Curried Chickpea Rolls- Indian in a puff pastry!

Chickpea Curry- what a great filling for a puff pastry roll!  Another riff on rolls.  These are great portable snacks!  and they make great appies!  No puff pastry? - use fillo.

This recipe isn't an exact science.  I throw in a handful of this and a handful of that... whatever you have on hand to make the best curried chickpea filling ever.

This recipe makes 2 10-inch rolls or 5 filo pastries "ish".


 Ingredients
1 cup     dried chickpeas
2 tbsp    olive oil
1 tbsp    coconut oil
4            garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup    red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 small  hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp     ground cumin
1 tbsp   Madras curry powder
1 tsp     garam masala
1 lbs     spinach leaves, washed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup    raisins
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp   plain yogourt
1 handful, fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp  cayenne
salt to taste
1 lb      package of puff pastry, thawed
egg wash

Directions
Soak chickpeas overnight.  Drain, cover with water and cook until soft.  Drain chickpeas and mash them until slightly lumpy- the mixture should not be smooth.

Soak the raisins in the coconut milk to plump them up (about fifteen minutes).  Heat oil over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion, red pepper and hot pepper- cook three - four minutes or until softened.  Add cumin, Madras curry, garam masala and coconut oil and cook until fragrant, approximately 10 minutes.  Add the spinach, stir one minute, until slightly wilted, remove from heat. Let cool.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the chickpeas, raisins and coconut milk, breadcrumbs, yogourt, mint, and cayenne.  Taste and adjust the seasonings and add salt to taste.

Cut puff pastry into two five by ten inch (or twelve inch) rectangles.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Divide the mixture into two portions.  Roll each portion into a log the length of your puff pastry rectangle. Place each log lengthwise into the center of the puff pastry and brush the long edge with the egg wash.  Fold the pastry over (like a sushi roll).  Brush all over with egg wash and sprinkle with paprika.  Bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.  To serve, cut the roll into serving pieces.

If using filo, cut the sheets into six-inch wide strips.  Place one sheet on the counter, brush with melted butter and top with another sheet, again brushed with butter.  Place about 1/2 cup of filling at one end and fold over. Use less filling for an appie size portion.  Bake in a 400 degree oven until golden.

If you want to freeze the rolls, do so before cooking them.  Place them on a cookie sheet, in the freezer, until frozen.  Then place into freezer bags until ready to cook.  When you want to serve, preheat the oven and cook from frozen.