Growing up, we often took road trips with my cousins and my mom would make the best road trip snacks, sweet or savoury. Having a spicy tooth since life as I knew it, I loved to chow down this spicy meat filled buttery pastry puffs. Now, mother would always make the puff pastry from scratch, but I’ve started to make a quicker and easier version. This is a great snack which is very versatile. You can mix up the spices and make the pasties in any shape or size.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken (or ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
5 – 6 cloves of garlic, chopped or 3 tbsp of garlic paste
2 inch piece of ginger, chopped or 3 tbsp of ginger paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala (ground cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, cardamom)
1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional, I love it extra spicy)
1 small/ medium tomato
2 tbsp of tomato paste
Store bought pastry sheet
1 egg
oil
water as required
Method:
1) Cook the meat – Wash the ground meat. Add to a skillet that is heated on medium to high with oil. Add salt, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until brown. Stir often, do not let it stick.
2) Make the masala – Add the tomato to the skillet. Cook well, and then add all the spices. Stir and cook. Then add in the tomato paste. Stir and cook well. This will take some time. Add water to prevent the meat from sticking, but also make sure all the water evaporates before you take it off the heat.
3) Stuff the pastry – Beat your egg and set to the side. Roll out your store bought pastry sheet and cut into the size you’d like to have, make sure you have an even number of cute pieces. I cut mine into equal rectangles totalling 8 slices. Place the meat filling in the center of one pastry slice leaving the edge untouched. Wash the beaten egg on the edges of the pastry sheet and place a new piece of pastry to cover the filling. Press down the edges gently to close any gaps, then with a fork you can create indents around the edges. That’s it, just repeat for your remaining puffs.
4) Bake your puff pastries – Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. While the oven preheats, wash the tops of your pastry with egg. Once the oven is done pre-heating, cook them for about 30 minutes or until you see the tops are golden brown and puffed up.
5) Take them out of the oven, let them cool until its OM NOM NOM time!
Xo,
Biya
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