Vegan Thai Curry Puffs (baked & air fryer)

My vegan curry puffs are filled with Thai curried vegetables. Then, they are baked or air-fried in a shop-bought puff pastry for ease. The result is a flaky melt in the mouth pastry with a deep savoury filling.

Dangerously good.

There's just something about puff pastry - no matter what you fill it with, the results are going to be pretty special. It works as well with Air fryer Punjabi Samosa Puffs as it does with these sweet Pistachio and Rose Cream Horn Pastries and Puff Pastry Apple Tart.

I went through a phase of being obsessed with Thai curries! So much so, that my go-t0 order at Cornish pasty stalls became the the Thai curry version! I wanted to have a go at making them at home. To make it easy, I used store bought puff pastry and went with a simple Thai curried vegetable filling.

Ingredients

Ready-made puff pastry - homemade puff pastry takes time and effort so it is well worth picking up a block or two of store-bought puff pastry sheets.

When working with puff pastry, you want to preserve the beautiful layers as much as possible. If your puff pastry is chilled, leave it out 5-10 minutes before working with it. If your puff pastry is frozen, leave it out for 15-20 minutes. (This is based on UK weather btw!!!)

Check the packet to ensure you are using a vegan puff pastry, most shop bought pastries are.

You can of course make a homemade dough if you wish.

The filling:

(I have omitted using onion and garlic as I want to keep the filling quick and easy. Thai curry pastes usually have onion and garlic blended in them)

Sweet potatoes - the sweet potato will require some cooking beforehand. I tend to use my instant pot for this but you can also chop up the sweet potato into cubes and microwave them with a sprinkle of water for 5-6 minutes. 

Chickpeas - you can use tinned chickpeas or cook dried chickpeas in your instant pot. Use the leftover chickpeas to make hummus, authentic chana masala or sundried tomato chickpea cakes.

Mix-vegetables - I have used frozen mixed vegetables that consists of frozen peas, carrots, green beans and sweetcorn. You can also use any fresh vegetables that you have to hand.

Thai Red Curry Paste - you can alternatively use green thai curry paste.

Coconut Milk - coconut cream is an alternative that has even lower moisture levels.

Oil - I use olive oil, use whichever oil you wish.

Lime juice - use fresh or bottled

Seasoning - salt and black pepper

Optional:

Sugar - the sugar is not added to sweeten the filling but to enhance the natural sweetness in the ingredients already used.

Dash of soy sauce

The glaze:

Puff pastry has enough of its own fat to produce a golden glaze however, you can brush on a glaze to make it extra golden and shiny. There are many vegan egg wash alternatives.

Water + maple syrup - mix together maple syrup or agave with water

Coconut milk

Method

Follow these step by step photo instructions for perfect results.

Prepare the filling:

Chop up the sweet potato and steam in the IP for 1 minute and Quick Pressure Release

In a large pan heat oil over a medium heat and add the red curry paste and coconut milk. Mix well and cook for about a minute. Add the soy sauce at this point if using.

Then, add frozen mix veg and cook for 3-4 minutes on high heat or until the water has dried up. Make sure to do this before adding the sweet potato or else the water will mash the sweet potato.

Tip in the cooked sweet potato and lightly mashed chickpeas and mix. I like to mash the chickpeas to help bind the mixture together.

Next, add salt to taste and optionally a of pinch of sugar.

Squeeze over lime juice, lower heat and cook for 1-2 minutes. Switch off the heat.

Finally, add some chopped coriander leaves

Assembling the puffs

Wait until the filling has cooled to room temperature before assembling.

Remove the pastry dough from the fridge/freezer as the mixture has almost cooled and leave out for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Roll out the pastry or unravel if you have pastry sheets.

Cut the dough into approximately 4inchx6inch squares. You can also use a large cookie cutter to make rounds.

Folding the curry puffs

Place 1-2 tablespoons of the filling into the center of the square. Then fold the pastry over the filling, pressing the edges together to seal using a fork. You can also crimp the edges if you wish.

Brush with the thick coconut milk.

Baking

You will need a lined baking tray

Bake at 190C for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven or until golden brown. Remember the inside mixture has already pre-cooked so they will not need that long.

Air Fryer Vegan Curry Puffs

The air fryer is a great way to cook perfectly even crispy puff pastry instead of a conventional oven.

I used the Air Fryer Lid on my Instant Pot Pro Crisp.

Air Fry 15 minutes on 190C. You may need to reduce cooking time for next batch as the air fryer heats up.

Storage

Curry puffs keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. Place the puffs in an airtight container once they have reached room temperature.

You can also freeze them. Cover each of the veg patties separately in cling film before storing in the freezer. Bake or air fry from frozen for a lazy lunch.

Other Vegetarian Air Fryer Pastry Recipes

• Chilli Cheese and Pineapple Parcels

• Apple and Mixed Fruit Hand Pies

• Vegan Cornish Pasty

• Tandoori Paneer Tarte Au Soleil

• Air fryer Sliced Potato

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

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