Maharaja Pies

I’ve been asked several times for the recipe for my Maharaja Pies so I figures I should probably make a blog post of it.  I tend to describe them as “Butter Chicken Pies” although that isn’t quite right as the curry isn’t really Butter Chicken, they do however have a creamy tomato Indian style curry filling.  I should also point out that the recipe comes from Sophie Gray’s amazing cookbook 100+ Tasty $10 Meals.  I cam across the book randomly one day at The Warehouse and decided that not only did recipes for under $10 sound good, but that the recipes themselves looked like the sort of things I would eat.  Now I would argue that the recipes aren’t all under $10 now, and this one in particular, but they are still cheap yummy food.  Great for those on a budget, and for those who just like to eat well for less.  I really recommend checking out her website Destitute Gourmet too for other fantastic recipes.

The finished product

Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lemon – I sometimes just use a quarter cup of lemon juice from a bottle
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger – I use crushed ginger from a jar
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Dash of cream
• 3 sheets puff pastry
• Milk for glaze
• Poppy seeds to sprinkle

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 210C

2.  In a non-metallic container combine the lemon juice and ginger

3.  Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat before leaving to marinate for at least 10 minutes

4.  Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken pieces until sealed

5.  Add the spices, tomato paste and flour

6.  Stir in the chicken stock to make a gravy

7.  Add the brown sugar and simmer for 10 minutes

8.  Add the cream and if necessary thicken with cornflour paste

The chicken mixture

9.  Divide each pastry sheet into quarters and brush the edges with water

10.  Place a spoonful of mixture in the centre of each quarter and fold the corners into the middle

placement in pastry

11.  Pinch along the edges to seal

12.  Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with poppy seeds

13.  Bake until golden and puffed, about 10-15 minutes