry dough for 18 snack-size or 9 lunch-size samosas
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon vegan margarine
- 1/4 -1/2 cup water, more if needed
Directions
- Sift flours together, add salt and mix.
- Cut the vegan margarine into the flours until it forms a coarse, crumbly mixture.
- Mix in the 1/4 cup of water and add more one spoonful at a time, until a dough forms.
- Knead the dough for two minutes, until the flour is all mixed through and the dough is slightly stretchy.
- Let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into snack-sized or lunch servings, roll into pastry rounds and fill with vegan samosa filling. Note: Be careful when rolling as this pastry is not as elastic as an all wheat flour so it will crumble a bit.
- Bake the filled pastry in a 350F oven for 20 minutes, flipping the pastries half way through baking.
Sources
www.spelt.com
www.whfoods.com
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