Vegetable puff pastry is sold at almost every bakery in small and big cities of India. It is a very popular snack, it has layers of crispy flaky puff pastry that crumbles as you eat them, filled with a spiced vegetable filling.
For this recipe, I used store bought puff pastry, as my attempt at making them didn’t work out that well. Nevertheless, I will keep on trying until I succeed at the good homemade puff pastry. But until then, store bought puff pastry works wonders in this recipe. As important as the flaky puff is for this recipe, also equally important is the spiced mixture of the vegetables. The Indian spices have always done magic for the taste buds if used proportionately.
When I was young and didn’t know how to cook, I always looked forward to getting these from the bakery every time we went to get fresh loaf of bread. But it was not so often that we use to get these, so all the time that did get them, there was no room for sharing. As fun as that was, now that I can make them myself, it’s just fun thinking of those memories from back then.
This puff is not only great for snack, but they are also great for party appetizers. It’s a very filling snack and very healthy as it includes lot of vegetables. I hope you make and enjoy this recipe.
Vegetable Puff Pastry
Ingredients
For Stuffing
- 2 Medium Potatoes steamed, peeled, and cut to pieces
- 1/3 Cup Green Peas boiled or steamed
- 1/4 Cup Carrots steamed and cut to pieces
- 1/2 Cup Onion chopped
- 1/2 Cup Capsicum (Bell Pepper) chopped
- 1 Green Chilli finely chopped
- 1/2 Tsp Ginger Paste or freshly grated
- 1 Tsp Garlic Paste or freshly grated
- 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 Tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala
- 1 Tsp Lemon or Lime Juice
- Salt to taste
For Tempering
- 2 Tbsp Oil
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 Tsp Asafetida Powder
- 4-5 Curry Leaves fresh, optional
Other Ingredients
- 2 Puff Pastry Sheets store bought or homemade
Instructions
Preparation
- Boil the potato, peas and carrots in a pressure cooker. Once cooked and cooled, peel and chop the potatoes and carrots into small pieces. Set them aside.
Make the Stuffing
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds, wait till they sputter, then add asafetida powder and curry leaves(optional).
- Next add onions, green chili, ginger paste and garlic paste. Saute for few minutes. Sprinkle little salt and mix. Cook till onions become soft and golden brown in color.
- Now add the capsicum and saute for about 3 minutes. Add spice powders (turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala) and salt.
- Then add carrot, peas, potatoes.
- Mix well and mash few potatoes while mixing. It should be the semi-chunky mixture. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Then add cilantro and lemon/lime juice. Mix well.
- Let the stuffing cool down completely. Keep it aside.
Shaping and Baking
- Remove the puff pastry sheets from the freezer and thaw as mentioned in the packet. I used Pepperidge Farm brand sheets and it took me around 30 minutes to get thawed at room temperature.
- Also, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Now unfold the sheet carefully (*if it is still frozen or hard then it may break), make sure that it is thawed properly.
- Roll the dough using flour, to stretch it a little, then cut into nine pieces.
- Now put around 1 or 2 tablespoons of stuffing mixture on one side, then fold the sheet into it.
- Then apply the water on all four edges using a brush or fingers. This will help to seal the sides. You can make it into your desired shape. Here I made rectangular shape.
- Next, using a fork make design and also it helps to seal it again. Otherwise, it may open up while baking. Arrange them on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- NOTE: If you prefer, brush with egg wash before baking. This gives a very deep golden brown color.
- Bake into the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or till it puffs up and becomes golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool for ~5 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy them with your favorite chutney or ketchup.
