If you noticed that I have not posted for quite a few days, you are absolutely right. Have you ever had those days or weeks when you can hardly find the time to do anything else you WANT to do because there are so many other things that NEEDS to be done? Well this week has been exactly that. So my apologies if you’ve come back looking for more current recipes only to find my last aapam recipe sitting patiently waiting to be demoted from the feature column of my blog. Now that the weekend has safely arrived, and I have survived the ordeal of first week of school with a first grader, I am going to put up the curry puff I made last week. Now what are curry puffs? 

Curry puffs are small palm sized deep fried semi-circle pastries with potato filling in it. Other versions have potato with meat or chicken and the bonus - a slice of full boiled egg as well. These used to be sold at 3 for $1. However, I think with inflation and the rising cost of food prices, it’s about 50 cents apiece now. Alternative names for curry puffs are epok-epok or karipap. Although to me karipap refers to a completely different food item. The Karipap is a large triangle shaped baked pastry that has a similar filling as the curry puffs.  So sometimes, it can get rather confusing with all these names used interchangeably!

Anyhoots, my son was craving for these and I made some successfully. It’s easy enough to make, but it’s rather time consuming. So I wouldn’t choose this one if I’m running short of time, or if I’m not in the mood for a therapeutic dough-rolling session! You have been warned!

Ingredients for pastry: (makes about 15)
2 cups plain flour
180ml water
4tbsp margarine
1/4 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. In a pot, combine margarine and water and bring to a boil.
2. Put the flour in a bowl. Pour the boiling mixture into the flour.
3. Use a spoon to stir the flour and water mixture until it combines to become a dough. (You don’t want to scald your fingers!)
4. The dough will be warm enough to knead now. Knead for a few minutes.
5. Place dough in a plastic wrap, leave it in the fridge to cool for about 30 minutes.
6. When cooled, remove from fridge, place on a rolling board. Roll to about 0.3cm in thickness.
7. Cut 5cm circles in the dough. Place 1 tbsp filling in the centre and fold the edges. Or use a wanton maker to make life easier.
8. When the oil is hot, drop the epok-epok into the oil.
9. Fry on both sides till golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
10. Serve hot for tea time.

Ingredients for filling:

1/4 lb minced beef/mutton
2 medium sized potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
1 stalk curry leaves
1 cinnamon
1 star anise
2 tbsp meat curry powder, mixed with enough water to form a paste
100ml water
Salt and sugar to taste
1 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pot. Add onion, curry leaves, cinnamon and star anise. Fry till fragrant.
2. Add the meat and potatoes. On medium heat, fry for about 5 minutes. The meat will have changed colour.
3. Then add the water, curry paste, salt and sugar. Cook covered under low heat. Occasionally stir so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pot or burn.
4. When the potatoes are cooked and the filling is rather dry, turn off heat. Leave aside to cool completely before using.

Tips:

• You can make the filling earlier and freeze it if not using. This will last for about 2 days. Before use, microwave until lukewarm. Leave it to cool before using.
• If using the filling the next day, simply store covered in the refrigerator.
• When rolling the dough, it is easier to roll small pieces of the dough rather than the whole dough at once. So break the dough into fistful sizes to make it more manageable.
• If you’re in the mood to explore making a more beautiful pastry check this website .