The story of Puff

The power of memories never fails to amaze me. We store in our memories a lifetime of experiences. I have no idea how they might be catalogued, but they return to us at odd times triggered by current experiences which start the wheels turning, and a stored memory pops into the mind’s DVD.

Most of these memories are triggered by one of the five senses. I realize that most of these sense-related memories for me are all due to one sense and one sense only - TASTE!

Every time I eat a cake from one of my favorite bakeries in Florida, I am reminded of a very kind gesture by my friend Ukachi. The particular cake that I like is sort of doused with rum. Of course, it's not enough to get you tipsy, but it certainly adds to the taste. This is what I craved when I was pregant with my son. Not a good choice when you carrying precious cargo in your belly! So, my dear friend, ordered this cake (special-order minus the rum) and brought it to the hospital day after I delivered the precious cargo. I always think about this happy little memory when I eat this particular cake.

I have countless such memories. One other that always pops up in my head is the story of Puff! It happened when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We were in India at the time. My parents had some really nice friends in the neighborhood. It was like a little family. We lived in the suburbs. One of my dad's friends worked in the city. One time he mentioned of a new invention in food - the puff! My parents got real excited and asked him to bring some for us. I still remember the way it smelled, oh and the taste! It was heavenly! Flaky pastry wrapped around gooey filling of potato and peas. The flavors burst open in your mouth with every bite. In India, it's not easy finding "raw" pastry dough to work with, so we always asked the uncle to bring them for us. Imagine my mother's delight when she found the puff pastry sheets in the U.S.! My family's love affair with the puff continues. It's still our favorite and the love has been passed on to the next generation. Here is the recipe:

Veggie Puffs

3 medium potatoes - cooked, peeled and coarsely mashed
1/2 cup peas - frozen or fresh
2 cloves garlic - minced
1" piece of ginger - minced
Serrano chillies (optional) - chopped
Spices - Turmeric (1/2 tsp), garam masala (1 tsp), red chilli powder (to taste), cumin-coriander powder (1 tsp
Salt to taste
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp oil of choice
1 tsp whole cumin
1 box of frozen puff pastry sheets - thawed for about an hour

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the cumin.
2. When the cumin pops, add the chillies (if using), garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute.
3. Add peas and mix. Add the potato, spices, salt, lime juice and coriander
4. Mix well and let the mixture cool.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 350.
6. The Pepperdige Farms sheets that I buy are folded in three layers. Cut the sheets at the fold and cut each fold into 3. The whole box makes about 9 little squares. Put two tablespoon of filling in the center of each square and fold into a triangle. Press the edges tightly with your fingers.
7. Arrange on a baking sheet and cook the prepared puffs in the oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. If you feel the bottoms are getting too brown, you can turn the puffs halfway during cooking.
8. Cool slightly and serve with a condiment of your choice. We usually eat them with either ketchup, coriander chutney or tamarind chutney.

Verdict:
I usually get to see the happy dance from my family when I make this. It's the combination of the flaky pastry with the spicy filling that creates such a joyous reaction in almost everyone I know. You can play around with different sorts of filling for this recipe. I've tried spinach/paneer (feta) and it was received with just as much fanfare. With a box of puff pastry sheets, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy!