profoodhomemade Chicken Tikka Curry Pies

4 Chicken Tikka Curry Pies

How to make 4 outstanding individual Chicken Tikka Curry Pies, easy step by step instructions, from start to finish. The best chicken curry pies you’ll ever taste.

Ingredients

Main ingredients:
400g / 14oz Chicken breast meat (diced small)
1 medium size onion (diced small)
2tbls Olive oil
250mls Chicken stock
100mls Double/Heavy cream
2 heaped tsp Cornflour/starch
20mls of cold water
15g Fresh Coriander (chopped)
Shortcrust Pastry:
500g / 18oz Plain or All-purpose flour
125g / 4.4oz Cold Butter
125g / 4.4oz Cold lard
90mls / 6tbls Cold Water
8g / 1tsp Salt
1 Small Egg (Egg-wash)
Tikka Spice mix:
1tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Turmeric
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Garlic granules/powder
½tsp Ground Cumin
½tsp Hot chilli powder
½tsp Salt
Or you can simply use:
2tbls Tikka Curry Powder 😉

Making the Pastry:
By far the best way to make shortcrust pastry is to use a food processor. It’s very quick and easy, but more importantly, it keeps all the ingredients cold, which is essential when making shortcrust pastry.
Add the flour, salt, and cold butter to your processor with the blade tool attached.
Pulse the machine until you have a fine breadcrumb consistency; this should only take 30 to 45 seconds.
Next step; set the machine running while slowly pouring in the ice-cold water.
Once the pastry comes together and starts rolling around the machine, it’s done (see the video), once again, this should only take 30 to 45 seconds to complete.
Once done, remove it from the machine.
You should now have around 840g / 30oz of pastry.
Divide it into 2 pieces, 450g / 16oz for the bases of the pies, and the rest for the lids of the pies.
Flatten each piece and wrap in cling film, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using it.
Making the filling:
Fry the diced onion in the olive oil until soft.
Once your onion is soft and transparent, add your diced chicken and stir-fry until white and firm.
Add the tikka curry mix and thoroughly stir it in, making sure all the chicken is coated.
Add the chicken stock, if you don’t have natural stock, you can use a chicken stock cube, stir it in and bring to a simmer.
Taste for seasoning, add salt and black pepper, if you think it’s needed, seasoning is a personal thing, season it how you! like it, but remember, the pastry has salt in it too.

Add the thickening, keep stirring until it thickens, you can now turn off the heat.
Add the chopped coriander, and gently fold it in.
And that’s it your beautiful chicken tikka curry filling is done, allow it to completely cool, this is best made the day before and allowed to cool in the fridge overnight.
Assembling the pies:
Grease four 12.5 cm / 5in non-stick individual pie tins.
Roll out your pastry to approx., 3mm / 1/8in, thick, and cut out 4, 16.5cm / 6½in circles for the bases, and 4, 12.5cm / 5in circles for the lids of the pies.
Place the pastry bases in the pie tins, using a small piece of waste pastry, gently press the pastry right down into the corners, make sure to leave some pastry sticking over the rim of the pie tin.
Add the now cold chicken tikka filling to each of the pastry cases, just below the top of the pie tin, the filling does expand some in the oven, so do not over fill.
At this point, preheat your oven to, 160°C / 320°F / Gas mark 3.
Brush egg wash all around the edge of the pastry in the tin, and some around the edge of the pie lid.
Place the lids on the top of the pie bases, and gently press it down, using your thumbs and forefingers, crimp the 2 pastries together, try not to get egg wash between the pastry and the tin, as this will stick when baking.
Trim any excess pastry from around the edge of the tins with a small dull knife.
Quickly re-crimp all around again, basically tidy up the pie.
Place all 4 pies on a baking tray.
Cut 2 or 3 vent slits in the top of each pie.
Give each pie a good coat of the egg wash.
Place the tray on the lowest part of the preheated oven, and use the bottom element in your oven if you have one, if you don’t have separate elements in your oven, bake these in the middle of the oven.
Now set your timer for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and place the 4 tins on a wire rack, allow them to settle and cool for 10 minutes.
While they are still hot, carefully remove each pie from their tin.
Serve piping hot with chips/fries and steamed green vegetables and carrots.
Enjoy.