Do you remember the song from the Sound of Music that goes “Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens……..”?
I first heard that song when I was in school and that was my introduction to apple strudel. Of course, I didn’t really know what apple strudel was then (or many of the other things mentioned in the song) except it was something with apples in it. And in those days, apples were as foreign to us as the strudel, given that I grew up in tropical countries (apples were rare in south India too) where apples were never seen.
Then the May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of Make Life Sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers
In the many years since, I have filled in some of those above mentioned gaps in my knowledge but have still never seen or eaten an apple strudel even though apples are very commonplace here nowadays. So when this month’s challenge was unveiled, it was the perfect opportunity for me to bridge one more gap! The additional bonus was that I didn’t have to worry about eggs or too much butter.
In true Daring Baker challenge traditions, our hosts gave us a lot of creative freedom to use fillings of our choice. The only requirement this month was that the strudel dough be prepared using the given recipe. The detailed recipe can be found at the Daring Bakers website.
I made a sweet version with the given recipe for apple strudel and a savoury strudel with a curried vegetable filling. I really do not have much to say about this challenge other than it was quite easy for me, though stretching the dough out thin was initially difficult.
I got around this by dividing the dough into 2 portions and working on one at a time, to make the savoury and sweet strudels. It is unbelievable how thin this dough can really be stretched out. For a really good strudel the the dough should be so thin you should be able to read through it!
Apple Strudel (a.k.a. Apfelstrudel) and a Curried Vegetable Strudel : Daring Baker Challenge May 2009
Ingredients
Filling for the Curried Vegetable Strudel :
- 1 onion , chopped fine
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 3 to 4 potatoes medium sized , mashed somewhat well
- 1 cup cabbage finely shredded
- 3/4 cup carrot grated
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1 to 2 tbsps coriander leaves chopped fresh
- 1 tsp lemon juice fresh
- to taste salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan, and add the onions. Saute until they're translucent. Add the spices cook for one more minute over medium heat. Then add the potatoes, cabbage, carrot and green peas and mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the peas, cabbage, carrots and the salt and stir fry till they're cooked. Now add the potatoes and the chopped coriander. Mix well and turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and the chopped coriander and mix well. Allow to cool and use in the strudel.
- Serve the Curried Vegetabke Strudel with sweet and sour tamarind and date chutney.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
loved the way you wrote this post, aparna! i should say that I would prefer the sweet version to the savory one :-)beautiful pics as well, nice job!! 🙂
The somosa filling would be my first choice to try. 🙂 Wonderful looking studel pictures!
I know what you mean about the exotic imagining bit! The strudel-both versions do look really lovely.
i would like to hav eboth the savory n sweet one’s Aparna..They look really good..
Aparna – Once again you’ve rocked a DB challenge. I would die for a slice of that gorgeous samosa strudel!!
Beautiful work and I love the look of the samosa strudle. Good to hear that the challenge was fairly simple. Great pictures of the strudels. Wonderful work on this challenge. Cheeers from Audax in Australia.
both look yummy :-)expect your parcel soon 🙂
So now you see what strudel is all about. I do prefer the savory versions. Great job.
Great strudels. I love the savory samosa one, its a new twist 🙂
This was one of my experiments in my baking days all those years ago. It came out so-so, the pastry, I mean. Nice attempt, strudel with savoury filling 🙂
Lovely pics Aparna!! I really liked that samosa filling… I love samosa! Great work! Keep going!!
Funny! I forgot the mention of Apple Strudel in the song! The samosa version is calling my name. Wonderfully done!
Wow,I think I agree with ‘little miss cupcake’ – samosa strudel has my name written all over it.just tell me when should I come over dear “Daring Baker Babe” 😛 😛 :PLove the post Aparna.You truly rock
Thanks Aparna!! :)LOL! I’m sure Audax copy pasted those lines from my write up 😀 O! So next time you happen to pass by Kannur, you have to drop in.. and when I’m in Goa.. 😀 I’ll let you know! 😀
Great job! Your strudel look perfect! I love the samosa-style one…Cheers,Rosa
Just fab. Love the choice of fillings, and love ‘Sound of Music’ too. Wish you really did live closer Aparna! BTW, is your sis here yet?
Brilliant! I love the samosa filling – I think that is just inspired….
Hats off to you Aparan for making your own strudel pastry.I love with apples which is really classic hre, but i love the most then one with samosa filling.Looks beautiful , real professional you are.
Great ApaRNA… love the samosa filling!!
I love the song from Sound Of Music..one of my fav 🙂 love both the fillings..samosa one looks tasty 🙂
Your strudels are both beautiful!I wish I could be that good with a style of cooking I’m not familiar with!
Looks like you breezed thro’ this challenge. I would love to taste the savory one with samosa filling.
This is such a clever, delicious sounding idea Aparna! I knew you’d do something special 🙂
Thanks everyone. You guys are just too good.Will do, Raaga. :)Sra, you made strudel? You must have been quite a baker. I’m waiting to see what you bake now that you are back with your oven. :DCome over whenever you want, Sweatha. :)Will do, Ria.I wouldn’t mind living close by at all, Deeba. :)Yes, my sister came and she’s gone back too. 🙁
I never thought of apples as exotic since they are so common here. But a samosa type strudel sounds exotic and wonderful. Well done.
Beautifully done and great job. I love the savoury version and had wanted to do one too. Sigh ..time was against me so only managed one.
The samosa strudel is the best idea for a savoury strudel, hands down! Looks fantastic – great job!
Your samosa strudel is a perfect example of why I enjoy the DB so very much…in seeing what everyone else is doing one runs across things they are unfamiliar with and find intriguing. So glad you were finally able to bridge the “gap” and also that you gave back something you know well!!
That’s a meal! The samosa strudel sounds amazing!
Great job, love the samosa strudel, it looks beautiful!
Bravo Aparna, both the savory and sweet strudels look amazing!Rosie x
What an introduction… I almost forgot that the song mentions apple strudle….love the idea of samosa strudle 😉
You had me at samosa filling! I am drooling here girl!
Excellent as always,I haven’t tried the savory kind yet ,the samosa style stuffing sounds super yum:)
Mmmm! Samosa?!? That’s one of my favorites! Love your interpretation on the strudel, it is FABULOUS!
You are creative like always….very daring I must say…
Nice variation a samosa style strudel!!! looks very crispy and all the veggies in there are tempting me!!!
I love the idea of the samosa strudel, Aparna. It’s firmly on my ‘must try’ list.Your apple strudel looks fantastic, too. I totally understand about having built up the idea of how a strudel would taste in your mind; if it’s something that one has been thinking about for years, it has to be pretty spectacular to live up to your imagination!
A samosa strudel sounds delicious. I will have to try it out with the potato filling.
What beautiful strudels. I love the idea of the samosa filling… all the goodness without frying! Great job!
Aparna – you never cease to amaze me! And a samosa-style strudel? Ace, really!
Fabulous variations. I think you are right about the softening crust after cooling. I think a savory version sounds just about perfect!
I think the samosa filling is just brilliant. I’m more of a savory girl, but even if I wasn’t, I couldn’t resist this. I’m impressed!
wow! i am going to try the samosa filling! we love samosas! what a great idea…awesome job!!!!
wow nice version of strudel.. both are looking gorgeous and clicks too,
great job aparna, love the samosa version, I have eaten apple strudel.., they are quite sweet for me…, clicks are great too
You are back and how! I love the samosa idea, frankly. Not a fan of apple desserts, so samosas appeal to a street starved desi!
Yeah, my parents said (AFTER they had eaten the strudel) that ice cream would have made it perfect…if only they had asked, I had it! Yours look fabulous…great fillings!
Your strudels are too good!
Trully the samosa filling is genius how could u tie the strudel and indian samosa?
I love the samosa version Aparna – delicious and creative. Your photos on the DB forum helped me a lot too.
Aparna – I love the idea of a samosa strudel. Sounds so good. You did a beautiful job on your two strudels. They look so very very tasty.Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go
Of course you would know better than I, but I think your savory samosas sound delicious from the recipe. I am not as familiar with Indian cooking as I would like. What are samosas normally wrapped in? Anyway Great job.
I loved the look of the samosa strudel….wonderful!The samosa idea is really great:)
The samosa filling sounds so delicious, and your pics are great! mmmmmm!
That’s looks just yum…..nice pic
I’m glad you got to try strudel for the first time and make it your own just as fast =D. They both look amazing!!
nice post:-) Savory strudel.. LOL nice idea which i could have never thought of. I would like to have both, i usually like savory but i love apple pie:-)& as u said strudel is kinda similar to pie.
What gorgeous strudels!!! Well done! 🙂
wow aparna..both the versions look so yum!..
Thanks, once again.Dandelion, The samosa strudel was nice, its just that I think samosas are nicer. :)Samosas are wrapped in in triangular pastry pouches made from all purpose flour, oil, salt and water.These pouches are then deep fried to a golden brown.
Really lovely! And now I challenge you to make schnitzel with noodles 😉
Lovely! I love that you made a samosa filling, so creative!
Your strudels look really delish! I especially like the samosa strudel.
I love Samosa— reminds me of curry puffs we get back in Malaysia. I made one for my strudel too!! 🙂 Love your pics! 😀
They both look incredible! But I must say the samoosa one got my attention!!! Some years ago I was thought by an Indian lady how to make samoosas and I was hooked!
You did a great job Aparna. Both your fillings sound delicious and your dough looks so crispy.
Both versions are fantastic– what a great way to construct a samosa! 🙂 I am totally glad that you have access to apples now 🙂
Aparna, the strudels looks so good! Samosa strudel sounds like such a fun twist!
I especially love the look of your samosa strudel, the filling is so pretty! But I can imagine that the original fried one is better ;)Glad you liked making this challenge 🙂
Such gorgeous pictures! And I know that strudels aren’t necessarily the easiest things to photograph.Mmm, love the idea of a samosa using this flaky dough… Looks so delicious!
Thanks for writing me back Aparna. I will have to look up a few recipes for samosas and give them a try. I love trying new foods. Leona
Those look so tasty! I adore the idea of the samosa filling…. Great job! 🙂
Beautiful job!
Thanks to all of you for taking the time to leave a comment here. I am overwhelmed. 🙂
Samosa-style strudel, what a great idea!
The samosa strudel is so clever! Wish I could’ve had a taste, especially with that tamarind and date chutney (I love tamarind!)