Singaporean! Curry Puff

[mish]

While I have not tried this yet, it looked so yummy, wanted to share it with the great folks here.

Curry Puff

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: few minutes Difficulty: Easy

What do you do when people are hungry and are asking for a savoury snack that goes with a cup of tea? Well, more than 50 years ago in Singapore, one answer was make pastry pouches filled with curried potatoes, and deepfry them until they were golden brown.

True to form in Singapore, many versions of the humble Curry Puff have evolved. The Malay version ('epok-epok') is smaller, and usually filled with curried potato, or canned sardines. The Chinese version is larger, and usually contains potato and chicken curry, with some versions including half a boiled egg.

Some say the Curry Puff was inspired by the Indian samosa, others say it was inspired by English Cornish Pastries. Whatever inspired their creation, they are unequivocally Singaporean!

Ingredients for 4 servings
500 g (18 oz.) potatoes
30 g (1 oz.) green peas
30 g (1 oz.) carrot
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 onion
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. light soya sauce
150 g (5 oz.) chicken meat

Outer wrappers
200 g (about 2 cups) flour
100 g (6 tbsp.) corn oil

Inner wrappers
500 g (about 5 cups) flour
50 g (3 tbsp.) sugar
180 g (3/4 cup) oil
160 g (2/3 cup) or more water

Filling
Chop the potatoes, carrot, onion and chicken.

Heat some oil in a wok and fry the potatoes. Remove the potatoes and the oil from the wok.

Place another few spoonfuls of oil into the wok and fry the chicken with the onions,
carrots and green peas.

Add the potatoes back into the wok with the rest of the seasonings. Set aside.

Outer wrappers
Mix the flour and oil together to form a dough. Cut into equal pieces.

Inner wrappers
Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough and cut into equal pieces.

Assembly
Roll one piece of outer wrapper and one piece of inner wrapper into separate circles then stick them together. Flatten and place a portion of the filling into the centre. Fold the dough to form a half circle and pleat the edges. Deep fry the puffs until golden brown.

 

[luvs]

these look delicious!

 

[CookinBlondie]

Well, I'm writing this post to say thanks! I have been looking for a simple yet delectible dish to make as an International Foods demonstration, and this seems to be the one.

If you could give me some tips on perfecting, or pre-preparing this or some of the ingredients, they would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
-Lauren-

 

[htc]

I make something similar to this, using a potato/chicken filling. I also cheat by using puffed pastry instead of making my own dough.

 

[Yakuta]

I do the same as htc - Cookinblondie you can buy Pepperidge farm readymade pastry puffs. You will get 2 sheets. Cut it at the divide and you get 6 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 3 parts. Fill with the filling recipe that is listed by mish and then bake them in a preheated oven. They will disapper in a minute.

Being Indian we tend to make a lot of savory preparations with afternoon tea (unlike the tea sandwiches in the U.K.) and this is a popular one in my house. I use any filling I desire. I have made these with ground chicken, ground beef seasoned with spices, potatoes and peas etc. (while some of these fillings are not authentic to Singapore the end result is still very good).

 

[mish]

Thank you htc & yakuta. Htc you mentioned a chicken filling that you make. Can I ask for your recipe? Yakuta would love to hear some of your filling ideas. Guess one of the reasons I was attracted to this recipe is because it looked very light & airy, having two layers of crust/pastry - an inner & outer layer. I've never done this before, so I was intrigued by the method.

 

[Yakuta]

Mish the baked puff pastry version is really light and airy and very good. Plus it's not as messy as frying.

I make a filling with ground beef (ground lamb, turkey or chicken can be substituted)which is easy and good.

Lean ground beef about 2 pounds
1 medium yellow onion
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 inch stick of ginger minced
1 tbsp of curry powder
salt to taste
1/2 cup of frozen peas
2 tbsp of canola or any other mild oil
cilantro (1/4 cup finely chopped)

In a pan add the oil. When the oil is hot add the green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. Next add the chopped onion and cook the mixture until onions are translucent. Next add the curry powder and salt and saute for another second. Now add the ground meat and cook until done and the meat is browned. Next add the peas, cilantro. Stir it with the meat and let the mixture completely cool.

Now unfold puff pastry sheets and cut into three rectangles (at each fold). Cut each rectangle into 3 squares and place 1 heaping tbsp of filling in the center of the square. Fold into triangle and use a fork to seal the ends. Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or so until puffed up and browned. Serve immediately.

 

[mish]

Yakuta, the ginger, curry powder, garlic etc., with the beef, sounds very good! Thank you for sharing your recipe. Bet it could work well with won ton wrappers too.

 

[Alix]

How have I missed this one? Mish, that looks great! have you tried it yet?

Yakuta, thanks for your version as well. I want to try both of these. Now I need to have folks over to do some taste testing!

 

[mish]

Hi Alix. Haven't seen your happy dancing feet around lately. Haven't tried it yet. I like Yakuta's recipe better. Also, thinking out loud, 5 cups of flour + to yield 4 servings? Seems like a lot of dough. Think Yakuta is right re using the puff pastry. I have made dumplings/won tons - steamed, fryed, baked, with won ton skins/wrappers. Did like the look of these puffy looking little bundles.

 

[Alix]

Hey mish. My dancing feet were entertaining out of town guests. I sort of wish I had seen this thread while they were still here! No biggie, I will try these sometime soon though. I think the premade wrappers are the way to go. But then...I am LAZY! LOL!!

 

[htc]

Mish, unfortunately, I don't really use a "recipe". I just throw things together in a pot and hope for the best. I do use potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, tumeric, curry powder, chicken, and coconut milk. I will add peas the next time I do this, that sounds really good.

 

[SierraCook]

Mish, this sounds awesome. Thanks for posting the recipe!!

 

[shantihhh]

puff pastry

Puff pastry is very easy to make in your food processor! And so much cheaper.

I have made a similiar pastry only I used 1/2 beef and 1/2 lamb. It gives a very nice flavour, also ground goat is excellent. Most Halal Markets carry good quality ground meats for a good price.