Curry Puffs (Singapore/Malaysia)


World-Bites (4) / Curry Puffs (Singapore/Malaysia)

Curry puff is a Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai snack which is of Malay origin. Curry puffs look like crispy dumplings or large samosas. Because Singapore is so diverse culturally, no one knows exactly where the dish came from originally, and some even say it came from the U.K. No matter where it came from, curry puffs are the most popular afternoon snack in Singapore. It is a small pie consisting of specialized curry with chicken and potatoes in a deep-fried or baked pastry shell. The curry is quite thick to prevent it from oozing out of the snack. A common snack in the region, the curry puff is one of several "puff"-type pastries with different fillings, though now it is by far the most common. Other common varieties include sardines and onions or sweet fillings such as yam. In Indian food stalls in Malaysia, it is quite common to find vegetarian curry puffs with potatoes, carrots and onions as fillings. The Malay curry puffs tend to be sweet while the Indian curry puffs are usually spicy.

Ingredients

Filling

5 tablespoons oil
1 medium red or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne or red chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
2 large potatoes, boiled and finely diced
1-1/2 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste

Pastry

4 cups white flour
10 tablespoons butter or margarine
14 tablespoons water
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

To make the filling, heat oil and fry onion gently until golden brown. Add the curry powder, cayenne and 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 the pastry, mix flour with butter or margarine, water and salt and knead well. Let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into small balls and roll into 3 inches diameter rounds. Take a tablespoon of filling and place in center. Fold pastry over to make a half circle and crimp the edges. Heat oil in wok and deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot with cilantro chutney.