Curry Puff Recipes

CHICKEN CURRY PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in coriander, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Cook a few seconds until fragrant. Pour in coconut milk, onions, lemon grass, and red pepper; cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in potato and continue cooking for 12 minutes, adding more coconut milk if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir in the chicken, then season with salt. Cook and stir until chicken and potato has absorbed most of the liquid, then spread mixture on a plate to cool.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Unfold puff pastry and cut each sheet into 9 squares. Place heaping spoonfuls of the filling in the center of each square. Gather all 4 corners of the pastry and pinch together at the top, forming a small pouch. Place each pastry on the baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 22 to 27 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CURRY PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the curry powder and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the potato and onion and stir to coat with the curry oil. Cover and cook until the vegetables start to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chile and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the peas and season with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 2 teaspoons water to make an egg wash.
• On a floured work surface, gently roll out the puff pastry sheets, removing any fold marks but keeping the same general size and shape of the sheets. Using a medium (3-inch) circular biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, cut out 9 large rounds per sheet, 18 all together between the 2 sheets of pastry.
• On the bottom half of each of the rounds, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the curry mixture. Brush the edges of each round with some egg wash. Fold the pastry over the filling, seal the edges with your fingers and then crimp them with the tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Brush each one with some of the remaining egg wash and transfer the puffs to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake the curry puffs until they have puffed and are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Best if served shortly after being made.

CURRY PUFFS

Steps:

• If the dough was refrigerated for longer than 1 hour, let it sit at room temperature until it is malleable. Working on an unfloured or very lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough into an 11-inch square. This is easier to do if you work the rolling pin from the midline toward the top or bottom edge, and then roll back to the midline. Use both hands to lift up the edge closest to you and roll it all the way up to the top to form a cylinder. Roll the cylinder to even it out and lengthen it to about 12 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Cut the dough cylinder crosswise into 12 pieces, then use the palm and heel of your hand to flatten each dough piece into a 1/4-inch-thick disk.
• Work with half of the dough pieces at a time and keep the others covered with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Use a skinny Asian rolling pin (dowel) to roll each dough piece into a circle, a good 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Aim for a wrapper with a 1-inch-wide belly; the edge should be thinner than the middle. (For guidance, see "Forming Wrappers from Basic Dumpling Dough," step 5, page 24.)
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. To assemble a puff, hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand. Use a spoon to put about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle, spreading out the filling a bit to make shaping the puff easier and keeping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wrapper clear on all sides. As you work, your hand should naturally close a bit more to keep the puff in shape. Moisten the top rim of the wrapper with water and bring up the wrapper side closest to you and firmly press to create a half-moon (see page 26 for guidance); the center coil of dough (the belly) should naturally push out a bit like the hinge of a clam shell. Remember to seal each puff well. For extra security, use your thumb and index fingers to form a rope edge (see page 51) or press with the tines of a fork. Place the finished puff on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other wrappers before making and filling the wrappers from the remaining dough.
• Before frying the puffs, put a paper towel-lined platter next to the stove. Pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a wok, deep saucepan, or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat to about 300°F on a deep-fry thermometer. Frying at an initial low temperature ensures delicate, flaky results; subsequently increasing the heat prevents the puffs from becoming greasy. (If you don't have a deep-fry thermometer, stick a dry bamboo chopstick into the oil; if it takes about 4 seconds for bubbles to rise to the surface and encircle the chopstick, the oil is ready.) Working in batches of 4 to 6 to prevent crowding, gently slide the puffs into the hot oil and immediately decrease the heat to low to steady the temperature, which will quickly rise. The puffs will bubble slowly at first. Let them fry, occasionally turning gently, moderating the heat as needed to keep the oil temperature around 300°F, for about 3 minutes, or until the puffs are light golden. Raise the heat to medium-high and fry for 5 to 6 minutes, until the puffs are golden brown and flaky. Let the temperature hover around 340°F. (If you don't have a thermometer, do the chopstick test a couple of times as the dumplings cook; bubbles that rise after about 1 second signal 340°F.) Use a skimmer to scoop up and transfer the puffs to the platter to drain and cool. Adjust the heat before frying more.
• Allow the puffs to cool for about 5 minutes if you are serving them hot. Or present them to your guests warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate left over puffs for several days and reheat them in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes, or until gently sizzling and heated through.
• Have no shame. Many busy modern Asian cooks turn to ready-made puff pastry for rich treats like curry puffs (page 125) and samosas (page 115). Purchase a package (usually about 1 pound) of puff pastry, the all-butter variety, if you can; puff pastry is usually sold as frozen square sheets, rolled to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Thaw it in the refrigerator.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven according to the package directions (usually 375° to 400°F).
• Work with 1 sheet of pastry at a time. Roll a pastry sheet out to about 10 inches square, if it's smaller than that, and then cut it into four 5-inch squares. Put about 1 1/2 tablespoons of curry puff or samosa filling atop each square, moisten 2 adjoining edges with water, fold the other side over to form a triangle, and press closed. Use the tines of a fork to press on the edges to seal well, then place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Brush with beaten egg, then bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

BAKED CURRY PUFFS

Steps:

• In a wok or pan, heat a little oil and fry chopped garlic until golden add onion and ginger.
• Add in the minced meat and fry for 2 minutes breaking up the meat into small pieces. ( I use a separate pan to fry the meat and drain off excess fats, then add the meat to the onion mixture).
• Add potatoes, cook for further 2-4 minutes.
• Add the curry powder, water, sugar salt and pepper and simmer over a medium low heat stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until the potatoes are almost soft. (About 10 - 15 minutes).
• You may need to add a little extra water if there is no sauce left.
• Add in the mixed vegetables and coriander last and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes until the vegetables are just starting to soften.
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Cut the puff pastry into 4 inch by 4 inch squares.
• Put some filling onto one half of the square.
• Brush edges with a little water and fold over pastry to make a rectangle or triangle shape.
• Use a fork press the sides together to seal the edges of the puff pastry, and also the makes a nice pattern.
• Brush the puffs with the egg wash (beaten egg).
• Bake in a preheated oven 185°C until a nice golden colour. (about 10 minutes).
• Arrange the curry puffs on a serving platter and serve with dipping sauce.