Sam's Kitchen

Have a leftover roast meat and vegetables?  Make them into a curry, serve it with fragrant steamed basmati rice or turn your curry into a pie or curry puffs, or both.
I love having a leftover roast in the fridge, be it chicken, beef, lamb or pork, it always comes so useful for a quickly thrown lunch.
I often use leftover roast meat and vegetables for making curries and later turn them into pies and puffs.
Puffs make a  great after school snack ,and pie can be served as dinner with a salad or curried cauliflower and broccoli, all drizzled with yogurt dressing.

In the time I spent in Malaysia ( 3 years  ) I’ve learned a few tricks on cooking Indian Cuisine. Having Indian friends who gave regular cooking classes and taught us ( expat folk ) their authentic ways of cooking has helped me a lot, in getting the flavours of my curries closer to the authentic Indian taste.
I’ve learned that dry frying spices makes their flavours shine and using ghee makes it even more delicious and that owning mortar and pestle is a life and death ( it’s a life since I’ve got not one, but two! ).

Preparation time 45

Ingredients

1/2 cooked chicken ( leftover roast ) shredded
3 cups cooked vegetables diced  ( leftover roast; potato, carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, onion…)
1 cup, canned chickpeas or frozen green peas
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2-4 garlic cloves crushed
1 tbsp grated ( minced ) fresh ginger
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp authentic curry powder (mild)
1 tbsp  dry fenugreek leaves
2 bay leaves
1-400ml can coconut milk ( full cream )
1 cup stock or water
1 lime ( lemon ) juice or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

3 frozen puff pastry sheets thawed ( you will need more if making just the pasties )
1 frozen short crust pastry sheet thawed ( for the pie crust )

1 egg, lightly whisked
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp nigella seeds

Method

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add garlic and ginger and cook stirring until fragrant 1-2 minutes.
Add spices, except for the fenugreek leaves, and cook stirring for another minute.
Add vegetables, chicken, peas, fenugreek and bay leaves.
Stir in the coconut milk and stock or water.
Cook stirring occasionally for 20 minutes over a low heat or until reaches the consistency of a thick curry.
Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 200C.
Prepare and line a baking tray.
Prepare and grease a 22-24 cm tart pan ( dish ) or a cake pan ( for the pie )

Cut each puff pastry sheets into 4 squares.
Place 1 1/2 tbsp of curry into the center of the square.
Brush the sides with egg, water or milk.
Press the sides together creating a rectangle or triangle shapes.
Brush with lightly whisked egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 20 minutes or till golden brown.

For the pie – roll the short crust pastry on lightly floured surface to fit a size of a tart or a cake pan.
Gently press it in.
Fill with curry and place the puff pastry sheet over the top.
Trim the overhanging pastry off.
Brush with lightly whisked egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.