These baked curry puffs, 咖喱角 (Gā lí jiǎo) are one of the best snacks to make at home as they are tasty with a touch of spiciness and are completely vegan. I used a store-bought puff pastry which cut down my prepping time to more than half to make it a perfect quick meal.
My memories of Curry Puff
Curry puff is one of my favorite savory pastries growing up especially when I was in elementary school. It was normally sold side by side with keropok (assorted fried fritters) and cost about $0.25 each.
Curry puff is usually made with homemade dough and filled with curry potato filling, then deep-fried until golden brown and can be served as-is or with sauce. In this recipe, I used a store-bought puff pastry sheet instead of making homemade dough and baked them.
Why do you need this recipe
- A simple recipe using store-bought puff pastry
- It’s baked instead of deep-fried and the pastry has a wonderful flaky layer that is so crispy with each bite
- It’s suitable for make-ahead meals, especially for parties and potluck. Once you bake them, keep them warm in an oven at the lowest heat setting until you are ready to serve them.
How to make curry puffs (updated on August 28, 2020)
First, prepare the filling ingredients; potatoes, onion, and garlic. I like to cut them into tiny bits so they cook down faster plus you can fill more into the pastry.
Heat a non-stick pan with oil, and sauté onion until translucent. I used red onion for the extra sweetness but regular onion or shallots work just as great. Then, continue to sauté carrot and garlic for about 30 seconds or so.
Then, stir in the sambal, water or stock and a knotted pandan leaves. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and lower heat to simmer.
Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender and turn off the heat. By this time, the sauce will be slightly thickened and will get thicker when it’s cooled. Then, remove the pandan leaves and stir in the frozen peas. I like to add the frozen peas last to keep the vibrant green.
Thaw puff pastry as directed. Mine came with 2 sheets of 9X9 puff pastry. I divided mine into 9 squares on each. Place a heaping spoonful filling in the middle and wrap to seal. You can either pleat to seal or use a fork to press the opening together.
Brush the top with a vegan ‘egg’ wash. I used a mixture of plant-based milk and sugar gave these pastries a golden brown layer with a touch of sweetness. If you prefer a more savory ‘egg’ wash, melted vegan butter is great option as well. Bake 425°F (220°C) until golden brown. Time varies depending on pastry’s brand, so please bake as directed.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Potato – I used Russet but any other potatoes such as gold potatoes or sweet potatoes can be used as well.
- Sambal – This Easy Vegan Sambal or store-bought sambal works perfectly for this recipe. If you can’t find sambal, you can try subbing with chili sauce and adjust the taste accordingly.
- Frozen vegetables – gave this dish a great color but you can substitute with other vegetables such as chopped broccoli.
- Puff pastry – there are a few brands that do not contain butter, so please check the ingredients list for the vegan version.
These baked curry puffs are
- Simple to make and delicious
- Easily customizable such as subbing it with a mild potato curry without any heat
- Kid’s friendly meal
- Perfect for snacks or parties
- TASTY!!
Baked Curry Puffs – 咖喱角
Ingredients
- 1 pack [1.1lbs or 490g] vegan puff pastry of your choice
- 1 medium-sized potato (about 500g) cubed and soak in water to remove starch, drain well
- 1 medium onion or 2 shallots diced
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 small carrot diced into small cubes
- ⅓ cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoon sambal
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar adjust accordingly
- 2 cups veggie stock
- a few pandan leaves tie to a knot (optional)
- oil for cooking
- salt to taste
Vegan 'Egg' wash
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened plant-based milk
- ⅓ tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Prepare the potato by removing the skin, then cut into small cubes.
- To make the filling, heat a non-stick pan with 3 teaspoons of oil. Then, sauté onion until translucent and add in carrot, garlic, and sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Then, add the curry powder and potatoes, give it a quick stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Add the sambal paste and enough water or veggie broth to cover all the potatoes, about 2 cups along with a knotted pandan leaves, if using.
- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, add in the sugar (if using) then let it simmer until potatoes are fork-tender.
- Turn off the heat, then remove pandan leaves, stir in frozen peas, and season as preferred. Let the mixture cool down. The mixture will turn starchy like a paste once cooled down.
- Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C (some brands have a different baking time, please adjust accordingly)
- Thaw puff pastry according to package's instructions. Mine came with 2 sheets of 9X9. I cut each sheet to 9 pieces and roll to a square.
- Place 1-2 tablespoons of potato mixture and pleat to seal into your desired shapes.
- Brush each puff pastry with vegan 'egg' wash and bake until golden brown. It took me about 20-25 minutes. (Cooking time and oven temperature varies).
- Serve warm with a cup of ‘teh tarik’ – pull ‘milk’ tea.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is updated on August 28, 2020. My original recipe made 12 big curry puffs and called for cumin seed which was listed as optional.
- For a less sweet ‘egg’ wash, please use melted vegan butter as my original recipe called for it.
- If using frozen carrot, add them in along with the peas once you removed the pandan leaf.
Feel free to pin the below picture on your Pinterest Board for easy reference.
I adjusted the recipe slightly and I added 1 tablespoon of sugar. It was delicious. Louisa
These curry puffs are very tasty and incredibly easy to make. I had 4
In one sitting! Will be making these again 🙂 Thanks Woon Heng!