Baked Curry Puffs

Curry puff is Asian most popular snack and it can be found anywhere, either at the street stall or bakery shop. We can have it anywhere anytime. Those curry puffs sell on the street stalls are mainly deep fried. Whereby the bakery shop usually sells baked curry puffs. When you ask us which one do we prefer? We prefer both. Deep fried curry puffs had been part of the growing up food from childhood and can be easily found at the food stalls along the street, whereby the baked curry puffs are mainly home-made or usually sell in the bakery shop.

My family is a big fan of curry puffs and we will usually grab some from the bakery shop during our weekly grocery shopping. Thus, it has always come to my mind to make curry puffs at home from scratch. In this way, we can have curry puffs to the fullest and savour whenever we are craving for it. At the same time, we can have quality baked curry puffs with cheaper cost. Isn't it great?

I chanced upon this puff pastry recipe from one of my blogger friend's blog (Anggie). She used this puff pastry recipe for her chicken and mushroom pie and it looked awesome. I thought it would be a good idea to use it for making curry puffs and here I'm now to tell you the puff pastry is definitely a good choice. It is not only easy to make but also crunchy and moist. It is just the kind of puff pastry I liked.

Since this is my first attempt at making curry puffs from scratch, I must admit that I am not good in pleating the curry puffs... (LOL). Well, practice makes perfect, I shall do better the next time. However, I tried a few and managed to close the edges of the curry puffs neatly. I have finished the rest of the curry puffs by simply pressing the edges with a fork like those pastries sell in the bakery shop.

If you do not have the time to spare, you can make the dough in advance and keep it in the freezer for future use. I made a double of the amount and kept half of the dough in the freezer. Then, have been using it for my chicken pie few days ago. Isn't it time saving and versatile? Alright peeps! That's all for today, see you then and have a pleasant day!

Makes around 15-18 curry puffs Filling recipe: Ingredients: 3 large Russet Potatoes, remove skin - cut into small cubes 300g Chicken fillet, cut into small cubes 1/2 medium-sized onion, minced 2 sprigs of curry leaves 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp meat curry powder 1 tsp chilli powder (optional - I omitted)(Note 6) 1 tsp salt Method: 1. Boil potatoes in hot boiling water until half cooked or soften. Drain, set aside. 2. Heat up 5 tablespoons of oil, saute onion until fragrant. 3. Add in meat curry powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Add curry leaves, saute until fragrant. 4. Add chicken fillets, stir fry until chicken is half cooked. 5. Add in potatoes, continue to stir fry until chicken and potatoes are cooked and soften. Add salt. 6. Remove the curry leaves, dish up and set aside. Pastry crust recipe (recipe adapted from Anggie's blog): Ingredients: 500g Plain / All-purpose flour 1/2 tsp Salt 150g Chilled butter Egg Yolk - 30g + extra for glazing (Note 1) 4 tbsp Cooking oil 150ml Water (Note 2) Method: 1. Sieve flour and salt into a mixing bowl. 2. Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 3. Mix in egg yolk, oil and water. Add in water bit by bit until a dough is formed. Do not pour all the water at one go. 4. Knead to form a firm dough. Wrap it with cling film. 5. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight before use. Making curry puff method: 1. Preheat oven at 200ºC for 10 mins. Thaw dough at room temperature for 5 mins. 2. Roll dough into a cylinder shape. Cut out about 4 cm each. 3. Roll out each dough with rolling pin to form a square shape (as much as possible). 4. Cut out about 10cm X 10cm square shape. 5. Put the filling in the middle of the dough, fold diagonally. Seal the side by pressing it. 6. Pleat the side neatly, if you can't do a nice pleating like me, you may just use a fork to create some line patterns on the side. 7. Finish the remaining dough by repeating the steps. 8. Arrange the curry puffs on baking tray lined with baking paper. 9. Brush egg yolk on top of the curry puffs, bake at 200ºC for 12 - 15 mins or until the pastry turns golden brown. 10. Cool them on the wire rack before serving. Note: 1. I used 1 large-sized egg yolk for the dough & another one egg yolk for glazing. 2. Do not pour all the water at one go, you might not need that much of water. I used about 100ml of water only. Make sure to add in the water bit by bit until a dough is formed. 3. The amount of curry puffs is vary depending on the size and the filling. 4. Bake them batch by batch if your oven can't fit in all. 5. You may also make the curry puffs accordingly to your preferred shape, such as half moon, round, rectangle or square. 6. I have omitted the chilli powder because my little boy can't take too spicy food. You should add chilli powder if it is for adults consumption.