Spinach poppers

Given my interest in cooking my friends have come to expect something "different" whenever I have them over for a game weekend. This last Sunday as we were planning to catch some crazy March Madness action, I was wondering what to experiment with. Just like that I had a craving for spanakopita - the Greek spinach stuffed bread. And I had it - poppers on the same lines, but of course, with an Indian touch. Now it had to be vegetarian and not very spicy (for a few friends cannot handle it), so I thought I'd keep it very basic. I basically started blind and kept tasting and taking notes as I went along. The result was quite a hit! Spinach poppers for the party and a very quick and easy to make recipe...

I have kept the proportions less for a serving size of 8-10 poppers. Here's what you need -
1/2 lb chopped spinach
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
4 oz paneer (Indian cottage cheese)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp garam masaala
Phyllo dough sheets (easily available at any supermarket)



Cooking -
1) Heat oil and fry the garlic for 30 seconds when hot.
2) Add the paneer and saute for about 10 minutes on medium heat. By this time the leaves should be tender.
3) Crumble the paneer and add it to the spinach along with the turmeric. Saute for another ten minutes.
4) Take off the heat and add the garam masaala and salt. Your filling is ready!

5) Set the oven to 350 F
6) Take one phyllo dough sheet at a time and brush it with melted butter (olive oil for the health conscious)
7) Fold the sheet about three times or until you have a 3-4 inch square

8) Place a dollop of the filling and fold up the sheet around it sealing the filling inside. Repeat until all your filling is used. With the measure above, you should have enough filling for 8-10 poppers.

9) Place the poppers on a baking tray and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until well browned (be sure to check often as phyllo dough burns easy)
(In the rush to get everything ready in time, I missed taking a photo of the end result. but its easily imaginable - looks like a bite sized puff pastry)


And that's it. Simple, right? Serve it with any dip or sauce - hot, ranch, ketchup. I served mine with a chinese sweet and sour sauce that tastes a lot like the Indian sweet tamarind chutney. I must say, the results were better than I expected! The spinach went very well with the paneer, and gave the poppers a very creamy texture. When served, they were gobbled up in 5 minutes!

Definitely a MAKE... and a very easy and quick make at that!