You could take any spicy filling, wrap it in all butter puff pastry and know for sure that it will be a winner for me! I had a piece of paneer left in the refrigerator and some defrosted pastry. I rustled up this recipe in a flash. It’s a perfect veggie snack for tea time or can be served with cocktails!

Use all butter puff pastry for this recipe for the best flavour…a store bought one will do just fine! Click here if you would like to locate the nearest Curry Me Home stockists: https://yudhikayumyum.com/my-spar-stockists/ or send me a message for the mail order details.

Paneer Pasties

Ingredients:

2 x 500g ready-made puff pastry rolls
1 egg yolk
15ml Spar full cream milk

Filling

30ml sunflower oil
5ml crushed ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 – 4 green chillies, finely chopped
10ml Curry Me Home red chilli powder
1 x 400g tin Spar whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
5ml Curry Me Home ground cumin
5ml Curry Me Home ground coriander
1ml turmeric
250ml finely chopped button mushrooms
5ml coarse salt
200g paneer
100ml chopped fresh coriander

Place the ginger, garlic and chopped chilli in a mortar.
Pound until the ingredients are combined.
Pour the sunflower oil into an AMC 24cm pot and heat on medium.
Fry the pounded paste for a few seconds and then add the red chilli powder.
Stir for a few seconds and then add the chopped tomatoes.
Add the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric.
Lower the heat and simmer until the tomatoes resemble a thick paste.
Stir the button mushrooms and salt into the sauce.
Simmer for a few minutes until excess moisture evaporates.
Crumble the paneer into the sauce and leave to cool.
Sprinkle the coriander over and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Gently roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface.
Cut out little discs and place a little filling on half of the pastry.
Use a little cold water to sandwich the discs.
Press down gently around the edges with a fork.
Place the pasties on a greased baking tray.
Refrigerate the pies until the pastry firms up.
Beat the egg yolk with milk and brush this over the pastry without letting it spill down the sides.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown in colour.

Yudhika’s tips:
The filling must be dry to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy.
Puff pastry needs to be kept cool for best results when baking.