{spiral curry puff in hermie}

I like puff pastry. What's not to like? It's crispy, flakey and can be used in so many different ways that the ideas are endless. One of these ways is the cheat's way to an easy curry puff. Up until recently, I always used puff pastry for a curry puff because I thought that making them the traditional way was too hard and time consuming. Also, because you could just bake them in the oven and that was it. However, with my sister's kitchen tea looming, I thought I'd give these babies a go and surprisingly, they're not that hard.

These spiral curry puffs are found all over Malaysia and Singapore and I love devouring them when we visit. The fillings are always similar yet different so everyone has their favourite 'best' place to go. Now that I have made my own, I have a lot more respect to the people that make them day in and day out. Another thing to note is that they are deep fried hence the crispiness of the pastry but probably not so good for those thinking about their health. Also, I'm not sure that they store well (frozen or not) when making a double batch, so for me there will always be a place for the puff pastry curry puffs in my freezer. Enjoy!

This dough recipe is from the "Taste of Asia" Thermomix cookbook with some tweaks.

Water Dough:
210 grams plain flour (plus extra to get the right texture. I found my dough was too wet & sticky so needed more to be able to work with it)
pinch of salt
100 grams warm water
1 egg
60 grams butter

1. Place all ingredients into TM bowl. Mix 4secs/ speed 6.
2. Knead the dough 1min/ closed lid position/ knead button.
3. Wrap in cling wrap and set aside in the fridge.

Oil Dough:
150 grams plain flour
100 grams butter

1. Place all ingredients into TM bowl. Mix 4secs/ speed 6.
2. Knead the dough 1min/ closed lid position/ knead button.
3. Wrap in cling wrap and set aside in the fridge. Meanwhile, make the filling.

Filling:
500 grams beef / chicken mince
half an onion, peeled
1 small potato, peeled & cubed 1cm
20grams vegetable oil
2-3 heaped tablespoons curry powder
50 grams water
salt to taste

vegetable oil for deep frying (e.g. rice bran, canola)

1. Chop onion, 3secs/ speed 6. Scrape down the sides.
2. Add cubed potato and oil. Saute 8mins/varoma/ stir speed/ reverse.
3. Add beef mince, curry powder, salt and water to TM bowl. Cook 8mins/ varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Cool entirely in fridge before filling curry puffs.

NOTE: when you taste the filling with the salt already added and it is just right, add just a bit more. This is so that the filling of the curry puff will be delicious and flavoursome when only a small amount is used in each curry puff.

Curry Puff Assembly:
1. Get doughs out ready for rolling. Separate each ball into 4 lots. Lightly flour rolling surface. Place oil dough in water dough and wrap water dough around oil dough.

2. Working with one portion, roll water dough piece into a large circle. Place oil dough in the middle and wrap up.

3. Roll this into a long flat rectangle and then roll this into a 'swiss roll' style starting from the short end.

4. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll into a thin long rectangular shape again. Roll up into a 'swiss roll' again.
5. Cut across the roll in slices so you see the cross sectional layers

6. Flatten each piece into a round disc and place filling in the centre.

7. Fold over pastry to cover filling and pleat the edges. If you need help with this, I learnt from this youtube video.
8. Put aside and complete all other puffs.

9. After curry puffs have been made, heat oil in deep fryer or wok to about 190 degrees. Fry a few (I can do about 6) at a time until golden brown.

Makes about 30.

Bon Appetit xx

Notes: Store these in a dry air tight container. If you want to reheat, place them in the oven on about 180 for 10-15 minutes.

{cucumber & tomato salad in hermie}

This salad is great on it's own on a summer night however, my family also serve it whenever it is curry for dinner. The natural yoghurt acts as a chilli 'dampener' for the tongue (much better than water) and my little 3 year old finds it quite effective.

170-200g continental cucumber (~ 3/4 of a cucumber)
120g tomatoes (~1-2 tomatoes or 7-8 large cherry tomatoes)
big handful of coriander
juice of 1/2 lemon
big pinch of salt to taste
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

1. Place all ingredients (except yoghurt and chilli) into Thermomix bowl. Chop 3-5sec / speed 4.
2. Drain away excess liquid. Pour into serving bowl and mix through yoghurt and chilli. Add more salt if required.

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: If your lemon has a lot of pips, exclude from the bowl and add through the lid once closed. When the MC is inserted, the juice will drain into the bowl as the MC will stop the pips. Also, it is perfectly OK to add the chilli in step 1, however, if you also have children eating this dish, it will be harder for them to pick it out. 

Notes: When this salad is diced up manually, it is not as watery and usually you do not have to drain away excess liquid. However, using the Thermomix changes this due to it's chopping technique. Also, the presentation may not be as 'pretty' however, the flavours are still great :-)

{beans & carrots in hermie}

When I think of beans and carrots, nothing spectacular really comes to mind. Most people think of these vegetables as some steamed side-dish making up your 'meat and 3 veg' meal. Well, this side-dish although quite simple, is the perfect accompaniment to the lamb curry that I have previously posted about. 

1 carrot, roughly chopped

100g beans, topped and tailed

1/2 onion, peeled

big thumb of ginger, peeled

15-20g of vegetable oil (e.g. canola)

5g (1 teaspoon) mustard seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

50-75g water

salt to taste

1. Place carrots and beans in bowl and chop 7sec / speed 4. Set aside for later.

2. Place onion and ginger in bowl and chop 5sec / speed 5. Scrape down. 

3. Add oil and mustard seeds and saute 5min / Varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Scrape down bowl.

4. Add beans and carrots, turmeric, water and salt. Cook 8min / 100°C/ stir speed / reverse.

The final product should be tender yet have a little bite to it still. The beans should still be bright green with minimal gravy.

Bon Appetit xx

Notes:

Before I had the Thermomix, I used to chop the beans and carrots neatly and obviously, this leads to a 'neater' presentation. However, the dish i made tonight still had the same flavour and my family loved it.

{lamb curry in hermie}

This curry comes from my husbands side of the family. The method was taught to me by my mother-in-law and husband and i hope i have done the conversion in Hermie justice. If the wafts of curry in my house are anything to go by, then it tastes fantastic.

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
big thumb of ginger, peeled
1 onion, peeled, halved
1 cinnamon stick
10-12 curry leaves (optional)
30g vegetable oil
meat curry powder (if you’re not using your own, Baba’s is quite good)
600-700g cubed lamb
150-200g water
100g coconut milk (optional)
2 potatoes, 3-4cm cubed (optional)
salt to taste

1. Place garlic, ginger and onion into bowl. Chop 3sec/ speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl.
2. Add cinnamon stick and curry leaves (if using). Add vegetable oil. Saute 5min/ Varoma/ stir speed / reverse.
3. Place cubed lamb into bowl. Put 2 large tablespoons of curry powder (or as much required to coat all meat). Add small amounts of water and mix until the powder turns into a curry paste all over the meat. This should be no more that 1/4 cup.
4. Add lamb to Thermomix bowl. Saute 5min/ Varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Scrape down sides of bowl.
5. Add 150-200g of water to just cover the lamb. Cook 40min/ 100°C/ stir speed / reverse.
6. The curry will be quite watery at this stage so to thicken up, add salt, potatoes (if using) and further cook 15min / 100°C / stir speed / reverse with the MC removed. Taste and adjust salt if required.
7. If using coconut milk, add now and cook for 5min / 100°C / stir speed / reverse.

Serve with rice and other curry vegetable dishes.

Serves 4.

Bon appétit xx

Notes: Baba’s curry powder can be found in all good Asian grocers. It looks like this. This curry also works well with beef and chicken. Other great curry inspiration is found in Charmaine Solomon’s recipe books.