Curry Puff 咖哩餃

Curry puff is a scrumptious savory snack in Singapore and Malaysia, enjoyed by many for breakfast or as a small bite in between meals. For those of us who love curry, this grab-and-go curry-flavored chicken and potato encased in deep-fried pastry is quite irresistible, to say the least.

Curry puff can be made with either short crust pastry (using 1 type of dough) or spiral pastry (combining 2 types of dough). Today's curry puff is made using spiral pastry with its signature flaky layers, adding a more interesting texture to the bite. This is achieved by combining, rolling and folding together two types of dough - one layer of water dough with another layer of oil dough. The oil dough acts as a "separator" between the water dough, and with a few simple folds and rolls, the end result is layers of flaky deliciousness.

While it may sound a little complicated on paper, it really is not as difficult when you get to it. This technique bears some similarities to puff pastry, but simpler with less folding and without the additional steps of repeatedly chilling the dough in the fridge during the process.

For the pastry, I am using Auntie Ruby's (re-created) recipe from Food Canon. My husband who has eaten his fair share of curry puffs gave this pastry dough his seal of approval for authenticity and taste. As my food taster and critic, I asked him if any adjustments need to be made, and his answer was "No - it is great the way it is". Thank you Auntie Ruby and Mr Food Canon.

If you have never made pastry with layers before, you might want to give this a try. Here are some pictorial steps to take you through the process:

1) With a few simple ingredients, create a water dough and a oil dough

2) Roll-out the water dough, place the oil dough on water dough

 3) Wrap the oil dough with water dough

4) Seal the dough and nudge into a ball

5) Flatten the ball and with a rolling pin, roll it out into a long rectangle shape

6) Fold over the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 portion of rectangle dough

7) Rotate the dough 90 degrees with the open end facing you

8) Using rolling pin, roll-out the dough again into a rectangle shape

9) Using hands, roll-up the rectangle shape dough (from short end) tightly like a swiss roll

10) With a knife, slice the "swiss roll" into 10 pieces

11) Flatten each sliced swiss-roll with a rolling pin, with edges thinner than center

12) Place a heap of filling on rolled-out dough

13) Seal the curry puff by pinching with your index finger and thumb

14) To create folds, start from the right side of the dough fringe. Use your thumb and index finger to give the dough an extra hard pinch to thin it out, then fold it back against itself at 45 degrees. Repeat the steps till the folds are completed across the fringe.

CURRY PUFF RECIPE
Makes 20 curry puffs (pastry recipe from Food Canon)
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Ingredients:

Note: Cook filling before working on pastry.

Filling
400g chicken, diced into small pieces
400g potatoes, diced into small cubes of 1/4 inch (or 1/2 cm)
3/4 cup green peas (optional)
1 onion, diced finely
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
4 tbsp cooking oil
oil for deep-frying

Steps for Filling

• Heat up 2 tbsp oil in pan (or wok) over medium heat, add diced potatoes once oil is hot (potatoes take longer to cook so we pan-fry it first). Cover the pan with a lid. Once potatoes are lightly-browed, flip them over to cook the other side.
• Once the other side is lightly-browned and potatoes are soft, create a well in the center by moving potatoes to the side. Add 2 tbsp oil in pan, add onions and stir-fry till slightly translucent.
• Add curry powder to onions and stir-fry till aromatic.
• Add chicken, green peas and mix well with rest of ingredients. 
• Add salt, sugar, water. Allow the filling to soak up the water. The filling should taste moist yet not wet. If too wet it will cause pastry to become soggy. If too dry it will not taste good. Taste and adjust salt and water if necessary.
• Once ready, set the filling aside to cool down.

Pastry - Water dough (outside)
250g all purpose flour

50g margarine (or butter)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold water (about 100 ml)

• Mix ingredients and knead till dough is smooth (about 2-3 minutes)
• Divide into 2 portions

Pastry - Oil dough (inside)

125g all purpose flour

75g margarine (or butter)

• Mix ingredients and knead till dough is smooth (about 1-2 minutes)
• Divide into 2 portions

Steps for Pastry (also refer to pictures above)

* Dust flour on dough and work surface as needed during the process

1. Create water and oil dough according to steps above. Work with 1 portion of water dough combined with 1 portion of oil dough at a time. (cover the other portions with plastic wrap to avoid drying up)
2. Roll-out the water dough, place the oil dough on water dough
3. Wrap the oil dough with water dough
4. Seal the dough and nudge into a ball
5. Flatten the ball and with a rolling pin, roll it out into a long rectangle shape (about 13x4 inch or 33x10cm)
6. Fold over the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 portion of rectangle dough
7. Rotate the dough 90 degrees with the open end facing you
8. Using rolling pin, roll-out the dough again into a rectangle shape (about 13x4 inch or 33x10cm)
9. Using hands, roll-up the rectangle shape dough (from short end) tightly like a swiss roll
10. With a knife, slice the "swiss roll" into 10 pieces (cover the pieces you are not working on with a piece of plastic wrap to avoid drying up)
11. Flatten each sliced swiss-roll with a rolling pin, with edges thinner than center
12. Place a heap of filling on rolled-out dough (be generous with filling - you want a puffy puff, not skinny puff)
13. Seal the curry puff by pinching with your index finger and thumb
14. To create folds, start from the right side of the dough fringe. Use your thumb and index finger to give the dough an extra hard pinch to thin it out, then fold it back against itself at 45 degrees. Repeat the steps till the folds are completed across the fringe.
15. Repeat the process with the 2nd portion of water and oil dough

Deep-frying

• Once the curry puffs are wrapped up, heat up enough oil for deep-frying. Deep-fry them over low or medium-low heat in gently bubbling oil till crust is lightly browned. Do not over-crowd the pan. They are best eaten warm.
• These curry puffs can also be frozen and deep-fried when ready to eat. Do not thaw them before deep-frying.