Home made Puffs

Ingredients :

1.     Maida - 250 gms
2.     Dalda - 125 gm (50-75, divided)
3.     Salt - 1/2 tsp
4.     Sugar - 1/2 tsp
5.     Water - About half cup to make dough.
6.     Extra flour for dusting.

 For the filling :

1. Beef - 250 grm chopped fine (use a steak cut ,else cook in pressure cooker and chop into tiny pieces)
2. Onion - 1 chopped fine
3. ginger - 1/2 tsp chopped
4. garlic - 5 cloves chopped
5. green chilly
6. vinegar - 1/2 tsp
7. coarsely crushed fresh black pepper - 1/4 tsp
8. soy sauce - 2 tsp (low sodium) 
9. corn flour - 1 tsp
10. corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Cumin powder - a pinch
12. Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

 Make the meat mixture and allow to cool while you prepare the puff pastry.

Add a tsp oil to a frying pan and add in the chopped ginger,garlic,onion,green chilly and saute well.

Add in the corriander powder and cumin powder and saute for a minute

Add in the chopped raw beef and stir well to form crumbles .

Allow the meat to cook for a minute

Add in the soy sauce, vinegar and pepper powder and mix well.

stirfry on medium heat until the beef is cooked (steak cuts only take 2-3 minutes to cook) 

The meat will give out enough juices and there will be some left after the meat gets cooked.

Add in the tsp of corn flour and mix well. This will thicken the juices and provide a sheen to the meat .It also keeps the mix from drying out while baking.

If you are adding cooked beef , you might have to add the juices that you get from the beef while cooking .

Taste for balance of flavour and keep aside to cool .

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Add flour into a large bowl. Add salt and 50 gms of dalda. 

Rub the shortening into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the flour, add water slowly and knead into a soft dough.

Put the 75 gm of shortening in a small bowl and soften it nicely without any lumps. 

Then, divide this approximately into three parts.

Dust the counter with flour and roll out the dough into a rectangle of approximately (8x16).

Spoon one portion of the 75 gm shortening on the rolled out flour and spread it leaving 1/2inch off all 4 sides.

Now you need to fold the dough into a 3 layer fold.

Lay the rectangle in front of you and fold the end towards you half way and then fold the end near you over it. You get a square shape dough now .

Then again roll into a rectangle and repeat the same two more times with the remaining shortening. 

It is important not to thin out the dough and give much pressure, handle the dough when rolling gently.This is what creates the layers in the pastry . We are not giving the dough enough time to cool and rest , so to ensure that you get perfect layers ,the dough needs to be handled gently so that the layers between the flour and shortening stay as is.

Finally roll out into rectangle and cut into 8 neat squares or your preferred shape. 

Fill the pastry with the meat filling and slowly cover with the other end and bake until done.

Do not press the edges to flatten it  after you add the meat filling.

You should make puff immediately after the dough is ready , do not keep aside to rest.

Apply egg wash on top of the pastry and bake for 30 -45 minutes until the outside is a nice golden brown.

Instead of the beef mixture , you can use any filling , mixed veg ,boiled egg and masala , chicken etc.

NOTE : The recipe for the puff pastry sheet was made following the recipe on -http://www.nisahomey.com/2014/11/puff-pastry-recipe-homemade-puff-pastry.html