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chicken tikka masala pie
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Chicken Tikka Masala Pies

These chicken tikka masala pies feature a rich, homemade curry encased in a flaky rough puff pastry pie crust. They're proper tasty!
Prep Time1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Chilling Time5 hours
Total Time6 hours 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 6 Pies
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • 6 Hole Deep Muffin/Yorkshire Pudding Tin See Notes
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Rolling Pin
  • Scissors
  • Pastry Brush
  • 10 cm Round Cutter
  • Large Baking Tray

Ingredients

Rough Puff Pastry

  • 320 g Unsalted Butter
  • 320 g Plain Flour
  • ¾ tsp Table Salt
  • 140 g Ice Cold Water

The Pies

  • 500 g Chicken Tikka Masala See Notes
  • 1 Egg Yolk
  • 1 tsp Whole Milk
  • A Pinch Of Table Salt
  • ½ tsp Nigella Seeds

Instructions

Rough Puff Pastry

  • Take 160 grams of the butter & freeze until completely frozen (this will take at least 2 hours). Keep the remaining butter in the fridge.
    Make sure to freeze the butter as one large piece - this will make grating it easier.
  • Place the plain flour & salt into a large mixing bowl then mix together.
  • Cut the refrigerated butter in half lengthways then slice thinly. Add to the mixing bowl & stir so that each individual slice of butter is coated in flour.
  • Add in enough water to form a rough dough (start with 140g then add in more if required), being careful not to overwork the dough.
  • Transfer the pastry to a clean work surface & knead until all of the flour has been incorporated. Flatten slightly then wrap tightly in cling film & leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
  • Whilst the dough is chilling, using a box grater, grate the frozen butter into a container then put back in the freezer until needed.
  • Next, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the chilled dough into a large 5mm thick rectangle, measuring around 40cm x 25cm.
  • Dust off any excess flour then sprinkle half of the frozen butter onto the bottom 2 thirds of the dough.
    Fold the third with no butter on over the middle third then fold the remaining third over the top. Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise then roll out into a rectangle (again measuring 40cm x 25cm x 0.5cm).
    Sprinkle the remaining frozen, grated butter over the bottom 2 thirds of dough & repeat the above folding process.
  • Lightly press a finger into one of the pastry's corners to signify how the dough was positioned on the work surface before going in the fridge. Wrap the dough tightly in clingfilm then leave in the fridge for 30 minutes.
    Make sure to keep a note of which corner you left the indent in.
  • After half an hour, unwrap the dough (save the clingfilm for when the dough goes back in the fridge) & place on the work surface with the indent at the same position as before.
  • Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise & repeat the rolling & folding process twice more (this time without adding butter). Remember to turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise before rolling out.
    Wrap the dough in clingfilm & refrigerate for a further 30 minutes. (Make sure to leave an indent in the same position as before.)
  • Repeat the rolling, folding & turning process twice more for the final two turns then refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight before using.

Assembly

  • Grease the insides of the muffin tin with butter then set aside.
  • Next, cut the pastry in half. Place one half onto a lightly floured surface & keep the other half in the fridge (wrapped in clingfilm).
  • Roll the pastry out into a large, 4mm thick rectangle then use a small plate or bowl to cut out 3 discs of pastry that are 16-17 cm wide. Use a 10 cm round pastry cutter to cut out 3 lids as well.
    If you need to reuse any pastry trimmings, brush any excess flour off then fold/lay the trimmings on top of each other then roll out.
  • Line three of the muffin tin holes with the large discs of pastry then fill each with tikka masala. The pastry should overhang each muffin tin hole by a couple of centimetres.
    The curry should fill each pie level with the top of the muffin tin.
  • Brush a small amount of cold water around the edge of each pie then top each with the smaller discs of pastry, pressing down lightly on the edges to seal.
  • Thin the excess pastry between your fingers then trim with scissors, so that there's 1 cm of pastry overhanging each pie. Fold the overhanging pastry back onto the edge the pie, overlapping the lid slightly then use your fingers or a fork to crimp.
  • Repeat the assembly process with the remaining pastry & tikka masala then chill the pies in the fridge for at least an hour.

Cooking

  • Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f). Place a large baking tray in the oven at the same time.
  • In the meantime, whisk together the egg, milk & salt for the egg wash then brush a light layer on top of each pie. Return them to the fridge, whilst your oven heats up (for 20 minutes or so).
  • Brush another light layer of egg wash on top of the pies then sprinkle over a few nigella seeds - try to get the seeds just on the lid, not the crimped edge.
  • Place the muffin tin onto the hot baking tray in the oven then bake the pies for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is a deep, golden brown and the filling is piping hot.
    A digital food probe inserted into the filling should read at least 75°c/167°f. If the pies start to brown too much, cover them loosely with foil.
  • One baked, let the pies sit for 10 minutes then carefully lift them out of the tin. Serve immediately or leave to cool then store in the fridge.

Notes

1. To Cook In An Aga - Bake the pies in the roasting oven, on a grid shelf placed on the floor. If the pies start to brown too much, slide a cold plain shelf in, two runners above.
2. Chicken Tikka Masala - This recipe works best with my chicken tikka masala recipe but feel free to use a different type of curry if you'd prefer.
For 500 grams of curry, you'll need to make a single batch of our tikka masala recipe. After making the curry, transfer it to a large dish, leave to cool then refrigerate until completely cold.
3. Pastry - For the crispest, flakiest pastry, make sure to chill the pies well before baking. They'll need at least an hour in the fridge once assembled.
4. Storage - Once assembled, the pies can be kept in the fridge for a day before being baked. Once cooked, the pies can be kept in the fridge for another day or so, depending on when you made the tikka masala.