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Poh’s Curry Puffs

Jul 28, 2014
Recipe and image from Same Same But Different, by Poh.

Recipe and image from Same Same But Different, by Poh.

Learning how to crimp a curry puff perfectly was one of SA cook Poh Ling Yeow’s earliest food memories.

“From the age of six, I used to practise obsessively on playdough,” she says in the introduction to this recipe from her new cookbook Same Same But Different.

“If you can’t manage the crimping, the job is easily done by using the tips of a fork to press down on the seams. As long as they’re adequately sealed they will go down the same way. For those longing for a sauce, there is no need – these moreish little parcels are a crowd pleaser packed full of flavour and are traditionally eaten as is.”

Curry Puffs

Makes about 20

Ingredients

Filling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ large brown onion, peeled, diced into 5mm cubes
2–3 tablespoons meat curry powder*
250g chicken breast OR chuck steak, diced into 5mm cubes, OR use mince if you are too  lazy
100g sweet potato, peeled, diced into 5mm cubes
1 medium potato, peeled, diced into 5mm cubes
½ teaspoon sugar, OR to taste
1 teaspoon salt, OR to taste

Shortcrust pastry
31/3 cups (500g) plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
120ml chilled water + more if required
OR
1kg store-bought shortcrust pastry

2 L vegetable oil, for frying

Method

To make the filling, heat the oil in a medium sized non-stick frypan over medium heat and sauté the onions for about 2 minutes OR until soft and golden. Add the meat curry powder and cook for about 10 seconds OR until toasted and very fragrant.

Same Same But Different, by Poh, published by ABC Books, $39.99

Same Same But Different, by Poh, published by ABC Books, $39.99

Add the chicken and stir-fry until cooked. Add the remaining ingredients and stirfry for about 5 minutes OR until the potatoes are tender. Taste and season further.

Spread mixture out on a plate to cool, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate.

To make the shortcrust pastry, combine the flour, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl. Break off chunks of butter and, with your hands, rub the butter into the flour vigorously until you achieve a sandy consistency. Gradually add tablespoons of water and, rather than kneading, use a gathering, squeezing action to bind the mixture into a firm dough.

Roughly shape into 3 discs, cover with cling wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To stuff curry puffs, dust a clean benchtop with a little flour and roll pastry until 3mm thick. Cut 20 circles with a pastry cutter – cut all your pastry out at once then lay the cut pieces on baking paper, cover with cling wrap and place in fridge. Working with only a few pieces out of the fridge at a time, fill each circle with a teaspoonful of mixture, fold in half then squeeze the edges together and crimp OR using the tips of a fork, gently press on the seams (resting on benchtop) to seal the edges. Place the curry puffs on a tray in the fridge until ready to cook.

To fry, heat the oil over medium–high heat in a large saucepan OR wok. To test if the oil is ready, drop in a very small portion of pastry. If it turns golden in 15–20 seconds, you are good to go. Fry 4 curry puffs at a time until the pastry is a beautiful deep golden, then drain in a colander lined with paper towel. Another option is to brush the curry puffs with an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon milk) and bake at 180°C or 170°C fan-forced for about 25–30 minutes until deep golden. Serve hot or at room temperature.

*Available from Asian grocers

Tip: Don’t waste pastry scraps! Leave at room temperature and knead scraps into a ball, then flatten into a disc, cover in cling wrap and freeze for a rainy day. Don’t try to use the scraps right away (the gluten needs to relax overnight) or you will have a hard time rolling it out and it will shrink dramatically when cooked. If you are saving store-bought pastry, trim the dry edges off before kneading into a ball. Make sure you weigh and date the dough before freezing.

 

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