Friday, March 09, 2007

Curry Puffs



My daughter said that it was the best ever. The outer layer (skin) is crunchy yet flaky. The inner layer (filling) is smooth. I was glad.

I think a good curry puff is one that stays enclosed, even after going thru the deep frying process.
(reference: The food of Malaysia by Periplus Editions)

Filling:
5 tbsp oil
1 medium sized red or brown onion finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp kurma powder or chicken curry powder
2 tsp meat or chicken curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 cups finely diced, cooked chicken
2 large potatoes boiled and finely diced
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Pastry:
4 cups white flour
10 tbsp butter or margarine (I used butter the last time and the pastry did not turn out as good as when I used shortening.)
Just over 3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
Make the filling first. Heat oil and fry the onion gently until golden brown. Add the curry powders, chili, turmeric and fry gently. Add the chicken, potatoes, sugar, pepper, and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Mix well and leave aside to cool.
To make pastry, mix flour with butter or margarine, water and salt and knead well. Let it rest for 1/2 hour. Cut the dough into circles 3 inches in diameter. Take a tbsp of filling and place in center. Fold pastry over to make a half circle and crimp at edges. Deep fry in hot oil until golden.
Author's hints: Not all margarine are suitable for pastry. The Malaysian brand Planta is recommended; Crisco is a suitable substitute.
I haven't tried Lily's recipe yet but I can imagine it will be very tasty as well. http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/08/spiral-curry-puffs.html

14 comments:

Unknown said...

lee ping

i think i agree with your daugher. these puffs do look very delicious

Anonymous said...

may i know how many curry puffs does your recipe yields?

Lee Ping said...

That is a good question. This recipe yields about 10. However, the number of curry puffs depend on the size of each puff. The bigger the puff, the lesser yield. Hope that helps.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Yummy-looking curry puffs. Good Job! Can you tell me whether it is possible to bake instead of deep fry in oil ?? Taste- the same ???

Thanks & rgs, sue

Lee Ping said...

Dear Sue,

Yes. Definitely. One day, I will post a bake version of curry puff. The filling will still taste like Malaysian curry puff.

For now, if you are interested to making your own curry puffs, you can buy frozen puff pastry, cut the pastry dough and wrap the cooled filling and follow the instruction on how to bake them in the oven.

Anonymous said...

Lee ping,
if this curry puff can be bake then can this pastry be used to make siew pau? i'm searching for alternative pastry to make the siew pau as the original pastry is more troublesome to make.

Lee Ping said...

Dear Delia,

I need to re-make curry puff and bake it instead of deep frying it. I will post it in my new page: http://hipfood.wordpress.com

Have you seen Lily Ng's recipe for siew pao? I tried it once and it turned out quite tasty for me. Reminds me of the siew pao I had across the bridge in Klang Malaysia!

Anonymous said...

lee ping,
I've seen Aunty Lily's recipe for siew pao. I think that pastry is not that easy to make, tha't's why I look for alternatives pastry. I'll wait for your new post. Thanks!

Lee Ping said...

Dear Delia,

I am big fan of Aunty Lily. I am afraid the pastry recipe that I have, may not be too much simpler than hers, if I make it from scratch. You see, in order to have layers when you bake in the oven, there needs to be two kinds of dough. But, I tell you what, I will make it as easy to follow as possible. That way, perhaps you will not feel as complicated :)

If you are interested in quick and easy pastry, there are frozen pastry dough in stores. They puff up really well in the oven.

p/s I plan to make siew pao soon (either this weekend or next week) and I will post it on my new blog. This discussion has caused me to crave for siew pao!

Anonymous said...

This does looks good!

Lee Ping said...

Thanks 'wokking mum'. I like your humor in your about me page. "...maid to the family".

I have linked to your blog in my new page. http://hipfood.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Hahaha ... but this maid got the say to what the family eats ;)

Oh, thanks! I've link you too!

Unknown said...

Btw, how to make the curry puff skin, such that it will show layers after deep fried/baked.

Anonymous said...

Hi Agilent,
auntie Lily, has curry puff skin recipe that will show layers after deep fried/baked.
http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/08/spiral-curry-puffs.html

Hope that helps...
Lee Ping
http://hipfood.wordpress.com