MINCE CURRY PUFFS

MINCE CURRY PUFFS

Mince Curry Puffs are old Anglo-Indian Tea time and Party snacks.  In the olden days, no Birthday Party, was complete without Mince Curry Puffs on the menu. The Puff s are prepared by placing a spoonful of stuffing, which usually consists of  prepared Minced Meat (mostly beef or mutton /lamb) on  small saucer shaped  rolled out rounds of dough, then deep fried in oil or baked in an oven. The filling or stuffing could vary as per choice – Shredded or scraped coconut mixed with sugar or jaggery was another popular filling, so also scrambled eggs, or a prepared vegetarian filling of peas, potatoes, carrots etc .

I still remember the fun we used to have as children, helping my mother to make the curry puffs in our mining house in Kolar Gold Fields .We would all gather around the dining table while my   mum would knead the dough and cut out the saucer shaped rounds of dough. She would then  instruct us to place a tablespoon of the already prepared mince filling on one side of the round  (not in the middle), then flip the other half over and seal the edges with a finger dipped in water. Our right hand pointy finger would have to just barely touch the water in a cup to seal the edges of the puffs, as too much water would make the dough soggy. She would then let us make our own designs with the fork around the edges and the raw puffs would have to be laid in neat rows in a floured tray ready to be fried by her to a lovely golden brown in the kitchen. The appetizing aroma of the mince puffs frying would fill the whole house. There was no greater joy than this as kids!! This recipe is featured in my Cookery Book A Collection of Simple Anglo-Indian Recipes. 

RECIPE FOR HOT MINCE CURRY PUFFS

Serves 6      Preparation and cooking time 1 hour

Ingredients for the Dough:

250 grams refined flour or maida

50 grams butter or dalda or any other shortening 

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Sufficient Oil for deep frying the puffs

For the Filling:

250 grams minced meat (Beef or Mutton)

2 teaspoons chillie powder

2 medium size onions (chopped)

2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

To prepare the pastry dough: Sift the flour with a teaspoon of salt and baking powder. Mix the butter with the flour and knead into a stiff dough using very little water. Keep aside.

To prepare the filling: Heat a tablespoon  of oil in a pan and sauté the onions lightly. Add the meat mince, chillie powder, ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves and salt. Stir well and cook on low heat till the mince is cooked and all the water dries up. Remove and keep aside to cool. 

Now take the prepared pastry dough onto a floured board and rollout into a thin sheet. Cut rounds of about 10 cm diameter with a saucer. Place a little mince on one half of the rounds and fold the other half over. Seal the edges by dampening with a little water. Make indents with the tines of a fork all around the edges to get a ridged look. Prepare the puffs in this way till all the dough and mince is used up.

Heat the oil for frying in a fairly deep pan till smoky. Slowly drop in the puffs one by one     (as many as the pan can hold). Fry till crisp and brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain. Serve hot as a party or tea time snack

Or One could bake the Puffs instead of frying if desired. These puffs in the photograph were baked