Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Sweet Potato and Coconut Curry Dumplings

Steamed dumplings are one of my favorite things to order when I am at an Asian restaurant. I love the soft, chewy dumpling wrapper and the delicious fillings. You can buy them in the freezer section at the grocery store, but they really aren't all that hard to make at home. If you make up a big batch, you can freeze them and pop them into a steamer or fry them up any time you need some. These sweet potato coconut curry ones are a favorite of mine. The filling is sweet and savory with the heat of the curry powder. I always serve them with a simple yogurt sauce on the side for dipping to cool down the heat from the curry. Plus, these are super cute! You can buy dumplings premade in the freezer section, but these will be more special because you made them yourself!Sweet Potato and Coconut Curry Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1/2 cup coconut flakes
3 plump scallions
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. curry powder (you can add more if your curry powder is mild)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
olive oil
1 light beer
24 won ton wrappers

1. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1 inch pieces. Also, roughly chop the scallion and garlic.
2. Heat about 1 Tbs. oil in a pot on medium heat and add potatoes, coconut, scallions, garlic, spices, salt and pepper. Cook together for 4-5 minutes until soft.
3. Add beer, bring it to a low boil, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are tender.
4. Put this mixture into a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. It won't be very smooth because of the coconut. it will retains some texture, which is exactly what you want.
5. Set up a workstation with your won ton wrappers, your sweet potato puree, and a small dish of water. Lay the won tons flat on a clean surface and use your finger or a brush to dampen the edges of the wrapper with water so that it sticks together.
6. Dollop a tsp. of the sweet potato puree into the center and fold up the wrapper into a little purse.
I lifted two opposite corners and pressed them together and then pressed the other two opposite corners together and smushed the four corners together until it look semi-won ton-ish.
At this stage, you can set them ona parchment-lined backing sheet and freeze them. Once they are frozen, you can dump them into a freezer bag and take them out whenever you want.

7. To steam the dumplings, boil water in your steamer and cook the dumplings for 6-8 minutes until cooked through.
If you don't have a steamer, you can deep fry them in vegetable oil until light golden brown. You could also saute them in a wok in some oil until warmed through and the wrapper is cooked.
Serve them with a dipping sauce of 1/4 cup plain yogurt with a squirt of lemon or lime juice and a pinch of salt.

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