Karipap (Malaysian Curry Puff) is a traditional Malaysian recipe for a classic deep fried pastry with a curry-flavoured tomato and chicken filling. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Malaysian version of: Malaysian Curry Puff (Karipap).
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In essence this is a fried pasty with a tomato and chicken filling. Versions of this snack or starter are known in many south-east Asian countries, most notably Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The flavours are different in each country, mainly due to the local version of curry powder. Though the pastry (dough) is easy to make it comes out flaky and delicious.
Ingredients:
750ml (3 cups) vegetable oil for frying
For the Filling:
150g (1/3 lb) boneless skinless chicken thighs finely chopped
430g (1 lb) potatoes peeled diced
½ yellow onion diced
4 tsp Curry powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp salt
2 bay leaves
For the Wrapper:
500g (3 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 tsp salt
300ml (1 ¼ cups) water at room temperature
125ml (⅓ cup + 3 tbsp) hot oil
Method:
In a large pan set over medium heat, add 1 tsp cooking oil. Fry your chicken until mostly cooked (about 10 minutes). Add the onions and potatoes, followed by curry powder, salt, turmeric (optional) and bay leaves. Cover and let this mixture cook until potatoes are fork tender (about 15 minutes). Remove the filling mixture from pan and set aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl sift together the flour and salt. Form a well in the centre.
In another pan, heat your oil over high heat. Insert a chopstick or a wooden stick to check if the oil bubbles. Once it bubbles, carefully pour the hot oil into the flour well. Allow this to bubble for 1 minute. Then mix the flour and oil together. Add water a little at a time and mix everything together with your hands until it comes together as a dough then knead it together. You should end up with a very oiled ball of dough.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface then roll with the flats of your hands into a long tube. Slice the tube of dough into 26 pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
Using a rolling pin, take each ball of dough at a time and roll flat into a 10cm (4 in) diameter circular wrapper.
Fill the wrapper with 1 tbsp of the curried potato chicken filling then fold the wrapper over the filling. Pinch the edges together until completely sealed then pleat the edges using your thumb. You can make large or small pleats, that’s up to you. The latter is more time consuming but prettier.
Repeat the above process with the remaining dough and filling.
In the meantime, pour 750ml (3 cups) of cooking oil into a large pot over medium heat. Check for oil for bubbles using a chopstick or wooden spoon. Once the bubbles form, it's time to fry.
Carefully lower 5-6 curry puffs into the hot oil using a slotted spoon. Fry on each side for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from hot oil and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.