Chicken curry pasties

Delicate, spiced pastry packed with curried chicken thighs and vegetables.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I adore a pasty and can easily snaffle several of them, irrespective of the filling.

They are also a great way to use left-overs or general odds and sods lurking in the fridge or freezer. For these I simply used some chicken thighs, onions, carrots, potatoes and frozen peas, cooked off with curry spices before encasing in the pastry.

However, I sometimes just use any left-over curry from a previous meal: Nisha Katona’s 30-minute Mowgli book has a stunning chicken keema recipe that I sometimes use for these.

When making from scratch, I add most of the filling ingredients to the food processor and pulsed until it the chicken and vegetables broke down somewhat, but not quite to a mush. However, you can simply chop the filling ingredients up finely. The trick, though, is keeping some identifiable pieces of vegetables – not least for texture.

Chicken curry pasties

I’ve gone fairly mild on the heat front, but you can amp up the heat. You can also add all manner of other goodies: chopped chillies, ginger, different vegetables (cauliflower is wonderful!), using mince lamb or left-over cooked meat from a roast..…….

A good shop-bought shortcrust or puff pastry is great but I made a quick shortcrust on the food mixer that I flavoured with curry spices so that the filling is not the only star of the show!

Recipe: chicken curry pasties – makes 6

Chicken curry pasties

Pastry:

• 160g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 40g unsalted butter
• 40g lard
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water to mix

Filling:

• 2 small chicken thighs, bones and skin removed
• 1 large onion, peeled and very roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, lightly chopped – no need to peel
• 2-3 tablespoons frozen peas
• 3-4 small salad potatoes, sliced thinly – no need to peel
• 3 teaspoons curry paste of choice
• 1 teaspoon mango chutney or lime pickle
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying

To finish:

• 1 egg, beaten
• cumin seeds, optional

You also need a baking sheet lined with greaseproof and should preheat the oven to 190°C(fan)

(1) Make the pastry: add the ingredients – apart from the water – to a food processor. Pulse gently until the fat has broken down and is barely visible. Add water a couple of teaspoons at a time and pulse just until a soft dough is formed. Chill while you prepare the filling.

(2) Make the filling: add the chicken, onion and carrots to the food processor and pulse to break then down: this only takes a few seconds so go carefully as you want a bit of texture in there rather than a purée.

(3) Scrape the chicken mixture into a pan with a little vegetable oil and add the potatoes, the curry spices and seasoning.  Fry over a medium-low heat for about 8 minutes – this is enough to just cook the chicken.

(4) Remove from the heat and stir in the frozen peas and chutney/pickle. Leave to cool.

A delicious filling for chicken curry pasties

(5) Assemble: take the pastry out of the fridge and cut into 6 equal pieces. Shape each into a rough ball and roll out thinly on a lightly floured surface.

(6) Cut out circles using a medium bowl or plate (I used a bowl with a diameter of about 14cm, but use what you have).

(7) Take about 2 tablespoons of the cooled mixture and place down the centre of a circle of pastry. You can lightly stretch the pastry if you need to: it is very well-behaved!

Filling chicken curry pasties

(8) Brush the edge lightly with the beaten egg and bring the pastry up and over the filling to meet above the centre. Pinch well to seal and crimp if you wish and place on the baking tray. Repeat with the rest of the pastry.

Shaping chicken curry pasties

(9) Brush the tops generously with the egg and sprinkle over cumin seeds, if using. Make a couple of slits into the pasties with sharp knife to let the steam escape when they bake.

Chicken curry pasties: ready to bake

(10) Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pasties are a deep golden-brown.

Chicken curry pasties: freshly baked

Author: Philip

Finalist on Britain’s Best Home Cook (BBC Television 2018). Published recipe writer with a love of growing fruit & veg, cooking, teaching and eating good food. View all posts by Philip