Indian Chicken Pies
Submitted by snjele
Indian chicken pies with flaky lard-and-margarine pastry wrapped around garam masala-spiced chicken, mushrooms, and corn. Handheld curry-pot pies worth the weekend effort.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
1 hrsThese Indian chicken pies are British-Raj style comfort food: individual hand pies that cross the flaky crust of a traditional pot pie with the warm spice of garam masala. The filling is pure economy, taking cooked chicken, button mushrooms, onion, and corn and folding them into a gravy bound with a classic roux.
The pastry is the real project here. Cold margarine and lard get cut into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, then cold water brings it together into a firm dough. Lard is the secret that makes this crust flake into shattering layers, something all-butter pastry can’t quite match. Cooling the filling completely before it meets the dough is a step worth respecting; a warm filling melts the fat in the pastry and kills the flake before it begins.
Chef Tips
- Keep everything cold. Chill the flour, the fat, the water, and even the bowl in hot weather. Warm fat equals tough crust.
- Use a removable-bottom tart pan. It lets you unmold the pies cleanly without tearing the shell.
- The steam hole in the top crust is not optional. Without it, steam builds and cracks the lid.
- Brush twice with egg wash for that deep golden shine and glue decorative leaves on firmly.
Variations
- Swap garam masala for curry powder or a 50/50 mix for a different spice profile.
- Add ¼ cup peas and diced carrot for a classic chicken pot pie crossover.
- Substitute leftover rotisserie chicken or diced turkey after the holidays.
Ingredients
Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan.
Add mushrooms, onion and Garam Masala and cook 2 minutes.
Stir in ¼ cup of flour and cook 1 minute, then stir in stock and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in chicken, corn, salt and pepper; cool.
Sift remaining flour into a bowl.
Add ¼ teaspoon salt and cut in margarine and lard finely until mixture resembles bread crumbs.
Add cold water and mix to form a fairly firm dough.
Knead gently until smooth.
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Preheat a baking sheet.
Cut off ⅔ of pastry and cut in 4 equal pieces.
Roll each piece to a 7 inch circle.
Line 4 (5 inch) fluted pie pans with removable bottoms with pastry circles, allowing pastry to overlap top edges slightly.
Press pastry well into flutes but do not trim top edge.
Cut remaining ⅓ of pastry in 4 equal pieces and roll each piece to a 6 inch circle.
Spoon cold chicken mixture into pastry-lined flan pans and smooth surfaces.
Dampen edges of pastry in pans and cover with pastry circles.
Seal edges well and trim by pressing pastry edges firmly flat blade of a knife.
Make a small hole in center of each pie.
Reroll pastry trimmings and cut out leaves to decorate pies.
Brush surfaces of pies with egg, then decorate with leaves and brush leaves with egg.
Place flan pans on preheat baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven 40 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is heated through.
Cool before carefully removing from pans.
Garnish with tomato slices and parsley sprigs, if desired, and serve cold.
VARIATION: Substitute Curry Powder for Garam Masala or try a mixture of each.
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