Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Now it’s the new year, we are ready to throw ourselves back into more adventurous recipes and cook up a storm in Vorovoro’s Vale ni Kuro!

The kitchen so far has been steaming with creativity and energy thanks to our talented tribe as well as from our fantastic chefs Vasiti and Francis who have been working very hard and are eager to learn new recipes shared by the tribe. Of course, Kesa and Chelli, the cheeky giggle generators have to have a mention too! Although we had to say goodbye to Tukana as his studies have started again, (the man power in the kitchen as well as the coconut husking teacher and champion!), we now have Nemane back on the team and he’s doing a terrific job!

This week we bring to you one of our popular lunch time treats…patiently prepared and carefully cooked by the kitchen team…our very own Vorovoro Samosas! These were originally made by one of our tribe members back in September and have been in high demand ever since! Sarjeet Gill kindly passed her cooking skills and knowledge to Va so we are able to embrace more of the Indo-Fijian culture too. Although the traditional samosa is made in a triangular parcel, after hours of tweaking and perfecting many a creation, Va has officially decided to make the Samosa special to Vorovoro…ours are made in the shape of a semi circle or in island language, a half moon!

VOROVORO SAMOSAS (makes about 25)

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups plain flour
5 cups water
2lbs potatoes
2 large aubergine or as Fijians say ‘Egg Plant’
A handful of green beans
1 onion
A clove of garlic
A bunch of coriander
A sprinkle of mustard seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

METHOD:

To make the filling

Finely cut the onions and garlic and lightly fry in olive oil.
Dice the egg plant, green beans and potatoes.
Add the egg plant into the frying pan and keep turning until golden.
Boil the potatoes until almost soft and then drain.
Mix all together.
Throw in a sprinkle of salt, a few pinches of pepper, the coriander and mustard seeds.

The filling is ready! Now onto the dough:

Make a paste with half a cup of flour and half a cup of water. Put to one side.
Pour the rest of the flour into a bowl and add a dash of salt.
Add the water, little by little and stir together until the dough is soft.

Once the dough has been made and the filling finished, you are now ready to put the two together!

Break off a ball of dough and roll into a 15cm circle/ 3mm thick.
Place a couple of spoonfuls of filling on one side of the dough leaving an inch around the outside. Top tip! Don’t add too much otherwise there will be ‘filling spillage’.
Grab the paste and lightly brush around the edge of the circle. This will help stick the dough together.
Fold over one half to cover the filling and gently smooth the two edges together.
Then, press into this edge with a fork to complete the seal.
Put to one side and then repeat until all dough is used.
Once all samosas are made, heat the olive oil in a frying pan.
Shallow fry the samosa at a medium heat and keep turning over until each side goes brown.
Drain any excess oil and place onto a serving tray.

You can also spice up the samosas by adding alternative vegetables such as diced pumpkin or courgette or for all those meat machines out there, mince or chicken works well too.

SERVING TIP FROM VA:

‘Ooh very nice with the salad. The Coconut salad that we make and you people love, you know?! You just grate it and add the coriander and the hot pepper, the chilli. Right. It’s very easy, just mix together. Adds another flavour onto the plate. Very good. Heeeehehehe’

So, from our head chef’s super suggestion, we thought we better add the coconut salad recipe for you all to enjoy too….

COCONUT SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

One coconut
One onion
A small chilli (depending on your spice thermometer!)
A handful of homegrown mint or coriander
A drizzle of lemon/lime
Pepper Corns
A dash of salt

METHOD:

Grate the coconut into a bowl.
Finely chop the onion and chilli and add to the coconut.
Slice the herbs and scatter into the mix.
Squeeze in the lemon/lime. You can also grate some of the rind to give it a zesty kick!
Grind the pepper and sprinkle.

…Voila! The salad is sa oti!

If you can’t grab a coconut, the samosas are also delicious dipped into chutney…and if you want to keep the tropical feel, mango or pawpaw are very tasty choices.

Scrumdiliumptious! Vina’a va’a levu Aunty Va!