Puffed with pride
IT took me a while to figure out what my “Malaysia on a plate” dish would be. Nasi lemak, curry laksa, asam laksa, thosai with coconut chutney and dhal, mee mamak, lontong ... alamak! How to choose? Truth be told, whenever I am away from home, the first thing I miss like crazy is my early morning teh tarik. Since I don’t know how to Dry dough 2 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 tsp salt ½ cup warm water (approx) Wet dough 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tbsp cornflour 70g butter, softened 2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced small 1 medium carrot, diced small 5 large/8 small mushrooms (I used Portobello), diced fine 1 cup seitan/mock chicken meat, cubed 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbsp curry powder dissolved in a cup of warm water 2 cups vegetable stock 1 tbsp chilli powder 2 sticks cinnamon 1-2 sprigs curry leaves salt and pepper Vegetable oil for frying make a great cup of teh tarik (my tea is insipid in comparison to the one I buy daily at the Indian restaurant near my work place), I decided to go with the snack I like to eat to accompany my mug of teh tarik: karipap! Like most of our food, curry puffs are common in most
Karipap Pusing (Spiral Curry Puff)
a wok. Add the onions, garlic and cinnamon and fry till fragrant. Add the chilli powder and stir to coat the onions/garlic. Next, add the carrots, mushrooms, potatoes and mock meat and stir to combine. Add the curry paste and then the stock. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to thicken. Be sure not to let the bottom burn!
Season with salt and pepper and add the curry leaves – tear them first to release the flavour – and stir to incorporate. Remove and allow to cool. For the wet dough, mix both flours together. Rub in the butter and mix until everything comes together to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.
To make the dry dough, first dissolve the salt in warm water. Place the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Heat the oil and pour into the well. Using a wooden spoon, mix the flour into the oil – the dough will be a little clumpy. Add just enough water to bring everything together (using your hands). Cover and let the dough rest for 15 Malaysian households. There may be slight differences in the flavour profile because of our geographical and cultural differences but most Malaysians love a good puff. This is my favourite karipap recipe: my version is vegetarian but I must say it does still pack a punch. Really! minutes.
Once rested, divide both types of dough into two equal portions each. Roll each into balls, making sure to keep the two types separate.
Take one ball of the dry dough and roll it out into a circle, about 13cm in diameter. Place one ball of wet dough in the centre and then wrap the dry dough around the ball. Seal the ends tight and roll smooth. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.
Rest the balls for about 10 minutes to make them easier to roll.
Take one of the balls and flatten it gently with a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 2mm thick, with the short edge facing you. Roll the rectangle upwards, like a cigar or a Swiss roll.
Flatten the cigar roll of dough with the rolling pin and give the dough a 90-degree turn so the short edge faces you again. Roll the dough out into a rectangle again and repeat the entire process. You have to repeat this step at least another three times.
After the last roll, trim the edges of the cigar. You should see the many layers of wet and dry dough that have formed inside because of the repeated rolling. Those are the spirals of your puff.
Cut the cigar rolls of dough into 1cm slices.
Roll each 1cm slice into a circle, about 2mm thick. Spoon the filling in the centre of each circle and gently bring the edges together. Seal the edges by pressing with your fingers. Use a little water if necessary. Now it’s time to crimp – starting with the edge closest to you, pinch the edge so that it’s flat and then fold it in at a 45-degree angle. Keep pinching and folding until you reach the end. Seal the last fold in with a bit of water.
Heat a wok with oil. When the oil is very hot – drop a small ball of dough and it should sizzle immediately. Fry the curry puffs until golden, turning them so they cook evenly.
For pictorial step-by-step instructions, go to nodesserts.blogspot.com.