One of the husband’s favorite Indian snacks is samosas.
I don’t blame him – they’re the perfect combination of crispy, flaky, spicy and sweet – with the lightly fried pastry crust just topping it off. They’re super addicting and very delicious.
But, they’re not exactly healthy.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoy samosas once in a while as a fun treat, but there’s no way I could eat them regularly. Which is sad, because the flavors of samosas are so great that you really do want to eat them all the time.
And so, I decided to remake samosas into a healthy meal by using all of the great flavors of samosas, but repackaging the “crust” and “filling” with more good-for-you-but-still-tasty ingredients.
The husband LOVED this dish.
I paired it with this Tamarind Chutney that I picked up at the grocery store:
And it literally tasted JUST like samosas.
This recipe was inspired by one I found on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, but I’ve modified it pretty significantly to give it a lot more flavor and texture than the original. My modified recipe is below!
The Ingredients
Serves 6
- 4 medium red potatoes
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into small cubes
- 1 red onion, minced
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1-1.5 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp curry powder (the more you use, the spicier it will be!)
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Optional if you really like it spicy: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more to taste)
- Whole grain tortillas (1 per serving), or Naan (I used the frozen Naan from Trader Joe’s for the husband’s wrap)
- Roasted cashews, chopped (1 Tbsp per wrap)
- Tamarind Chutney, thinned slightly with water (a couple tsp per wrap)
The Directions
Step 1: Chop all of your veggies
Step 2: Heat a deep non-stick skillet over medium heat with 2 tsp canola oil, and add the onion. Cook until onion begins to become translucent. Add peas, tomato, ginger, jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring, until peas thaw.
Step 3: Squeeze tofu lightly to remove as much water as possible. Cut into small cubes. Cut the potatoes into small cubes as well (I like making the tofu cubes and the potato cubes the same size). Add potatoes and tofu to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, salt, curry powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne (optional). Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Note: the smaller the potato cubes are, the faster they will cook!
Step 4: Remove cover and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes are fork tender. Add lemon juice and stir to combine.
Step 5: Warm tortillas or naan according to package directions. Place 1/6 of the filling in the center of the wrap, top with 1 Tbsp cashews.
That was the husband’s version. My version was in a whole wheat tortilla, and looked like this:
Step 6: Top with a drizzle of the Tamarind Chutney, wrap, and enjoy!
The husband’s version:
My version:
The nutritional stats on this dish are pretty great.
- 1/6 of the filling + 1 whole wheat tortilla (that’s approx 100 calories) + 1 Tbsp cashews = ~300 calories, 8g fiber and ~15g protein
- 1/6 of the filling + 1 Trader Joe’s naan (about 200 calories) + 1 Tbsp cashews = ~400 calories, 7g fiber, ~15g protein
Not bad for a samosa makeover that’s a healthy and filling meal!
.
Spicy Samosa Wraps with Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients
- 4 medium red potatoes
- 14 ounces extra-firm tofu cut into small cubes
- 1 red onion minced
- 1 cup frozen green peas
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 1-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper stemmed, seeded and finely diced
- 1/2-3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp curry powder the more you use, the spicier it will be!
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Optional if you really like it spicy: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or more to taste
- Whole grain tortillas 1 per serving, or Naan (I used the frozen Naan from Trader Joe’s for the husband’s wrap)
- Roasted cashews chopped (1 Tbsp per wrap)
- Tamarind Chutney thinned slightly with water (1-2 tsp per wrap)
Instructions
- Chop all of your veggies
- Heat a deep non-stick skillet over medium heat with 2 tsp canola oil, and add the onion. Cook until onion begins to become translucent. Add peas, tomato, ginger, jalapeno pepper. Cook, stirring, until peas thaw.
- Squeeze tofu lightly to remove as much water as possible. Cut into small cubes. Cut the potatoes into small cubes as well (I like making the tofu cubes and the potato cubes the same size). Add potatoes and tofu to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, salt, curry powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne (optional). Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Note: the smaller the potato cubes are, the faster they will cook!
- Remove cover and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes are fork tender. Add lemon juice and stir to combine.
- Warm tortillas or naan according to package directions. Place 1/6 of the filling in the center of the wrap, top with 1 Tbsp cashews.
- Top with a drizzle of the Tamarind Chutney, wrap, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
TAGS: entrees, indian recipes, kid friendly recipes, sandwiches, vegan, vegetarian
Thanks for the book rec! An of course, the recipe!
No problem!! Hope you like it!
These look amazing! We are vegan and I’m always looking for something a little different to try … the flavor combination, here, sounds so good! Can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yay!! Yes this is definitely a great recipe for a filling, vegan meal – hope you enjoyed it when you tried it!
Great recipe!
Thanks Kamal!! I’m sure you will love it when you make it!
Nice wrap! And with tamarind chutney..Oh I am craving for it now 🙂
Thanks so much Medeja!! The tamarind chutney really makes this dish – it adds that bit of extra flavor that makes this meal taste EXACTLY like a samosa.
Looks fantastic, can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Scott!! Let me know how it turns out for you!
And by substituting a teff or brown rice tortilla, it becomes gluten-free!
GREAT point Linda!! For all of those g-free eaters out there – make sure to try this recipe with Linda’s easy substitution! 🙂
I’ve never heard of samosas, but after reading your post I can’t wait to try them! They look great. And your modified recipe looks filling as well as healthy! Love the pictures that you posted of the different steps; the colors of the veggies are so beautiful and bright.
Thanks so much Alyssa!! I’m glad it’s helpful! And if you’ve never tried samosas – you should definitely give them a taste – they are a delicious and decadent Indian snack! Most Indian restaurants have them on their menus – I’d suggest going to a higher end Indian restaurant that has samosas – so you get the best quality version/experience 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Looks awesome! What store did you find the tamarind chutney at? Love your blog!
Thanks Kimberly!! I got the tamarind chutney at Berkeley Bowl, but I think you can find this brand at pretty much any Whole Foods or even some major grocery stores. You can look for a store near you that carries it here: http://www.sukhis.com/ (and you can order it online from sukhis.com too!)
Looks amazing! Will definitely try the recipe!
Let me know how you like it Malin!!
I couldn’t find tamarind sauce anywhere, so I tried substituting BBQ sauce…and it ended up tasting really good! Hopefully I can find tamarind soon though, it’s one of my favorite flavors! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Oh BBQ sauce is a great alternative! But yes – there is nothing like tamarind sauce 🙂 You can buy it online if you can’t find it your local grocery store – here is the one that I used: Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Food, Tamarind Chutney, 6/8 Oz
– hope that helps!
Excited to make this tonight! I went to Whole Foods last week and found the Tamarind Chutney on sale… score!
Awesome!! Let me know how it turns out Casey! 🙂
I ended up waiting until tonight to make it, and it is divine! I only used one tomato (it was all I had on hand), 1.5 tsp ground ginger because my fresh ginger had dried up, and the max curry powder and cayenne – LOVE spicy stuff here. I served it on the TJ’s naan… special treat for me. OH MY GOSH this is delicious! How do you come up with this stuff?
Awwww yay!!! Hehe you are too sweet Casey – I’m so glad you liked it! Oh and yes – serving it on the TJ’s naan is really a treat – it’s the husband’s favorite way to enjoy this recipe!
Hi! this recipe looks great, but my husband really does not like tofu. What would be a good substitute?
Thanks,
Smita
Hi Smita! Chickpeas could probably be a decent substitute for tofu. You can even mash them up while they’re cooking in the pan so they have a more “samosa” like consistency. Why don’t you try 1 15oz can in place of the tofu and let me know how it turns out!
I don’t often comment on recipes, but this one is so fabulous! La Tortilla Factory now has 50 calorie white whole wheat wraps, and I’ll use those to finish up the leftovers. But today, I had it with naan and it was knock your socks off delicious!!! I used a serrano which I had handy, and I used 2 T Madras curry powder. Everything else was the same. I will tape this one inside my cabinet door where all my go-to recipes are. Thank you so much!!!
I was so happy to hear this Kathy!! Love that you tried it with both naan and the tortilla — I agree the naan really does make it amazing but the tortilla wrap is pretty good too! Thanks and so glad you liked this recipe!