Chicken Tikka Pasty
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 5 cups Bread flour
- 1 2/3 cups Crisco shortening - very cold
- 1 1/4 cups Water - Ice cold
- 2 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 1/4 tsp Baking powder
For the filling
- 1 3/4 lbs Chicken breast, skinless and boneless
For the marinade
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp Ginger - minced
- 2 tbsp Garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp White pepper
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Cumin - roasted
- 1 pn Nutmeg
- 1 pn Mace
- 1 pn Ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 4 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Gram flour
- Salt to taste
- 5 tbsp Canola oil
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
- 1/2 tsp Coriander - ground
- 1 tbsp Onion - minced
- 2 Potatoes peeled and in bite sized pieces
- 1 Red bell pepper - diced
Instructions
For the pasty
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour mix u7ntil it looks and feels like breadcrumbs.
- Slowly add the water, mixing as you go until a dough starts to come together.
- Form the dough into a ball, pressing it together firmly, Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.
For the marinade
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt and all of the other ingredients.
- Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieced. Add the chicken pieces, bell pepper and potatoes. Mix so everything is well coated and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferable over night.
Assemble the pastys
- Preheat the oven to 350ºf
- Divide the dough into 10 balls, dust the balls in flour and set aside.
- On a floured surface, roll each ball out into a circle with pastry about 1/4" thick. Use a plate or bowl to trim into a neat circle if needed. That will help keep all the pasty's the same size.
- Place about 3 heaped tablespoons of the mixture on one side of a circle, keeping the mixture away from the edge. Wet the edge of the circle with a little water, then fold the empty side over the filling and crimp the edges well with a fork or crimp in a traditional pasty style with forefinger and thumb. Be sure edges and corners are well sealed to avoid leaks when cooking.
- Transfer the pasty's to large baling sheets and with a paring knife cut several large slits to allow steam to escape. Where the slits come together open up a small hole.
- Melt a stick of butter in the microwave and pour about a tablespoon of butter into the hole in top of the pasty. Brush the pasty's with a little milk and bake for one hour, until nicely golden. Remove and set aside to cool.
- I suggest serving with Raita, an Indian yogurt mint dip