Sweet Potato Phyllo Samosas

My sister had been bugging me about making samosas for about a month. On Friday I finally agreed, but when I told her they would be sweet potato samosas, her response was "What? Why?! Just make them normal."
OH
:(
I had definitely been expecting a little more enthusiasm. Oh well.

I decided to split up the batch and make 1/3 "normal", 1/3 sweet potato, and 1/3 sweet/normal mix.

The 100% normal ones were fine, of course, but the 100% sweet ones were a little too sweet and mushy. I thought the mixed ones turned out the best, with a 2:1 ratio of regular potato to sweet potato.

In the end, my sister conceded that they weren't bad: she just couldn't eat them with the raita I usually make for samosas because it was "too much. I feel like I'm eating dessert." Hmm, any ideas for a sauce that could accompany them would be appreciated. I like to make the samosas spicy, so something mouth-cooling would be an ideal complement.

Anyway, phyllo dough can be kind of a pain to work with if you've never used it before, but it's really not so bad once you get the hang of it. The first samosas I ever made were from the Moosewood cookbook. The filling was good, but I wasn't too impressed with the dough: they weren't crispy at all, and a little bland. The phyllo crisps up nicely in the oven and ends up being more similar in texture to fried samosas. I don't worry too much about the shape; this time I just made them into squares and cut them into triangles after they were baked. If you really want the nice, neat triangle look, try following the photos/directions in this recipe.

Also, you may want to add more peppers or cayenne if you want something a little spicier. The one pepper will be on the mild side for someone who likes things hot.

Sweet Potato Phyllo Samosas
Ingredients:
1 box frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2 medium sized russet potatoes
1 sweet potato (total amt of potatoes should be from around 2.5 to just under 3 lbs)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (optional, omit if you don't like fennel)
12 fenugreek seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt (more/less to taste)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced (keep the seeds if you want it spicier)
cayenne pepper, to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs minced or grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
2 tbs lime (or lemon) juice
1.5 cups frozen green peas (frozen are nice b/c they don't get mushy when you stir them in, but you can use non-frozen if you are careful not to crush them)
olive/vegetable oil or melted butter
pastry brush

1. Peel the potatoes and sweet potato (if you like the peel, go ahead and leave it on), and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Place them in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil until tender, about 25 minutes. You can gather your other ingredients and do any preparation/chopping during this time. When they are ready, drain, mash, and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tbs of oil or butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When hot, first add the cumin and fennel seeds, and then the mustard and fenugreek seeds. When they begin to change color and pop, add the chopped onion and salt. Saute over medium heat about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, pepper, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lime juice. Saute a minute or two more.
4. Add the mashed potatoes, and mix well. Taste and adjust spices as needed. Remove from heat and gently stir in the peas. Let cool for a few minutes. (Ideally at least 15 minutes)
5. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and oil a baking sheet. Fill a small bowl with about 1/2 cup or more of oil or melted butter.
6. Unroll the phyllo dough and take a sheet from the stack. As you work, make sure to cover the remaining phyllo dough with a sheet of parchment paper, covered with a damp paper towel, to keep the dough from drying out. (Don't place the damp towel directly on the dough or it will get soggy). Using a pastry brush, brush the surface of the sheet with your oil/butter. Take another sheet from the pile and layer it on top of the sheet you just oiled. Brush this sheet with oil, take a third sheet and layer it on the other two. Place about 2 tbs of filling in the center of the layered sheets and fold into a little package. (or see link in post above on how to make triangles). Place on baking sheet and generously brush the top with oil. Repeat until you have used up all your filling.
7. Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.