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Beef Curry Puffs

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Traditionally eaten at breakfast or tea time, curry puffs are pastries filled with hearty ingredients like curried potatoes and minced meats. These savory pies originated in Malaysia and Singapore but have expanded out to other latitudes, taking on local flavors as they’ve gone. Similar to Hispanic and Spanish empanadas, Indian samosas, and sweet and savory hand pies, they travel well, are filled with varied ingredients, and keep well overnight.

Usually stuffed with a thick mixture of curried potatoes, nowadays it is easy to find curry puffs stuffed with minced meats, sardines, cheese, eggs, or a combination of two or more. Fried to a golden brown, curry puffs are common street food and are a filling and delicious treat that you can make at home to serve as an appetizer, cocktail food, or as a light lunch or dinner.

The classic version is made with an oily and flaky pastry shell, but our easier version conveniently uses store-bought frozen puff pastry for an equally delicious puff in half the time. We also bake the puffs for a lighter and crispier result, without added oil from the traditionally fried pastry. It’s then stuffed with beef, onions, and spices.

Serve hot, or make bigger batches to freeze and keep for later use. These puffs are delicious on their own, but when served with your favorite chutney or tomato or onion relish, they become a wonderful explosion of flavors.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 10.7 ounces (300 grams) ground beef
  • 1 large potato, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For Assembling:

  • 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
  • 1 large egg

Steps to Make It

 

Make the Filling

  1. Gather ingredients.

    Ingredients for Indian curry puffs filling gathered
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.

    Onions cooking in a skillet with a wooden spoon
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  3. Add the curry powder and briskly stir. Cook for one minute until fragrant.

    Onions cooking with curry powder in a skillet
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  4. Add the ground beef, breaking up to fine mince as it cooks for 3 to 4 minutes.

    Ground beef, onions, and curry powder cooking in a skillet
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  5. Add the cubed potatoes and salt into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 20 to 25 minutes.

    Cubed potatoes and curry beef mixture in a skillet
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

 

Assemble Puffs

  1. Remove sheets of puff pastry out of the freezer and leave them on the kitchen counter to defrost for about ten minutes.

    Puff pastry sheets and egg in a bowl
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

    Two rimmed baking sheets linked with parchment paper
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg.

    Egg whisked in a small glass bowl
    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga 

  4. Take one piece of puff pastry and cut it into four equal squares.

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