Just the way my mum used to make them…
plus some added sneaky vegetables to make them more nutritionally valuable!
Curry puffs were always a favourite snack in my family growing up. My mum always seemed to have such endless energy when it came to making things for us to eat (yes, she was a feeder… yes, I am too…) and nothing was ever too hard or too complicated for her to cook if she knew we loved them. Mum made such yummy food. This treat is no exception.
I made these for my family recently and they disappeared SOOOO quickly it was like *poof!* Magic.
Don’t be scared of the “curry” part of this recipe. It doesn’t have to have any heat at all really if you don’t want it to. Just put in less curry powder. In fact, I would suggest that you make them all mild (for ease of making one big batch) and then make a nice, spicy chilli aioli to dip it in to satisfy the spice-monsters out there!
My kids love these too – as they love any treat wrapped in crispy, buttery puff pastry. You could even serve these as a meal with a Asian side salad if you wanted to, OR make them as an ultimate movie/football match snack if you really want to impress your friends.
INGREDIENTS
- 7 sheets of pre-made, frozen, rolled puff pastry (eg Pampas)
- 1 egg ( for egg wash)
- 3 small potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
- 500g of pork/beef/chicken mince (most traditional would be pork)
- 1 peeled, grated carrot
- 3 finely chopped shallots
- 1/2 bunch of finely chopped coriander (including stems)
- 2-3 golden (French) shallots OR 1 medium brown onion
- 4-6cm peeled microplaned ginger
- 6 cloves of garlic crushed/chopped finely
- Splash of soy
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tab of lemongrass paste
- 2 tab of Keen’s curry powder (or any good Malaysian curry powder from an Asian grocery store) mixed with tap water to a paste
METHOD
- Preheat your oven to a moderate heat (eg 160 degrees Celcius)
- Heat oil in pan, fry oinion, shallots, lemongrass, coriander, ginger and garlic until softened and fragrant
- Add curry paste and fry
- Add mince, potatoes and carrot – fry until cooked, then add a splash of soy and sesame oil
- Allow to cool
- Using your pastry sheets, make your curry puffs (you can use a curry puff maker OR just cut squares of pastry and after adding filling, fold them over into a triangle and press the dege down with a fork to seal). Don’t be tempted to OVERFILL your curry puffs, or they will burst open while baking (and will “look like open clams” as my mum used to say).
- Brush with egg or spray with oil
- Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown (~15 min) or try an air fryer for about 10 min. **Most traditionally, these snacks are actually DEEP fried, but my mum always baked them to make them healthier.
- Serve with chilli aioli and a cold beer!! (I usually mix a teaspoon of my hot Malaysian chilli sauce with some Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise)
These are TOTALLY worth the effort.
They also can be frozen and stored for another day/prepped in advance – then you just heat them up in the oven when you want to eat them!!
If you try them – pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease post me a pic and let me know what you thought.
And SHARE, SHARE, SHARE away!
Until Monday,
Don’t get too “curried” away – but happy eating!!
xxDr Megs
