Whenever I feel the need to be popular with friends or family, I make a batch of these oven baked curry puffs to share! Each one of these delicious parcels is loaded up with curried mince and root vegetables with a hint of soy sauce for a twist. The filling is then wrapped in puff pastry and baked until golden and crispy. I promise you, once you have tried one, you will keep coming back for more!
No matter how tired I get I always have enough energy to make curry puffs. They are really easy to make, taste fantastic and require no skills whatsoever. They are particularly good for potluck dinners or any other occasion that require bringing a plate of food.
Here are few solid recipes I use for potluck dinners:
As you can see, I am a big fan of finger foods. The recipes above are proven crowd pleasers and are always gone before people start coming round for seconds. However, it seems curry puffs have fizzled in popularity, much like fruit bowl haircuts, turtle neck sweaters and hot boy bands.
This has prompted me to share my family’s curry puff recipe. My recipe is a little different to the others on the internet. We add a bit of soy sauce in ours which is a little left-field but it works! In addition, our curry puffs are baked rather than deep-fried, which means they will be healthier for you.
My Tips for Success
- The secret to maintaining the crispiness of the puffs is to remove moisture from the filling. This is because the filling will produce steam once cooked which will soften the pastry.
- Cut a small slit/hole (roughly 1 cm long) at the top of the pastry for the steam to escape. This will help maintain the crispiness of the curry puff.
- My recommendation for this recipe is to use high quality Angus beef mince. The taste is phenomenal, but it is much more expensive to buy. Whatever mince you can afford, the curry puffs will still taste fantastic.
- I find the best curry powder for this recipe is Baba’s Meat Curry Powder which is available at Asian groceries and sometimes at mainstream grocers. To be honest, the generic brands will be perfectly fine. The puffs in these pictures were made using a cheap commercial curry powder and still tasted fantastic.
- I honestly believe that a delicious curry puff does NOT have peas! However, this is obviously my personal preference. Some good additions that I have not included in the recipe is corn kernels and chopped up coriander (cilantro).
Curry Puff Assembly
Recipe Cost
This table shows how much this recipe will cost if you had to go out and buy everything on the ingredients list (“Shop Price”), as well as the value of ingredients actually used in the recipe (“Recipe Cost”).
We haven’t bothered with small quantities of salt, pepper or sugar as the cost would be negligible. All prices are in Australian dollars and are based off what was published on Coles Online or Woolworths Online as at time of writing.
Makes approximately 50 – 54
| Ingredient | Quantity Bought | Shop Price | Recipe Needs | Recipe Cost |
| Puff Pastry | 6 pack | $2.30 | 6 | $2..30 |
| White Potato | 1 potato (250 gm) | $0.60 | 200 gm | $0.60 |
| Sweet Potato | 1 potato (350gm) | $1.75 | 250 gm | $1.25 |
| Carrot | 1 carrot (170 gm) | $0.37 | 150 gm | $0.33 |
| Brown Onion | 1 onion (180 gm) | $0.52 | 1 | $0.52 |
| Garlic | 1 bulb at $25/kg | $1.50 | 2 cloves | $0.30 |
| Curry Powder | 1 pack (50 gm) | $1.95 | 2.5 tbsp (20 gm) | $0.78 |
| Beef Mince | 1 pack (500 gm) | $6.50 | 500 gm | $6.50 |
| Soy Sauce | 500 ml bottle | $2.85 | 2 tsp (10 ml) | $0.06 |
| Total | $16.04 | $12.64 |
If you have read this post and have been somewhat inspired, then I urge you to join the resurgence. Too many events have gone by without one curry puff being served. Change starts with you. Make a batch and prepare yourself to be popular when everyone asks “who made them curry puffs?!”
– Scruff
Oven Baked Curry Puffs
Ingredients
- 6 puff pastry sheets
Filling
- 200 gm white potato, peeled and diced into small cubes
- 4 tbsp water
- 250 gm sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes
- 150 gm carrot (2 large carrots), peeled and diced into small cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small brown onion, chopped finely
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
- 2.5 tbsp curry powder or to taste
- 500 gm beef or pork mince
- 1.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp soy sauce
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp milk
To Serve (Dipping)
- sweet chilli sauce (optional)
Instructions
Making the Filling
- Prep your carrots, potato and sweet potato.
- In a bowl add the potato and carrots with 2 tbsp of water. Cover it with cling wrap and cook in the microwave for 7 mins on high. Once done, pour out any excess liquid. Then cover again and set aside.
- Repeat the process with the sweet potato, using 2 tbsp of water but for 6 mins in the microwave. Once done, pour out any excess liquid and then use a fork to mash. If the sweet potato is still too hard then put it in the microwave for a further minute.
- In a non-stick pan on high heat, add the oil and fry the onions and garlic for roughly 30 seconds.
- Add the curry powder and continue frying until fragrant.
- Add the mince to the pan and with a wooden spoon, separate the mince into small chunks. Continue to cook and stir until the meat is cooked and there is no visible liquid in the pan (roughly 5 minutes).
- Turn down the heat to medium - low and add the potato, sweet potato, carrots, salt, sugar, pepper and soy sauce to the pan. Combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon and cook for roughly 10 -12 minutes to reduce the filling. (Note 1)
- Check the filling for seasoning and curry flavour. Adjust according to your taste and then take the pan off the stove and allow the mixture to cool down.
- Take out the puff pastry from the freezer and allow 10 - 15 mins to thaw. (I recommend only taking 2 - 3 out at a time so that they don't go too soft)
- Line the baking trays with baking paper.
Assembly
- Preheat your oven on 200 °C fan-forced / convection.
- Cut the puff pastry into thirds lengthways and crossways (i.e. into 9 square pieces).
- Place the pastry square in your palm with the unexposed side facing up and add the mixture using the tablespoon sized measuring spoon. (Note 2)
- Fold the sides over until it is a shape of rectangle and lightly squash the sides with your thumb and index finger.
- Crimp the puff with a fork and then cut a small slit (about 1 cm long) with a knife on the top of the pastry . Place the pastries on the lined baking tray.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and milk. Brush the curry puffs with the egg wash.
- Bake the curry puffs in the oven for 15 - 17 mins or until golden.
- Let them cool on a rack.
Notes
- The filling should be a little gooey and not too moist. The reason being is that the puff pastry will go soft quicker after baking if the water content of the curry filling is too high.
- The side that is exposed to the air while thawing the puff pastry should be the side that touches the palm of your hand. This is because the the exposed side is drier and easier to work with.
Loved your tasty recipe 🙂
Thanks mate!
Thanks for your reply!
Great puffs! My daughter had fun helping assemble them 🙂
Thanks Fi! I am glad that you and your daughter had fun making them!
Hello, I was wondering what kind of puff pastry sheet do you use?
Hi Teena! To be completely honest, my mum uses Homebrand Puff Pastry and her curry puffs are perfect. I personally use Pampas Puff Pastry and I find that they work really well. I believe what is more important than the quality of the puff pastry is getting moisture out of the filling. This is because the curry puffs will initially come out of the oven crispy but the steam from the filling will soften it. Hope it all goes well for you Teena!
Two or three slits in the top of the puffs, made using tip of sharp paring knife, will allow steam to escape during and after cooking. Will be making these for certain. 🙂
Hi, how can I cook the filling without using a microwave?
Hi Caro! You can steam them or boil them if you like. But make sure to let vegetables rest for a bit uncovered, so the moisture has a chance to escape. I hope that helps you.
Thanks for your reply.
Can they be frozen
Hi! To be honest, I have never done it only because I want it straight away! I can’t see why you couldn’t, unless there is an issue with refreezing puff pastry.
Made twice, to repeat the yumminess and wasnt disappointed. I used 1 puff pastry sheet and rolled it out to have 9 puffs, perfect. I also used half the curry powder and a bit more sugar. Really tasty! thank you.
Hi! That’s awesome! We are glad you like the recipe and tailored it to your taste. Thank you for leaving us a comment!
I recently made these. I put in peas and cauliflower instead of potato. And I experimented with shapes, triangles, logs, squares, whatever. I think I overstuffed them, but they were fabulous. Will make them again. I froze some and they reheated quite well. Thanks.Jan from Jerrabomberra, 27/12/2020
Hi Jan! We are glad you like the puffs! Thank you for letting us know.
I froze mine after I cooked them, but reading other recipes, it seems you can freeze them after your Step 5: Before you cook them. Then thaw for a few hours, add the egg wash, then cook. Happy New Year!
A lot of people say ‘best ever’
Can’t see how it is possible to beat this recipe
absolutely fantastic
thank you
Hi Brian! Glad it worked out well for you mate! Thanks for letting us know!
I am not good at cooking. Can someone make me a few.
Haha Raja! I ask the same question every day!
I made some yesterday and they were fantastic. I’ve frozen some as there were too many for just the two of us. Do you heat them from frozen or allow to thaw and then put them in the oven.
I wonder could you use cutdacarb wraps instead of puff pastry? How would that reduce the carb cou