Craving something warm, flaky, and packed with flavor? These Chicken Curry Puffs are the answer! A beloved snack across Southeast Asia, curry puffs are made with buttery pastry and savory fillings like curried chicken, potatoes, and eggs. They are similar to empanadas but with an even flakier, lighter crust. Best of all, they are incredibly easy to make with just a handful of ingredients.
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The Story Behind These Curry Puffs
During spring break in 2015, we visited my sister, Arti, in Singapore. It was an unforgettable trip filled with exploring the city and enjoying Singapore’s incredible cuisine, especially the seafood. We were also lucky to be spoiled by Arti’s amazing cooking! Just a few months earlier, she had won the Singapore Master Chef challenge with her famous biryani, and my boys were so proud of her.
Over our eight-day stay, we got to savor her award-winning biryani and so many other eclectic and delicious dishes. And while we indulged in plenty of fancy meals, we also loved snacking on the many varieties of curry puffs we found while exploring the city.
When we returned home, I could not wait to try making them myself. To my surprise, they were much easier to make than I had imagined, and the result was incredible! Hot, crispy, flaky puffs filled with spicy curried chicken... absolutely irresistible!
Ingredients
- Frozen puff pastry sheets - available in most US grocery stores in frozen aisles make this dish quick and easy.
- Mom's garam masala, or use curry powder - I have used mom's garam masala in this recipe, which also has spices like red chili powder and turmeric. Check the recipe notes for easy substitutions.
- Ground Chicken - readily available in most US grocery stores. You can also make these puffs with other ground meats .
How to Make Chicken Curry Puffs
Remove the frozen puff pastry sheets from the freezer and let them thaw. While the pastry sheets are thawing, start making the filling. Chop the onion finely. Grate the ginger.
Heat oil in a medium pan. Add the onions and cook them for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until they become soft and translucent on medium heat. Add half of the garam masala, ginger, and cook for another minute.
Add the ground chicken, rice wine, and soy sauce. Mix well and cook uncovered for another 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat until chicken browns and cooks completely. Add salt to taste and the remaining garam masala if you want the filling to be spicier. Garnish with some chopped cilantro.
While the filling is cooling down, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and start rolling the pastry sheets gently into an even thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut about 4-5-inch circles.
Place a heaping spoonful of the filling in the center of the pastry circles.
Pick them up gently and fold the dough in your hands by pinching the edges together. Once the edges are closed, place them down and gently pleat the edge or press with a fork to seal it.
Stuff, fold, and seal all of the pastry circles and line them on the baking sheet.
Beat an egg yolk with a teaspoon of water. Gently brush it over the puffs.
Bake them for 12-15 minutes until they turn golden brown.
Let them cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!
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Recipe
Chicken Curry Puffs
Ingredients
- 1 pack frozen puff pastry sheets Pepperidge Farms pastry sheets
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 teaspoons moms garam masala see notes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- ½ tablespoon rice wine
- cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- Remove the frozen puff pastry sheets from the freezer and let them thaw. While the pastry sheets are thawing, start making the filling. Chop the onion finely. Grate the ginger.
- Heat oil in a medium pan. Add chopped onions and cook them for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until they become soft and translucent. Add half of the garam masala, brown sugar, ginger, and cook for another minute.
- Add the minced chicken, rice wine, and soy sauce. Mix well and cook uncovered for another 5-7 mins on medium-high heat until chicken browns and cooks completely. Add salt to taste and the remaining garam masala if you want the filling to be spicier. Garnish with some cilantro.
- While the filling is cooling down, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the pastry sheets gently to even thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut about 4 to 5-inch circles.
- Place a heaping spoonful of the filling in the center of the pastry circles. Pick them up gently and fold the dough in your hands by pinching the edges together. Once the edges are closed place them down and gently pleat the edge or press with a fork to seal it. Stuff, fold and seal all of the pastry circles and line them on the baking sheet.
- Beat an egg yolk with a teaspoon of water. Gently brush it over the puffs. Bake them for 12-15 minutes until they turn golden brown.
- Let them cool for a few mins and then Enjoy!
Notes
- Substitute with 2 teaspoons of store-bought curry powder
- Substitute with ½ teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon mild red chili powder, and ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Nutrition
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Indu says
Looks wonderful! Like the sweet and spicy flavors 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Indu!!
Leyla says
Yum yum???
Archana says
Thank you Leyla!
Hans Susser says
Good Stuff 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Hans!
dishdessert says
I liked your recipe, congratulations
Archana says
Thank you!
Rashminotes says
Too good Archana; I will never be able to make this:)
Archana says
Thank you!
Simply Splendid Food says
I will try your recipe! Looks tasty!
Cooking For The Time Challenged says
Yum!
Archana says
Thank you!
cookingwithauntjuju.com says
These really look good with that delicious filling. I've had empanadas so I know I would enjoy these.
Archana says
Thank you! Please let me know how you like them.
indranilmutsuddi74 says
Looks appetizing and tasty..it is worth trying out...
Archana says
Thank you! It is simple to make yet delicious!
the runaway palate says
Looks great! Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself in Singapore. Yes, the food here is amazing -- and the curry puffs are very popular. So popular that I have never needed to try making one as they are so easily bought. but looking at your pictures and recipe, I will definitely try it out! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my blog and following. I'm following yours now too. Lovely photos.
Archana says
I agree, my sister says the same. She lives in Singapore and never makes them at home. thank you for the follow.
Arohii says
Your blog is delightful, I love your pictures and this recipe is superb, drooling !! 🙂
Archana says
Arohii, Thank you for you kind words. Thank you for following my blog.
Arohii says
Pleasure dear , as I said earlier, I really enjoyed your blog. Thank you too !! 🙂 xx
Archana says
xx
Ada ~ More Food, Please says
This looks so delicious! I love pastry puffs filled with curry. Bookmarking this recipe--thanks for sharing!
Archana says
Thank you! Puff pastry makes this recipe easy and quick.
thesnowwoman says
These look delicious!
Archana says
Thank you!
Asha Kamath says
How many puffs do you get from 1 pkt of puff pastry?
Archana says
Hi Asha! 18 puffs from 1 packet.
Asha Kamath says
Have you tried freezing them with filling? & bake later?
Archana says
Hi Asha, I do not freeze them after filling. I would think it is not a good idea to refreeze dough that us thawed once. Instead I bake them half way through. And then bake them again when they are ready to be served. So Basically you can keep the half baked ones at room temperature for 5-6 hours. This allows me to sort of make them ahead for a party and still serve hot in just few more mins of bake time. Hope this helps.
Arti Kapadia says
Can you make these vegetarian? Suggestions for substituting the chicken? Thnx
Archana says
Yes! Your favorite samosa stuffing!! Sauté boiled potatoes in some cumin, turmeric, ginger, green chilies, coriander powder, add peas, salt and use as stuffing!
Sharon says
I made these today and the flavor was great! The only issue I had was that I felt the filling was a bit dry. Not sure if it's supposed to be that way.
Archana says
It is a bit dryish filling as there is no cheese. IF the filling is wet it makes the outer covering not as crisp.