Indian-Spiced Potato Pie

I'm not very good with spices.  We didn't spice a lot in our household - being Italian and Northern Chinese.  However, I've been watching Masterchef and there have been these challenges where John Torode (the presenter) makes some complex dish - like last time some Indian potato cakes and chickpeas - and then asks the contestants to recreate it. That made me nervous and sad, because I wouldn't be able to do it.  So then I looked up a bunch of Indian recipes and eventually tried making this filo Indian-spiced pie.

I can't believe I'm updating Happy Belly so often.  I have four essays and two exams left this semester and it's just not happening.  It's just one more month.  I don't even know, I feel kind of guilty for not doing work but at the same time strangely enough I don't really care.  Maybe I'm just exhausted.  Three and a half years of studying something I have no interest in and I can't get over the last hurdle.  This is when I give up. Hah. 
I'm writing an essay on neural prosthesis (it's quite fascinating how advanced prosthetic limbs are now), an essay on dementia care, an essay on gender differences in mathematical abilities and another on spatial abilities and stereotype threat.  I. Don't. Care.  Except for the neural prosthesis one because I think that's just quite nice (check out the TED talk here) though I'm not clever enough to understand the mechanisms behind it.

So instead of doing my degree, I'm just cooking and updating Happy Belly.  Just trying to improve my spice knowledge and skills with this recipe.  Quite nice if I may say so myself.  This was adapted from a number of sources.

Recipe entered for Betta Living Vegetarian Recipe competition

Serves 4-6
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2cm piece  ginger, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder
a bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
a large knob of butter (or oil)
4 sheets filo pastry

Method

Put the potatoes in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until soft.  Leave to cool then peal and roughly mash.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions.  Fry for a minute before adding the garlic, ginger, turmerc, garam masala and chili powder.  Fry for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes and mix. Check for seasoning and then stir in the coriander leaves.

Unroll the filo pastry and cover with a damp paper towel to stop it from drying it out while you work on your first layer.  Brush liberally with melted butter (or oil) and drape it oil-side down in a cake time or an oven-proof pan so that some of the pastry hangs over the side.  Brush oil on another piece of pastry and place in the tin, and then repeat until you have about 4 layers.  Spoon over the potato filling.  Pull the sides  of the pastry into the middle and make sure the filling is covered.  Brush with a bit more oil or an egg wash if you wish.  


Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.