Coconut Chicken Pie

Meat pies during the holidays are the perfect comfort food. They are warm, loaded with flavour and make you feel at home. This coconut chicken pie is inspired by Indian flavours. The cool coconut, hot spices, and tender chicken make a great filling. The luscious curry helps to deliver a moist chicken infused with lots and lots of flavours for you to enjoy. The best part about this pie is that it makes your house smell amazing while baking in the oven! I recommend this recipe if you want to experiment with pies this holiday season.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Marination

350g Chicken thighs

2 tbsp Lemon juice

1 tsp Chilli powder

1 tsp black Pepper

1 tsp Cumin powder

Salt to Taste

1 chopped Lemon wedge

Curry

2 tsp Oil

1 tsp Chilli paste

1 tsp Coriander paste

2 Bay leaves

1 chopped Shallot

½ cup Tomato puree

400g Coconut milk

1 ½ tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Ginger powder

2 tsp Cumin

Pinch of Clove powder

½ tsp Coriander powder

Salt to Taste

Pie

2 thawed Puff Pastry sheets

1 beaten Egg

Method

Step 1- Marination

Chop the chicken thighs into bite-size pieces. Add lemon juice, chilli powder, black pepper, cumin powder, salt, and chopped lemon wedges to a bowl, and mix well. Then add the chicken thighs to the marinade and coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Step 2- Curry

Add oil to a pot and place on heat. Once hot, add in the bay leaves and cook for 30 seconds or till aromatic. Then add in shallots and cook till slightly brown. Then add chilli paste and coriander paste to the shallots and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

Step 3

Add in tomato puree and mix well. Cook till the masala is thick and the oil is separated. Then add in coconut milk and mix well, reduce the heat to a medium-low, and let the coconut milk simmer until reduced to half.

Step 4

Once the curry is reduced, add in the chicken thigh and coat well. Then cover the pot and cook till the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Take the pot off the heat and let the chicken cool down.

Step 5- Pie

Preheat the oven to 220℃ and line a 6-inch pie dish with a thawed puff pastry sheet. Trim the edges and secure the pastry sheet. Then with a fork, poke holes in the sheet. Then add in the chicken curry and spread evenly.

Step 6

Cover the pie dish with another puff pastry sheet and trim the edges. Secure the puff pastry by pinching it together with the button layer. Crave a cross in the middle of the sheet. Brush the pie with egg wash thoroughly and place in the oven.

Step 7

Bake the pie for 20-25 minutes or till it's golden brown. Then take the pie out and let it rest for 20 minutes. Then cut into the pie and serve hot!

Tips

1. Marinating the chicken improves texture and enhances flavours, don’t skip this step.

2. For best results, marinate and keep the chicken in the refrigerator overnight.

3. You can replace the coriander paste with 30g coriander leaves.

4. The longer you cook the masala, the better it tastes.

5. Simmer the coconut till it reduces to half for a thick creamy gravy.

6. The internal temperature of cooked chicken is 75℃.

7. Don’t forget to poke holes in the base.

8. You replace the egg wash with milk or butter.

9. You can make the chicken curry head in time.