Nigerian Meat Pasties

Ingredients:

1kg flour
4 eggs
225g butter
jug of water water
1 egg yolk
500g minced meat
2 medium potatoes, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 hot chilli, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste
1 Maggi or stock cube
oil for frying

Method:

Combine the flour, butter and salt together, whisk the eggs and add to the mixture then add the water a little at a time until the dough comes together. Knead for a few minutes then cover and set aside.

Add a little oil to a pan and use to fry the spices, onion, chillies and meat for a few minutes. Add the vegetables and Maggi cube to the mix along with a little water. Cook until the meat and vegetables are done then season with the salt.

Allow the meat mix to cool then roll out a piece of dough (not too thick) and cut into a circle of about 15cm in diameter. Place a few tablespoons of the meat mix in the centre of the pastry, fold it over and crimp the edges with a fork. Place on a lightly-greased baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg yolk. Continue until all the pastry and meat mix has been used up.

Place the pasties in an oven pre-heated to 190°C and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is a golden brown. Serve with a hot chilli dipping sauce.

For a more 'country' version of the dish (ovens are not that common) make pasties a quarter of the size and deep fry in oil until golden in colour.