Curry puffs are a loved and common savoury afternoon snack or finger food in Singapore. They are pastries filled with a savoury filling and believed to have been inspired by the British Cornish pasty, Portuguese empanadas and Indian samosas. There are many varieties of curry puffs as they are easily customizable using a combination of different pastries and fillings, which are then baked or fried. Curry puffs made using puff pastries are light, crispy and buttery while those made with a water dough have a crispy exterior but chewy and bread-like interior, like a fried dough. Regardless the choice of pastry, they are always filled with a spiced meat, usually chicken or beef and/or vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and peas. The only exception is the sardine curry puff, which is made with a chili tomato rather than a curry base.
In this recipe, the minced beef, potatoes and peas are pre-cooked in a curry base which is lightly seasoned with some parsley and salt. The filling is then encased within a savoury puff pastry. I cut the puff pastry into rounds and use a dumpling maker to shape the curry puffs so they come out uniform and more professional-looking! The puffs are then washed with some lightly beaten egg and baked until the pastry is cooked. To up the spice factor, you can chop up some fresh chilli and fry it in with the filling or add more curry powder. I ended up with some leftover puff pastry which I converted into mini quiches. Check out the post here.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 1 small shallot, sliced thinly
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 250 g minced beef
- 2 medium sized potatoes, chopped into small cubes
- Handful of frozen peas
- 1 tablespoon of curry powder (We like Baba's meat curry powder)
- 1 stalk of parsley, chopped finely
- Water
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 4 frozen savoury puff pastries
- 1 egg, lightly beaten for wash
Method:
Prepare puff pastry
- Defrost puff pastry until pliable and easy to work with.
- Cut puff pastry into circles using a cookie cutter.
Prepare the oven
- Preheat the oven to 180 ℃.
Prepare the filling
- Heat oil in frying pan. Fry shallot and minced garlic till light brown.
- Add minced beef and stir frequently to avoid large chunks of meat.
- Once the meat is cooked, add the potatoes, frozen peas, curry powder and chopped parsley. Fry until well mixed.
- Gradually add water a bit at a time and cook until the potatoes and peas are fully cooked.
- To season, add ½ teaspoon of salt or adjust to taste.
Assembling and baking the curry puffs
- Place enough filling onto the puff pastry rounds. Fold it into half and press the corners together.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the curry puffs with the beaten egg.
- Bake at 180 ℃ until puff pastry is done.
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