How to Make Curry Puffs | Simplified with Ready-Made Puff Pastry

Traditionally, curry puffs are deep fried and the pastry is made from scratch. You will need to roll two different types of dough to get a spiral effect. Whilst that texture is lovely, I don’t really want to stand in front of a hot stove of boiling oil! This recipe is shortcut version using ready-made puff pastry from the frozen section in the supermarket that I bake in the oven (I also don’t feel so guilty eating this as it’s not deep fried).

Whenever my mom used to buy me curry puffs from the roadside stall or bakeries in Malaysia, I used to complain that I was eating mainly potato with a smattering of chicken! Hence, I decided to start making my own curry puffs at home to satisfy my cravings.

The recipe is below:

Curry Puff Recipe (makes 20)

Ingredients

600grams thigh chicken mince (you can also use diced thighs if you do not have mince)

2 – 3 potatoes

2 – 3 Spanish or Bombay onions (diced)*

Ready made puff pastry (5 sheets)

1 beaten egg (optional)

2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)

Marinate for chicken

3 tbsps curry powder

1/2 tbsp turmeric powder

1/2 tbsp red hot chilli powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chicken stock powder

1 tbsp oyster sauce (if you don’t have this in your pantry, you can omit this, just increase the salt content at the end)

Spice mix

2 tbsps curry powder

1/2 tbsp turmeric powder

1/2 tbsp red hot chilli powder (increase amount if you like spice)

Method

1. Heat pan with 3-4 tbsp oil (I used chicken fat for this video)

2. Add onions, saute until soft

3. Add curry leaves for added flavour (optional)

4. Add spice mix

5. Saute until well coated and soft

6. Add marinated chicken

7. Saute until cooked

8. Add 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chicken stock powder and 1 tsp salt (or to taste). You need to taste this as everyone’s proclivity towards salt is different!

Baking

1. Preheat oven to 180c

2. Line the baking tray with foil or baking paper (to avoid awful cleaning later)

3. If using foil, brush foil with oil (to avoid curry puff sticking to the base)

4. Cut the thawed square puff pastry sheet into four squares (If you are in a hot humid country, there is a tendency for the frozen puff pastry to soften very quickly after you have removed it from the freezer. If it becomes too soft, put it back into the fridge or freezer to harden slightly).

5. Add filling

6. Seal the sides with your fingers (triangle shaped)

7. Lay on tray (leave space in between curry puffs)

8. When tray is full, brush the the top of the puff pastry with beaten egg (optional – this is just to give the curry puff a nice golden colour)

9. Bake at 180c for 25 minutes or until golden brown (everyone’s oven is different)

10. Leave to cool on a rack

11. Enjoy as a snack (if you can’t finish this, just freeze the left overs. I usually only take one down and heat it up in the oven when I have cravings)

*The amount of onions used is also a preference. My mom loves onions!