Afternoon Comfort Food: Curry Puffs

Is there a better East-meets-West fusion food than these humble curry puffs, I wonder. Each bite into the flaky, layered puffs filled with savoury concoctions conjure up images of my idyllic childhood growing up in Asia, yet it also brings back fond memories of those afternoons whiling away in exquisite french patisseries. These days, with the predictably gloomy weather and days getting shorter, I find myself craving for more and more savouries, and I can’t find a much better comfort food for my afternoons than these puffs. I remembered many years ago, our family would gather around those deep fried puffs, each on its own napkin paper, and regale stories whilst waiting for the monsoon rain or bolts of lightning and thunderstorm to subside. Those rainy afternoons would be much savoured that every time it rains in England, and I can tell you it rains quite often, I would reach for the old memories yet again, in what I know best. Warm, hearty food.

Although I could easily reach for the shop-bought English cornish pastries or their close rival in the form of Indian samosas, the exquisite taste of these curry puffs deserves a merit of its own, so I always end up making them even in a short  notice. They look deceivingly elaborate to make, yet so simple and versatile, with fillings of your own choice. I always go for curried potato and meat filling, but I have also tried different versions to this when the choice of filling is mostly depicted by ingredients available at hand.

I do not vouch for deep-frying usually, but spare me on this occasion. I must warn you though, these curry puffs are deliciously addictive, so put the kettle on, invite your friends over and make those delights. At the very least, you could bask in the compliments and safe in the knowledge that these puffs taste way better than the ready-roll pastries from the shops nearby.