I love Thai food. It is the first Asian cuisine I learnt to enjoy. I love everything about it: textures, flavours, spices, smells… the full package. Whenever we go out to eat Thai, curry puffs are always among the appetisers we order. I love these crunchy little parcels of fried pastry filled with all kinds of goodies and spices. My favourite ones are the potato filled curry puffs. I like them so much that I started making them at home. I came up with a filling recipe that everyone in the family likes and that is a mix of many recipes. I really do not know how authentic this filling is, but it does taste pretty much the same as what we eat at Thai restaurants around here. As for the pastry, I have been looking for a long time for a good recipe without finding one, so I used to make them with puff pastry. Until a few days ago, when I came upon a very promising (and great looking) curry-puff pastry recipe at Tes at Home, a blog I LOVE. Tes is originally from Thailand so I immediately knew I had to give this recipe a try! And I am so glad I did: the curry puffs tasted delicious and the pastry was crunchy and light. Besides, it looks great… it is actually a pastry made with 2 different doughs: a water based dough and a butter based dough. They are then wrapped one inside the other and rolled out in a very clever way to get beautiful double coloured patterns after you fry them. Don’t they look gorgeous?
Ingredients:
For the filling
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
700 gms – 1.5 lbs potatoes, diced and boiled
1 carrot, grated
1 cup peas
1/4 cup soy sauce
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
2 tsp fish sauce
½ a lemon’s juice
2 tsp sugar
For the pastry – Recipe adapted from Tes at Home
Water based dough
2 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water
Butter based dough
1 ½ cup flour
75 gms – 5 tbsp butter cut into small cubes
2 or 3 tbsp water
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve
To prepare the filling
Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft.
Add the boiled potato, grated carrots and peas and cook for 1 minute.
Combine the soy sauce, turmeric, cumin, coriander, fish sauce, lemon juice and sugar in a bowl.
Pour the sauce over the veggies. Cook until dry. Set aside to cool completely.
Now prepare the pastry. Start by making the water based dough. Put all the ingredients in a mixer with a dough hook and knead until you get a smooth dough.
Wrap it in cling-wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, proceed to make the butter based dough in the same way.
When both doughs are ready, take the water based one and roll it out into a sheet. Then wrap it around the butter based dough.
Now roll out this ball into a long sheet and roll it back in tightly like a Swiss roll.
Roll out the dough again and roll it back in tightly like you did before.
Slice the dough into 3 mm thick circles and gently roll them out with the rolling pin.
Spoon 1 tablespoon of the potato mixture into the centre of each pastry round. Fold the pastry in half and fold the edges over to seal your curry puff.
Deep fry them in batches in vegetable oil over medium-high heat until golden brown. Transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain the excess oil. Serve them hot with some sweet chilli sauce.
NOTE: You can also make these curry puffs using puff pastry. And even though they won’t be the traditional curry puffs, the result will still be delicious.
You can even bake the ones made with puff pastry instead of frying them.
noooo…stupendi! ma quanto sei brava?!?
Those look great. I’ve never had them. I like Thai food too, but don’t go out for it much because my wife doesn’t like it.
wow ur curry puffs came out so well.. and golden.
My curry puffs i attempted were small and quite hard to roll out. I found the pastry shinking everytime i was tryin to roll it out 🙁
Never had thai food (I never saw a Thai restaurant in Italy :S), and now I know what I’m missing! 🙁
These puffs look amazing! And the pastry reminded my of sfogliatelle, in the end 😉
I also love Thai food and curry puffs are one of my favorite things to order! I started making them when we moved to Israel and I couldn’t get Thai take-out anymore 🙁 Next time I will try your recipe!
It looks so so beautiful! They are just asking to be eaten 🙂
Your curry puffs look so beautiful! I am also a huge fan of Thai food and curry puffs. You are making me crave some right now!
My favorite !! Love that lovely swirl lines on the pastry
Thanks Wendy! <3
I love Thai food also, but I’ve never had a curry puff! They look so delicious! That swirl action that you have going on the dough looks awesome too!
I was wondering how you made the pretty pastry! Those are so cool! I’ve never tried them before but they sounds really good, especially since they have curry in them!
…there’s no tomatoes though, right!?
What? You mean to say I went all the way to Thailand and I missed these beauties? I have to return ASAP.
Or better still, just follow your amazing recipe. They are so pretty – look like exotic shells in a basket!
OMG your curry puffs look gorgeous! I love they way you made the dough. They turned out so pretty. I had my first curry puff in Singapore and got hooked. The dough look similar to your, but much more flaky. It seems too difficult to make, but you’ve inspired me to go and look for that recipe.
In the Philippines, we call curry puffs “empanada”. I never tried making it with homemade dough but after seeing your very beautiful curry puffs, I just got so inspired!!! I guess I will be trying it soon!
Such a clever idea to create beautiful looking pastry!
Thanks for sharing!
Ohhh thank you so much for your sweet comment Adelina! <3
I’ve seen similar oil/water layered doughs get baked instead of fried. I think it might be worth trying your technique with other cooking methods, though it might require adding vegetable coloring to make the pattern stand out.
Gorgeous, I love the pastry…so beautiful. I am not a huge deep fryer, but one day, I will try this recipe. Thanks!
The marbling effect on the pastry looks amazing, and they look so appetizing.
This looks absolutely wonderful!!!
God those swirls on the pastry….. Heavenly…
This is such a lovely idea. I was looking at it and was wondering .. what are those strips and how ??? The step by step photos helps a lot 🙂
That pastry looks amazing Manu! I love the patterns that rolling it like that makes and they are such a lovely deep golden brown shade too 🙂
Wow! They look amazing! Love the swirl of the pastry in the first pic…
I love Thai food too. In fact I love almost all Asian cuisines but I’ve never made these curry puffs. I love those rings on the dough! Looks delicious.
Very impressive! I don’t normally order curry puffs at a restaurant because they tend to be soggy, but yours look amazing 🙂
Oh wow these look so cool! I love how they came out. Thai food is one of my favorites of the asian cuisine too.
We adore Curry Puffs, but we’ve never seen any looking quite so gorgeous! Really beautiful!
Manu, these curry puffs look awesome, I love how we can see the layers…so flaky, beautiful. Love your step-by-step pictures.
Hope you are having a wonderful week 🙂
Girl – I can’t keep up with your production! You are one busy chef! 🙂 I saw these on Tes’ site a while back and they took my breath away. Well, I’m having to catch my breath again! Beautiful! Love the filling and thanks for letting me know that the puff pastry in the oven works just fine – just not as pretty. 🙂
this looks so yum. i am going to try this sometime over the weekend. hopefully i have time to do this. my boyfriend would absolutely love this.
I hope you do! They are really yummy! Let me know how you go! 🙂
Oh I feel like I’ve been missing out- this is like a thai/indian empanada! I love it! Looks so yummy Manu!
I’ve never seen swirls like this in any type of dough before. Very beautiful Manu and what patience and talent this takes.
Love this curry puff wraps. The look soo cute! And I am sure thay taste even better!
Manu, these curry puffs are making me miss the ones I grew up with in Malaysia where they also come either baked or deep fried although the filling of chicken and potato has more curry and chilli powder and a lot spicier. You have baked them to a perfect golden brown!
Ohhh this comment made my day!!! Really!!! THANK YOU!!!! 🙂
Yes! They looks gergeous! 🙂
In indonesia there a snack similar like this manu, called “pastel”
From what I read the skin-pastry looks the same, but the filling basicaly only carrot, potato, and chicken, and sometimes vermicelli
Glad u post this recipe, now I can learn more thai cuisine since I’m a fan of too!
Tasty snack! 😉
Manu, these are so gorgeous. I love the swirls cause by mixing the two pastries. How clever is that! I always learn something new from your blog.
These are a work of art! Just beautiful. I can only imagine how good they taste. I love Thai food–these flavors have to be fantastic. Yum!
Oh…those puffs looks beautiful with that spiral lines. In Peru we call that puffs “empanadas” and are filled with whatever you want, but the filling with potato I only saw in Bolivian puffs called “salteñas”.
Oh my goodness, Manu you did such an incredible job..when I say that first picture I thought “how did she get those lines on the fried dough” but that is an amazing method! Love this, will have to make it when I get fully better.
That is one great recipe and thank you so much for all the step-by-step photos for the dough!! Definitely one for the bookmarks!
Ohhh thank you so so much Amrita!!! I really appreciate your lovely comment! <3
I adore Thai food but had never heard of curry puffs and don’t remember seeing them on a menu ever. They sound delicious and that pattern is gorgeous!
Completely speechless! I want this right now!!! I love curry and this makes me really happy. The dough is very interesting. I have tried to spread the dough into flat square but I never made it so nicely – I guess practice makes it perfect and I definitely need the practice. So pretty and I bet taste is amazing. Your kids are lucky….:-)
This is so beautiful especially the swirl! I love curry puffs with potatoes, sardines or chicken mushrooms but all these are stall-bought. I didn’t know there’s a Thai version of curry puffs, always thought it’s Malay food.. 😛
First of all I have to say that the pictures are stunning..
I’m in love with your photography
I am new to Thai food..I have only tried a couple of recipes and I love it so far..your amazing curry puffs are next on my list
Manu, these curry puffs look gorgeous! I tried making Thai curry puffs once or twice (once with a chocolate and plain oil dough!) but even mine didn’t look as perfect as yours. I think using butter and oil has a slightly different effect on the dough, I’m going to have to try making a butter dough.
hiiiii….i notice everybody like thai food…why don’t give a visit to our blog here..
http://esanthaikitchen.blogspot.com/
we love Tes so much since we are half Thailand and another half Malaysian..our restaurant is in Malaysia..Malaysian also do eat Curry puff a lot..but we say it as “KARIPAP”
Super cool! (as usual!) These flavors are right up my alley! And I heart the swirly dough!
Manu, great YBR pick! These are absolutely beautiful, and they must be delicious! I love Thai food!
Manu, Your curry puffs look to die for. I also love them but never tried the Thai versions, only the Malaysian ones. Definitely going to try your recipe. Thanks for participating in September’s YBR 🙂 Sorry I’m so late in getting here.
Uh…. no way! These are AMAZING! Bookmarking these so I can make them ASAP! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome, extra helpful step by step pics! 😀