Malaysian Curry Puff
Curry puff, or is more known as karipap in my homeland country Malaysia is basically fried crispy dough filled with various fillings. Karipap is eaten as a snack, for breakfast and tea time.
If you are familiar with empanadas then you would say "Hey, those are empanadas, not curry puff!"
Yeah, I know. My in-laws called them Malaysian empanadas. Haha!
Well as similar looking as they are, unfortunately, they are not.
Do you notice that every country has its own version of curry puff, or karipap, or empanada? That's simply amazing right? I love the international and cultural connection through food.
So like I mentioned earlier, Malaysian curry puff is usually fried. That's how they get their golden color.
Today I thought I would share with you my twist on our curry puff.
Healthier Curry Puff
I know everybody tries to do their best in their meal selection. Personally for me, if I can change just a bit here and there and make it a habit, that is a good practice towards a healthier path.
So for this recipe, I will share with you my baked version of our delicious curry puff.
Yes, baked.
Not only they are delicious, but they are easy to make like our amazing hot dog mummies, and by baking them you don't need to babysit them while frying. Just put everything in the oven and that's it.
Achieving Golden Color Curry Puff
Baked pastries are quite difficult to achieve that golden color like fried pastries. Unless they are with a higher fat content like puff pastry.
I've tested this recipe for several times to get that golden color and finally came up with such a simple answer.
Turmeric powder.
Yes.
Turmeric is widely used in our Malaysian cuisine and even in the filling for this curry puff, I add some turmeric to it. It's a natural food coloring with lots of benefits.
So I thought why not simply add turmeric powder to the dough, which is going to help give it that wonderful yellow color?
To further help in achieving that golden color, I also brush the curry puff with some egg wash before I bake them.
As you can see, they turn out so beautiful. Don't you agree?
Climping Curry Puff
There are many ways to seal a curry puff. The way that I usually do it is by crimping the edges as I have shown in the video below.
The way a person crimps their curry puff is different too. Haha! Yes I know I'm that weird to be noticing that but I do.
My mother crimped differently than me. My mother-in-law crimps her Argentine empanada differently also. Marco? I don't remember if I ever gave him the task of crimping either curry puff or empanada. Haha!
You can also press the edges with a fork, no problem at all. The objective is simply to seal the edges so that the filling doesn't come out while baking.
Hey talking about empanada several times already, have you tried my Argentine-style empanada? They are delicious! My mini chicken pot pies are also a must-try!
Now that you can easily make your own curry puff, perhaps you will be interested in another version of curry puff, which is spiral curry puff.
Video
📖 Recipe
Baked Chicken Curry Puff
Ingredients
The Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 gr), softened
- 1 egg , room temperature
- 3 ¾ cup bread flour (490 gr)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup warm water (160 ml)
The Filling
- ½ red onion
- 5 garlic cloves
- 5 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoon small shrimps
- 2 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 7 oz minced chicken (200 gr)
- 1 lb potato (450 gr), cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt to taste
- 1 cup water (250 ml), add more ad needed
- ½ cup chopped parsley (15 gr)
Others
- egg wash (1 egg and a splash of milk) , for brushing
Instructions
The Dough
- Using paddle attachment to a standing mixer, whisk butter until fluffy. Then add in egg and mix to combine. Add half of the flour together with salt and turmeric powder. Mix to incorporate. Then add the rest of flour and give it one last mix. You will end up with small crumbs of dough.
- Change to hook attachment and slowly add in warm water as you mix. Knead for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces. Each piece is around 1.4 oz (41 gr). Form each piece into a ball and place them in a container. Cover tightly with a cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours or until firm.
The Filling
- Roughly chop onion and garlic. Place them in a chopper together with anchovies and shrimps. Blend into a fine paste. Set aside.
- Heat some oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add in the paste and cook until it turns golden brown. Then add in minced chicken and continue cooking until it's fully cooked, breaking it into small pieces as you go. Add in curry powder, turmeric powder, cayenne pepper powder, garam masala and cook for 1 minutes until the powdery taste is gone.
- Then add in potato, water, sugar and salt to taste. Cook until the potato is tender and the water evaporates, leaving a dry mixture. Add water as needed. Lastly add in parsley and give it a good mix. Cool the filling completely before using.
Assembling
- Take a ball and roll it into a disk. Put some filling in the center and fold the dough together. Pinch the edges and climp. Place the curry puff on a baking tray with a baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the balls. Finally brush them with the egg wash.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 25 minutes or until golden brown and fully cooked. Enjoy!
Elizabeth says
Thanks for the recipe, Bea. I made the curry puffs yesterday. I'm a novice in the kitchen, but I now have some nice curry puffs to eat!
Modified the filling a little but followed the dough recipe to a T. It was easy to handle 😊.
Bea, do you have pointers for a crispy dough? I like that version.
P/S: I'm a fellow Malaysian who has just started learning to bake 😊
Bea says
I'm glad to hear that you loved them, Elizabeth! I'm always excited to know another fellow Malaysian here 😊. As for crispy dough, try baking them longer. They won't be the same like fried ones though. Hope it helps and thank you for your feedback!
Elizabeth says
Thank you, Bea!
Elizabeth says
Bea, can I leave the dough balls in the fridge overnight? How many days in advance may I make the dough balls?
Thank you in advance.
Bea says
Yes, you can. I've left it up for 2 days, it's totally fine. But the dough colour tends to change a bit, just letting you know. Hope it helps 😊.
June says
I used gluten free flour and it cracked. I guess it needs gluten
Bea says
Yes it does. That's why we knead the dough, to develop the gluten. Hope you'd give it another try! 😊
Sue says
The dough recipe is good. But I used all purpose flour and when I made with exact measurements in the recipe, it was much less than 20 x 40 g. Had to add 2 tablespoons of flour and a bit more water. This is better than another dough recipe I had used before, this dough is much more "pliable" and easier to fill and crimp. Thank you.
P.S. Did a vegetarian filling with just potatoes, peas and carrots.
Bea says
Hi Sue! Changing the flour, in this case using all purpose flour, will effect the amount of liquid and the texture. I'd suggest you follow the recipe exactly as written (both ingredients and measurements) for better result. Thank you!
Sue says
Hey Bea, Sue again. Just wanted to say I’ve done this twice since and I use 125 g of butter and 500 g of AP flour. Makes 20 pieces of approx 40 / 41 g. Really good recipe, thanks for sharing. Btw not that I don’t want to follow your recipe, but usually I just have AP flour at home.
WeeMee says
This is the second recipe that I’ve tried from your website. The curry puffs were delicious, we particularly liked the taste of the filling. The pastry was very easy to work with. I wonder if it would be the case if plain flour was used instead? They were also crispy when they came out of the oven, but less so after a few hours. I suppose sprinkling them with a few drops of water before putting them back in a preheated oven before eating would ‘freshen’ them up.
Thank you for sharing
Bea says
Awesome, I'm happy to know that you liked it! It's natural that after a few hours, baked goods wouldn't get as crispy as they were when they recently came out from the oven. What I always do is give them a few minutes time in the oven at 400ºF (200ºC) to bring them back to life. Hope it helps. Thank you!
Martin Schulz says
Thanks for sharing. I was long looking for a health conscious, easy to find ingredient recipe for curry puff, No need to deep fry but the dough is crispy. It raises wonderful with only 1 egg usage. It will be definitely one of my best recipes.
Bea says
Me too, I've been baking them instead of frying for years now. I also use the same dough for empanadas 😀 . Thanks Martin!
Lyn says
Will there be any difference if use all purpose flour instead of bread flour for the dough?
Thank you!
Bea says
For me yes, it's different. I recommend you using bread flour. Hope it helps.
Paul says
I have been eyeing this recipe for quite a while and only recently we took the time to make it. We didn't change anything. The curry puffs were full of flavour. Amazing. Thank you.
Bea says
You made roti canai? Hey that's awesome! I'm happy to know that you loved it, thank you so much! It does require bit of steps but for me totally worth it 🙂
Jasmin Z. says
Hi Bea,
first I have to say that nearly all of your recipes sound delicious and then that the filling of the curry puffs is great although i made the puffs in a vegetarian way with little modifications: instead of anchovy and shrimps i used miso paste and instead of chicken jackfruit! And the recipe for your dhal curry is perfect!
Best wishes from germany
Jasmin
p.s.: tomorrow i will try your oat muffins (wish of my daughter) and maybe your chocolate cheesecake (wish of my son)!
Bea says
Hi Jasmin, I'm excited to hear that you've converted it to vegetarian. That's awesome! A secret 😀 , the dhal curry taste even better the next day (at least for me 😀 ). Hope both your daughter and son will like the muffins and cheesecake. Thank you so much Jasmin! 🙂
Jemaima says
I really loved your style,keep it up!
Bea says
Thank you so much Jemaima! 🙂
Zelph says
Hi Bea!
Love your recipes 🥰
1) For the filling, step number 3, can I use coconut milk instead of water?
2) And would the recipe still work if I take out shrimps and anchovies?