Last December, I bought two packets of supermarket puff pastry.
The plan was to use the six sheets (it was butter puff, so there were only three sheets per packet) to make sausage rolls for the street Christmas party. It didn’t eventuate – I made pâte brisée instead – and the bought pastry continued to take up valuable freezer space.
Last weekend, I thought I’d turn it into curry puffs, a traditional Malaysian snack. Using a modified version of Amy Beh’s recipe, I made the filling, let it cool, then took the pastry out of the freezer and waited for it to defrost.
It was a complete disaster.
I’ve used sheets of puff pastry before, but on this particular day, I just couldn’t get them to work. By the time the pastry had defrosted enough to cut the circles of dough, it was too soft to handle and I ended up smooshing it around the filling as I tried to pleat the tops. I’d taken all three sheets out to defrost, and suddenly they were like goop, so I tried again with the second packet. Same thing happened again, even though I was being extra careful and trying to work quickly this time.
In a fit of pique, I threw the whole lot away.
I then rummaged through the fridge for leftover fat and butter, and made a pastry from scratch. It was simple, tasty and easy to work with – it’s really what I should have done in the first place.
Filling:
- 400g free range chicken mince
- 2 onions, diced
- 400g potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons curry powder, mixed with a little water to form a paste (I use the house blend hot curry powder from Fiji Market)
- 2 stalks of curry leaves, leaves only
- 2cm cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 1 tablespoon dark soy
- salt and sugar to taste
Heat a little oil in a wok, and fry the onions until soft. Add the cinnamon, star anise, curry paste and curry leaves and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes and continue to stir fry for a few minutes more.
Add the chicken mince and stir until combined, then add the water, dark soy and salt and sugar to taste. Stir well, then cover and allow the pan to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through and the water has evaporated. Spoon the mixture onto a plate and allow to cool.
Note that this makes more filling than needed – freeze the excess for another day (or halve the quantities, as per the original recipe, or eat the leftovers on rice).
Pastry:
- 400g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 75g lard or drippings saved from the last roast or meat bake
- 75g unsalted butter
- 125-150ml cold water
- 1 small free range egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)
Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt. Rub in the lard and butter, then add in the cold water and knead briefly to combine…
Preheat oven to 200C with fan.
On a floured bench, roll the dough out to 3mm thick, and cut out 9cm circles. I used a large (7½cm) cookie cutter, then rolled each piece out a bit thinner after cutting.
Put a generous teaspoonful of filling in the centre of each dough circle, fold it in half, then fold and pinch the edges to seal…
Lay the puffs out on a lined baking tray and brush with the egg wash. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until golden brown, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
The finished puffs have a sturdy, flaky and slightly bread-like pastry. The original recipe suggests deep frying (in which case, the egg wash would be omitted), but we opted for the less decadent approach…
I served these with our Lingham’s chilli sauce, and Pete and the boys demolished them. I ended up with thirty small puffs in total, and I think Small Man ate ten on his own!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Your curry puffs look fantastic Celia. I love your pasty too. At least the store bought pastry isn’t taking up that valuable freezer space any more.
Have a beautiful day.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, thank you! I was very happy with the end result!
I don’t blame him Celia these look irresistible!
Thanks Claire, they were pretty popular! I’ll have to make them again. I froze the excess filling and used it the following week!
Wonderful! They look so delicious – golden brown and fat and puffy. Home made curry puffs with home made pastry – what a treat!! I look forward to making these. Thanks for sharing the recipes Celia. :)
Thank you! I hope you like them – I’m sure they’re more authentic deep fried, but I didn’t have the energy.. :)
This is an awesome recipe…loving this! :)
So happy to hear that, thank you! :)
How maddening that the store bought pastry didn’t play nicely! Still, I bet your HM version was much better.
I like that recipe. I don’t think I would have thought of doing the puffs with a curry mix but it sounds delicious. #bookmarked
Pat, isn’t that interesting, curry puffs are everywhere here in Thai and Malaysian restaurants – I just assumed everyone ate them! :) I was quite cross about the bought pastry – I wondered if it had been accidentally defrosted and refrozen on its way back from the store, or something along those lines. Anyway, won’t be using it again!
You were so brave to make your own pastry! I tried it once. It was so much work and didn’t turn out. Yours looks much easier and faster. Maybe I can work up the courage to try it again.
Manuela, don’t be afraid of pastry, it’s actually quite easy, so long as it’s not too short (too much butter or fat) – then they can get a bit fiddly to handle. I was surprised how easily this one came together!
Here’s our pate brisee recipe – it’s made in the food processor and it’s the perfect thing for topping a savoury pie! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/02/17/pate-brisee/
I have leftover slow roasted pork from last night. I think Pork Puffs are in order. :-) Maz
Oooh yes, that sounds delish! Maybe with a little chipotles in adobo sauce? :)
I made them last night for the mencats. I ended up making a creamy chicken gravy which got no complaints. I tried a Jamie Oliver cauliflower broccoli cheese bake for me which was the best dinner that I’ve eaten in a long time. It was one of his “Cheap Meals” recipes.
Next time chipolotes for sure! Hugs, Maz
These look sooo yummy. And I loved your ‘fit of pique’ – I usually say I had a ‘Cheech Spaz’ (Cheech is my nickname.) One of the worst Cheech Spazs I had was when my elec. broom went nuts on me & was spraying dust all over the living room, no matter what I tried to do to fix it. S0… that elec. broom was sent flying off the porch at our farm in Quebec…. and it went pretty darn far!
I wonder what our horse was thinking!! ; o )
Cecile, you reminded me of a story about Pete’s grandmother. One day when she was in her forties, she’d had enough of the dodgy old stove in her beach holiday house, so she took it apart and hurled the bits out the front door. They got a new one the following day! :)
Celia – you made me laugh!! And I believe I would’ve LOVED Pete’s grandmother!!! (I threw that elec. broom so far that, if I had been in the Olympics, I would’ve won The Gold Medal !)
Looking good! Loving the use of curry leaves.
Claire, thanks, my mum has a giant curry leaf tree and every now and then she brings me a huge branch. I strip off the branchlets (is that a word?) and freeze them. I can then just pull out a twig (oh hang on, *that’s* the word) whenever I need one. :)
I am beyond jealous of your mum’s curry leaf plant. It grows here but only under protest and I haven’t really managed to get it to grow properly. Hence I buy it strip it off the stalky things and freeze it. As I say I’m beyond jealous :)
They look so good – but everything you cook does!
I made your sourdough hot cross buns yesterday. You may be responsible for my increasing waistline :( (But it is worth it!)
Hahaha…I’m glad you liked the hot cross buns – can’t believe it’s time to be baking those already! :) Thank you for your kind comment, but I only put up the photos of the stuff that works! :D
Oh my God! This looks sooo yummm! Honestly! Flavor packed! :)
Thanks Sadia! They were great fun to make too! :)
These sound interesting and good. How annoying that your pastry took up valuable room all that while. On the plus side, how annoyed would you have been if the pastry had been so badly behaved as you tried to make sausage rolls for the Christmas party. Did you stamp your feet in your fit of pique?
I said some very bad words.. :)
Those look amazing! Inspired!
Cheers Nick, thanks! :)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thrown pastry into the bin! Especially when I first came to Australia and was trying to make it in Darwin!!! I admire your perseverance, the result is beautiful!
Ardys, when I bought the pastry in December, it was really hot, and I wondered if it had maybe defrosted and refrozen badly? As there were only three sheets in each pack, there wasn’t a lot of thermal mass to keep it frozen in the car. Hmm. Anyway, it was a great lesson learnt, and I’ll be making my own from now on! :)
I gave up on bought pastry for the very same reason you describe! I haven’t made curry puffs since catering days, must change that! Thanks for the reminder
Ooh, that’s good to know, thank you. I thought it was just me! :)
One of my Peter’s favourites! Yummy!
Lizzy, you could probably make a nice filling with our fave Thai curry paste as well!
Have I told you how very much I admire your tenacity? I don’t use puff pastry for the same reason- it hardly ever does what I want it to- and it costs too much to be so hard to handle. I like phyllo sheets so much better!
And These sound wonderful! I love sausage rolls- but the pastry is really a lot for the sausage- I think curry is a better fit for that much pastry. YUM! :)
Heidi, I’d already made the filling! :) I couldn’t let it go to waste. Plus I have a personal policy of not letting things derail me in the kitchen – the rest of life is complicated, but in the kitchen, things are usually fixable. And hey, if not, we’ll go out to dinner. :)
I can rarely get store bought pastry to work right, even when it’s “fresh” from the store. Even with making your own dough, this still looks like less work than wrestling with that stuff!
Thank you – I’m so happy to hear that, I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I’d used bought pastry before, but not the butter version, and I was trying to avoid transfats etc, but in future I think I’ll just avoid purchased sheet pastry! :)
Lovely recipe, thanks Celia. So the pastry doesn’t need to be chilled before using? I like that!
Amanda, this batch didn’t need to be chilled, but I think the trade-off is that it wasn’t a very short and crumbly pastry. It was a joy to work with though – I think the lard made a difference, but I’m sure all-butter would have been fine as well.
Hi Celia, I wonder what the issue was with the butter puff? Anyway it turned out well in the end, your curry puff look great.
Glenda, I’ve been giving it some thought – the pastry was bought around Christmas, and it was hot, and there were only three sheets in each pack. I wondered if the packs had defrosted and then refrozen during one of their transits – either from the factory to the supermarket, or from the supermarket to here. Either way, it was rubbish to work with, so I won’t be trying it again! :)
I started reading your story and wondered how such beautiful pastries could be construed a fail? But then I read on.. how unfortunate that something frozen could turn like that, it’s strange? Too bad you couldn’t return it all. On the bright side.. wow, yours turned out amazing and I’m certain yours were 100% tastier than store bought:) xx
Barb, it was annoying that I had to throw it out, but by that time I was quite fed up, so throwing it out felt SO GOOD. :D
Unless it was very hot this should not have happened. Did you defrost the pastry in the fridge? I would have been spitting mad at the waste of money!
I was pretty cross, Tandy! Nope, instructions said to defrost on the bench, which I did. No idea what went wrong – I’ve used puff pastry in the past and it was fine…
I never have any luck with GF shop pastry but thought it was because most GF shop stuff is rubbish, maybe shop pastry is universally crappy? Your pastry looks so much better anyway Celia, and I bet it tasted so much better too. Curry puffs are so yummy, we get some special ones at the markets that are crispy deep fried, but as I can only eat the middle the extra calories don’t count :) xox
Becca, I’ve never run into a good GF pastry, but didn’t you say the Maggie Beer recipe was quite good? These curry puffs were supposed to be deep fried, maybe we’ll do that next time, but I didn’t have the energy this time. Empanadas next! :)
The Maggie one is really good Celia, it has sour cream in it though so I have to be careful. Having some sheets stashed in the freezer is just handy for lazy days, I’m going to try the new Careme gluten free one and will let you know what I think xox
Another great recipe which, of course l would do vegetarian style.. Being vegetarian is there something l could use instead of animal fat for the pastry? That’s what l like about your recipes, they are adaptable and you are so generous with your knowledge:)
Jody, that’s kind of you, thank you! :) Try using all butter – that should work, but it might not be as flaky. The original recipe actually used margarine! Have fun! :)
Celia, you absolute legend! Curry puffs are one of my FAVOURITE foods…after reading this post I just had to go to Albee’s Kitchen in Kingsford, near where I work at UNSW, and buy 4 curry puffs for me and the boys as a treat…we LOVE them! Funny story…the first time I went there I accidentally asked for “samosas”, to which the girl said “no, we don’t sell those”…I walked out very disappointed….then went back just to ask again…are you sure? Can I see a menu? I found a picture….yes! These! I said. She said “oh…..KARI PAP!!” (Sounds like “pup”) ha ha ha….so delicious! So now the boys always ask for “curry pup”…. How excellent that you made your own! I really should try these. I know a wonderful lady from Laos who makes wonderful curry puffs and has promised to teach me one day. In the meantime, I might see if I can follow your recipe :-) thank you! :-)
Jaqi, the karipap at Albee’s are enormous. Most of the ones I’ve eaten at family do’s are quite small – that way you get to eat a lot of them. :)
Yes…the good thing about those huge Kari pap is that one seems like a banquet!
I would be right in there with the boys demolishing these. Wow, they’re so pretty to look at too!
Maureen, I was really pleased with how they turned out in the end. And it was good to use up the last of the leftover fat from our last roast! :)
How irritating. I had a similar experience just recently with filo. I’d made the filling for baklava, got the filo out of the freezer but it cracked and flaked hopelessly, so I shot out and bought another packet from a different supermarket but got the same result. I stamped out and bought another packet from another supermarket – same result…..we had baklava filling with icecream! Next time I’ll buy the Filo from the deli instead of the supermarket and if I get the same result I’ll just have to go to Greece…or come and see you and eat curry puffs, please.
Jan, I had a packet of filo pastry in the freezer as well – thankfully when I went to use that one it was fine. I would have been very pissed if the entire packet had been cracked and broken before I started! Will have to keep buying filo – don’t think I have the energy to even think about making my own! :)
I don’t think I have ever had a ‘curry puff’ but they would be a good thing to have up one’s sleeve for eating on out and about days on a wintery beach, or at a bird reserve, or anywhere where knifes and forks would be an encumberance, or maybe last thing at night when a person just fancied a little savoury something, or was procrastinating or had forgotten to organize supper…. they look beautiful, lucky wolves :) :) xx
Jo, sometimes people make big fat curry puffs, and they’d be perfect as you say for when you’re out and about – a bit like a Cornish pastie. I was surprised when you said you’d never had one before – over here they’re quite common in Thai and Chinese restaurants. But then again, over here samosas are far less well known! :) xx
I have a soft spot for curry puffs. I don’t think I’ve had chicken ones though! They look fab!
Lorraine, the traditional Malaysian ones are usually chicken (at least according to Wiki and my mother), but I’ve always made beef ones before now! :)
Lorraine – you should try the chicken curry puffs at Albee’s :-)
Great job, as usual…. you make it all sound so easy! I would probably eat four of those in one sitting, love this type of food.
Trying to catch up with my favorite food blogs, sorry to be absent!
Sally, you’re one of the busiest people I know! Never apologise, it’s always so nice to hear from you, but only when you have the time! :)
These look gorgeous, Celia and good on you for persevering. I made curry puffs once and I wasn’t happy with them. I made my own pastry but it wasn’t quite right. I love curry puffs so I should ‘man up’ and try them again. I’m not surprised your 30 curry puffs disappeared so quickly – they look so good xx
Thanks Charlie! I’m not sure what “right” is, but these were pretty good. I think the authentic pastry actually is made from a laminated dough, but that’s probably a bit too much work for me! :)
I’ve never tried store bought pastry before and although my homemade usually tastes good, I can never seem to make it look pretty. My mother used to whip up a pie then like a machine, pinch, pinch, pinch the edges so perfectly. I try to pinch edges and I just can’t make them stay together.
This all looks wonderful though and I think you’re right that the leftovers would be great over rice.
Di, pinch and squish is the technique – I squish a bit together flat with my thumb and index finger, then fold it over, and move onto the next bit. You’ve got to make sure the pastry knows who’s boss. :D
LOL, I think my pastry wins.
It love your home-made curry mufs a lot & loved your tasty alternative filling too! I made them & Peter & I both loved them so much,….pretty awesome, Celia. Xxx
Sophie, thank you for trying them! :)
:) x
That bloody frozen puff pastry is always like that. not sure what they make it out of but who in there right mind would roll out proper puff that thin anyway, Its a rip off. But look at your replacement!! it is spectacular. Did you use the left over in the wontons?. so delishus ( worthy of a new word).
No hon, I wrapped the leftover filling in fillo pastry and fed it to you, remember? :D