Gold Bags

Thai cuisine is an interesting confluence of flavors and cooking styles. The ingredients used in this cuisine delicately balance the harmony of the dish. This recipe is one of the hit starter recipe in Thai cuisine. These are named "gold bags" as they look similar to a bag holding gold coins. Gold bags are dainty pouches filled with spicy vegetables. The ingredients and the flavors used for the filling is perfectly balanced and they match perfectly with the wrapper. These serve as a great starter when accompanied with sweet and sour dip. This dip goes great with this recipe. These gold bags can even be tied with a blade of lemon grass to give an authentic Thai look.

Makes 25 to 30 bags

Ingredients:
For the wrappers
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
1/2 tsp Salt

For the filling
1  tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes, 3 medium sized 
2 tbsps carrots, grated
2 tbsps roasted peanuts, ground
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
For the wrappers
Sieve the flour and salt together. Add the hot water gradually and make a soft dough. Knead for a while. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Apply oil on your palm and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Roll out thinly on a floured surface, using a rolling pin. To make these gold bags to look and taste better, roll the wrapper dough as thin as you can. Cut the rolled dough into 25 to 30 squares of 75 mm. (3 ").


For the filling
Pound the garlic, coriander leaves and peppercorns in a mortar to form a paste. In a bowl, mix the paste with mashed potatoes, carrots, peanuts, soya sauce, sugar and salt. Mix thoroughly. 


How to proceed:
Place a spring roll sheet on a dry surface.  Spoon a little of the filling mixture in the centre of the wrapper square and gather all 4 corners in the centre to form a pouch. Fluff out gathers to make it look like a money bag.



Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain and tie with a blade of lemon grass. This gives a very distinctive look.

Serve hot with the sweet and sour dip.