Make delicious bakery style Veg Puff with this classic Indian recipe. Also known as Curry Puff, the stuffing here is made with a mix veggie curry base flavored with aromatics, ground spices and a few herbs. The veggie curry filling goes well with a homemade puff pastry dough and also store-brought puff pastry sheets.
Rinse, peel and chop the potato and carrot in small cubes.
You will need about ½ cup chopped potatoes ⅓ to ½ cup chopped carrots. Take them in a small pan or bowl. Also add ⅓ cup green peas.
Now place this pan in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker. Before placing the pan in pressure cooker, add 1.5 cups water in the cooker. Place a small trivet in the cooker and place the pan with the veggies on the trivet.
Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 to 4 whistles or 8 to 9 minutes or till the veggies are steamed well and fork tender.
When the pressure settles drops on its own in the cooker, open the lid and check if the veggies are cooked well or not.
You can also steam or cook the veggies in a pot or pan or a steamer or Instant Pot. Drain all the water from the veggies and set aside.
Making vegetable filling
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a sauté pan or kadai (wok). Add thinly sliced onions.
Begin to saute the onions on a low to medium heat till the onions turn a light golden.
Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for about 1 minute or till the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.
Next add the steamed veggies. Mix the veggies very well.
Now add the following spices and seasonings - turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt. You can also add ¼ teaspoon coriander powder if you want.
Mix the spices and salt evenly with the rest of the veggies.
Mix again and then turn off the heat. Check the taste and add more red chili powder or garam masala powder if required.
Lastly add the chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and keep the veg stuffing aside till it cools down at room temperature.
Assembling Curry Puff
Before you begin, making the veg puffs, preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes.
Follow the instructions on the puff pastry packet to defrost or thaw it.
You can opt to sprinkle some flour on the puff pastry dough and roll it evenly to get ¼ to ½ inch thick base.
Cut the puff pastry sheets in equal squares or rectangles. For a neater finish you can trim the edges if you want.
If using packaged puff pastry sheets which are pre-cut in squares, move to the below step of placing the veggie stuffing on them. You do not need to roll them and cut them.
Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the vegetable filling in the center of each sheet square or rectangle.
Brush the edges with water.
Then join and lightly press the edges of each puff. Don't press the edges too much as we want the layers in them, once they bake.As you prefer, you can shape the puffs to a rectangle or a triangle.
If you like you can even press the edges, lightly with a fork to give some design. Some milk can also be brushed on the puffs to get a golden color.
Baking Veg Puff
Now place the veg puffs in the preheated oven in the center rack with both the top and bottom heating elements on.
Bake vegetable puffs for 15 to 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit or until the crust becomes golden and crisp.
Since oven temperatures vary, keep a check while baking.
Once baked to golden perfection, remove the tray from the oven with the help of oven mittens.
Wait for 2 to 3 minutes and with a spatula lift each veg puff and place on wired baking tray.
Serve veg puff warm or at room temperature with green chutney dip or tomato ketchup or a mayo dip.
Storage
If not serving, then once they cool down, store the curry puff in an air-tight box or container.
The curry puffs can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days in a covered air-tight container. While serving, reheat in an oven or in a frying pan or a skillet until warm.
Notes
If using curry powder, do not add ground turmeric as curry powder has ground turmeric in it.
The recipe is easily adaptable to be made with veggies like green peas, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, bell peppers (capsicum), sweet corn, cabbage and carrots.
If not using a pressure cooker, steam the vegetables in a pot/pan or a steamer or the Instant Pot.
The ground spices like red chili powder and garam masala powder in the veggie stuffing can be adjusted according to your taste buds. Coriander powder can also be added in the vegetable mixture.
The puff pastry should be pliable, easy to roll and cold. If the parts of the dough starts sticking or looks soft, place it in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes.
You can opt to use a homemade puff pastry or buy it from a store. While using a readymade puff pastry, keep it for 30 to 45 minutes to thaw so that it is easy to fill and roll. Do read the instructions on the pack about thawing the pastry sheets.
For a nice golden color on the puffs, brush the stuffed puffs with some milk.
The baking time varies with different models of oven. So it can take less or more time for the curry puff to bake in your oven.