E’s Samosa Wraps

by Susan Voisin on June 23, 2009
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Samosa Wraps

Like a lot of 12-year olds, my daughter E is hesitant to try new foods—and when I say hesitant, I mean she has to be bribed, threatened, or otherwise coerced into trying them. So when I recently picked up a couple of Amy’s Samosa Wraps because they were on sale, I hoped to get her to try them for a change from her usual lunches, but I figured that if she didn’t like them, my husband would eat them.

As they say, be careful what you wish for. Not only did she try them, she loved them so much that she wanted to eat them every day. As far as processed foods go, Amy’s wraps are, nutritionally, not so terrible, and when they’re on sale, the price is not bad (I got two for $5.00). But I don’t want E eating any one food every day, so when the current stash of on-sale Amy’s Samosas is depleted, she’ll have to go back to eating “boring food” for lunch.

The ingredients listed on the Amy’s wrapper looked fairly simple—potatoes, wheat flour, tomatoes, onions, peas, tofu, oil, and spices—so I decided to make a copy-cat version that maybe I could get E to enjoy as much as the original. The one major change I made (besides leaving out the oil) was using frozen tofu instead of fresh. As you know, freezing tofu gives it a spongy, chewy texture, and I thought it would help the wraps hold up better and not be mushy. Well, it turns out that E likes the mushier texture of Amy’s samosa filling. She describes the tofu as “more like scrambled tofu” and missed that quality in my homemade version. She also wasn’t a fan of the Ezekiel tortilla that I used in the first wrap I made (pictured in the photos) but she promised to try it again in a “normal” wrap. In the end, she gave my attempt “4 out of 5 crumbs” on her Num-Crumb Scale, and I’m hoping that if I use mashed tofu in my next attempt, she’ll give me that 5th crumb!

E’s Samosa Wraps

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You can make this with crumbled, non-frozen tofu but you may not need much or any water. Or, if you’re avoiding soy products, double the amount of potatoes and leave the tofu out altogether. This mixture would also be good stuffed into a pita or rolled into a homemade chapati.

Ingredients

1 pound (450 g) red or gold potatoes (about 2 medium)
14 ounces (390 g) extra-firm tofu, frozen for 24 hours and thawed
1 medium onion, minced
1 cup (236 ml) frozen green peas
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
1/2 – 3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt to taste
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 whole-grain tortillas (may use gluten-free)

Instructions

Cook the potatoes, unpeeled, in boiling water until they’re tender (pierce easily with a fork). Remove from water and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (6mm).
Squeeze tofu to remove as much water as possible. Cut into 1/4-inch cubes.
Heat a deep non-stick skillet and add the onion. Cook on medium-high until onion begins to brown. Add peas, tomato, ginger, jalapeno pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring, until peas thaw.
Add potatoes and tofu to skillet along with 1/2 cup water, salt, curry powder, coriander, cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Remove cover and cook until most liquid has evaporated. Check to see if more salt or lemon is needed.
Warm tortillas according package directions. Place 1/6 of filling in center of wrap, fold bottom edge up, and fold sides over filling. Serve with mango chutney, if desired.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 35 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 6

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1/6 of a recipe (8.7 ounces) using 8-inch whole wheat tortillas:

Recipe Nutrition
Percent daily values are based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.

Note: If you use the filling without tortillas, the nutritional breakdown is as follows: 153 calories, 4.25g fat, 427g sodium, 21.56g total carbohydrates, 3.9g fiber. Calories from fat: 35.52 (23%). My Points: 2.56.

Wrap it Up! Here are some other lunch ideas you may enjoy:

Sweet Potato Falafel

Pav Bhaji

E’s Samosa Wraps