Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspiration from the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea by Sumayya Usmani is the eagerly awaited follow up to the award winning Summers Under the Tamarind Tree which I reviewed in detail last year. The talented food writer and cookery teacher takes a sweet detour while continuing her journey of discovery through the exotic cuisine of her native Pakistan. 

This beautiful title introduces home cooks to Pakistani desserts and explores their unique significance in the country's culture and traditions. The 70 authentic and family recipes travel from the fruit-rich foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains in the north, via the fertile Punjab known for its rice and grain based desserts to the Arabian sea in the south, where saffron and cardamom flavored sweet recipes are a favourite.

The Bakar khani (sweet puff pastry biscuits) can be whipped up in 20 minutes or spend a little more time making the Balushahi (festive glazed curd doughnuts) - both of which look amazing. There are Afghani Gosh-e-fil (elephant ear-shaped fried pastry with ground pistachio and cardamom), Sweet Parathas filled with date, walnut and milk fudge, and Memon Lappi (crunchy oats with jaggery, cinnamon and fennel seeds marked to be tried in my treasured copy along with the samosas we are sharing with you here today.  

As with Summers Under the Tamarind Tree, Sumayya has spirited me away to her beloved Pakistan with her words and photographs and I am happy to experience this beautiful land through her recipes and stories. Special thanks to Frances Lincoln, for sharing the Spiced Apple Samosas with our members today. Be sure you enter our giveaway for a chance to win a copy of this book to delve into the sweetness that Pakistan has to offer.


Spiced Apple Samosas

These sweet samosas are inspired by the bountiful supply of apples in the north. They are gently spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and mace, which offer a warm comfort with each mouthful. Apples are also made into murraba and then eaten through the year.
 
Preparation 25 minutes | Cooking 20 minutes | Makes 6-8
 
For the pastry
 
150g/5½ oz/1 cup plus 2 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp fine semolina
water, as needed
vegetable oil, for oiling and deep-frying

For the filling

 6 Royal Gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
100g/3½ oz/½ cup golden caster (superfine) sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
3-4 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
a pinch of ground mace
 
To serve

150ml/5 fl oz/2⁄3 cup cream, whipped with 1 tsp rose water
1 tsp dried rose petals

Begin by making the pastry. Combine the flour, salt and semolina in a bowl, then slowly add enough water to bring all the ingredients together into a dough. Knead the dough on a clean floured work surface and form into a soft dough. Lightly grease your hands with oil, pat the dough down, cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest at room temperature.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat a saucepan, add the apples, sugar and spices and cook over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are soft, glistening and the sugar is dissolved and shiny. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

Knead the dough on a floured surface, then roll it out to 5mm/¼ inch thick. Using a 5-cm/2-inch diameter round pastry cutter, cut out 6-8 circles. To fill the samosas, place about 1 teaspoon of the filling for each samosa, on one half of the circle, then fold the dough into half moons and press the corners with a fork to close.

When all the samosas are made heat the oil for deep-frying in a large deep frying pan to 180°C/350°F, or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds.
 
Drop the samosas into the hot oil in batches. Deep-fry each samosa for 2-3 minutes on each side, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve immediately with whipped cream decorated with rose petals.

Photograph by Joanna Yee. 

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