Hearty curry pies, filled with tender vegetables and a creamy and fragrant curry sauce. Encased in a buttery, flaky pastry crust, they are the ultimate comfort meal! Bake them in the oven or pie maker for a super-satisfying lunch or dinner.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Make ahead – they can be refrigerated and baked later in the day, or made ahead and frozen for an easy last-minute meal. Just brush with egg, bake and enjoy!
- Adaptable – add whatever veggies you have on hand! Choose your favourites, or add a mix of frozen vegetables instead, for convenience.
- Vegetarian – perfect for a meat-free dinner or snack.
- Perfect for reheating.
- Freezer friendly. Perfect for batch cooking and freezing for a convenient, no-fuss dinner.
- Oven or pie maker? You will find instructions for both included below.
Ingredients you will need
** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. The photo above is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!
- Pastry – to save time, I’ve used frozen shortcrust pastry and frozen puff pastry sheets, but you can also make them from scratch if you prefer. For the best pie case, use shortcrust pastry on the bottom (firm and crispy) and puff pastry (flaky) on the top. In Australia, pastry comes in 25 x 25cm ready-rolled sheets that are found in the freezer section of most supermarkets. You will need about 3 sheets of shortcrust and 2 sheets of puff pastry for this recipe.
- Vegetables – a mix of potato, carrot, onion and peas are used, but you can swap them for any of your favourite veggies. Swap for equal quantities of broccoli, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, sweet potato or whatever you have on hand. Alternatively, frozen vegetables can be used instead.
- Curry paste – use a mild curry paste like Penang or Korma (I use a jar of Korma curry paste to speed things up, but you can also make your own). You can add more, or less, to taste.
- Curry powder – I use Keen’s curry powder (mild). Both mild and hot versions can be found in supermarkets around Australia. Elsewhere, you can use any curry powder that you have on hand or even make your own version. Start with 1 teaspoon of curry powder and adjust to taste.
- Cream – regular, full-fat cream is used to add creaminess and depth to the curry sauce. To keep the sauce dairy-free, coconut milk can be used instead.
- Stock – liquid vegetable stock is used to form the base of the curry sauce. Use store-bought stock, or use homemade stock if preferred.
- Flour – plain (all-purpose) flour is used to thicken the curry sauce.
Step by step instructions
Step 1 – Make the pie filling;
The onion, garlic, ginger and vegetables are cooked in butter until tender.
*Make sure the vegetables are diced small enough that they will completely cook through.
The curry paste, tomato paste, curry powder and turmeric is added to the vegetables and cooked until fragrant. Then, some of the vegetable stock and cream, along with the peas are added and simmered together for a few minutes.
Thicken the sauce by adding the flour, mixed with the remaining vegetable stock.
Step 2 – Cut the pastry;
Use your pie tins as a guide to cut the pastry to size.
Cut the shortcrust pastry pie bottoms about 1cm larger than the pie tins you are using. And cut the puff pastry lids to the size of the tins you are using, as per the image below.
** If using a pie maker, use the pastry cutter to cut the shortcrust (bottom) and puff pastry (top) to the size of your pie maker.
Press the shortcrust pastry into the pie tins.
Step 3 – Assemble the pies;
Spoon the curry filling into the pastry bottoms.
Use a little egg wash to seal the lids to the base and press a fork along the edges to seal. Brush egg over the top of the pies and bake until crisp and golden brown.
Expert tips
- When using individual pie tins (12cm diameter, 3cm deep), this recipe makes 6 pies that are quite large and filling. They can be made larger or smaller, depending on preference. Use individual pie tins, muffin trays (for mini pies) or a pie maker. As the filling is already cooked, the pies only need to cook until the pastry is crisp and golden.
- Make sure you cut the vegetables very finely to avoid undercooked and hard lumps in the sauce.
- These pies can also be made in a pie maker. Simply follow the steps to make the vegetable filling. Then add the shortcrust pastry rounds to the bottom of the pie maker. Spoon in the filling and top with the puff pastry circles. Then cook for around 5-7 minutes, or until the pastry is crisped and golden brown.
- Seal the lids with a little egg wash and then use a fork to press down the edges. This will stop the filling from leaking out.
- Use the leftover pieces of pastry to cut some fancy shapes and add them to the top of the pies for decoration.
- The filling should not be runny, or it will spill out of the pie when bitten/cut. Adjust the sauce to your desired consistency by adding more flour (to thicken) or more stock (to make it thinner).
- Want to add some meat? Reduce the amount of vegetables slightly and add some leftover shredded chicken to the pie filling when you add the peas.
- Make them ahead; These pies can be assembled and chilled (covered) for 1 day in advance. When ready to cook, brush them with egg and bake. The pie filling can also be made ahead and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, before making the pies as normal.
FAQs
These pies make a complete meal on their own, or they can be served with a salad, soup or steamed vegetables on the side. I also highly recommend a little tomato sauce or chutney on top!
These pies can also be made in a pie maker. Simply follow the steps to make the vegetable filling. Then use your pie maker’s pastry cutter to cut the shortcrust (base) and puff (top) pastry to size. Assemble the pies as follows; add the shortcrust pastry rounds to the bottom of the pie maker. Spoon in the filling and top with the puff pastry circles. Then close the pie maker and cook for around 5-7 minutes, or until the pastry is crisped and golden brown.
Leftover pies can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.
These pies make a great make-ahead meal, because they freeze and reheat beautifully. To reheat the pies, place the thawed pies into the oven at 180C/356F for 10-15 minutes, or air fryer at 180C for 8-10 minutes, or until crisped on the outside and completely heated through in the middle.
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Vegetable Curry Pies
Ingredients
- 2 small brown onions 200 grams, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 15 grams ginger peeled and very finely chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons butter
- 2 small carrots finely diced
- 400 grams potatoes 2-3 medium potatoes, finely diced
- 3-4 tablespoons mild curry paste like korma or penang curry
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon curry powder I used Keen's curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup cream whipping or thickened cream
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3-4 tablespoons plain flour
- 3 sheets shortcrust pastry pre-rolled 25cm x 25cm sheets
- 2 sheets puff pastry pre-rolled 25cm x 25cm sheets
- 1 egg lightly beaten
Instructions
To make the filling;
- To make the pie filling, cook the onion, garlic and ginger and the butter over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until soft.
- Add the carrot and potato and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until soft (around 6-8 minutes).
- Add the curry paste, tomato paste, curry powder and turmeric and stir.
- Add ¾ cup of the vegetable stock (keep the rest to mix with the flour), cream and peas and bring to a low simmer. Allow to simmer until the vegetables are soft.
- Mix the flour (start with 3 tablespoons) with the remaining vegetable stock and whisk until there are no lumps. Add the flour mixture to the curry mixture and stir until combined. Continue to simmer (stirring) until the sauce has thickened.
- Taste the curry and add a little more curry paste and/or curry powder to taste, if desired.
Cut the pastry
- Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut 6 shortcrust pastry bases, approximately 1 cm larger than the tins you are using. Cut 6 puff pastry lids to fit the size of the pie tins. (Or make more, or less, depending on the size of the pies you have chosen to make).
Oven method
- Pre-heat oven to 200 °C/392 F.
- Line the pie tins with a little oil spray and press the shortcrust pastry bases into the tins.
- Spoon the pie filling into the pastry bases, to the top.
- Brush a little egg around the edges and top with the puff pastry. Use a fork to seal the edges of the pie and brush the tops with egg.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pies are crisp and golden. Carefully remove the pies from the tins immediately and transfer to a wire rack.
Pie maker method
- Follow the steps above to make the filling. Cut the shortcrust bases and puff pastry lids to the size of your pie maker.
- Heat the pie maker and place the shortcrust pastry into the bases of the pie maker.
- Spoon the filling into the bases (fill to the top, heaped is ok).
- Brush the edges with a little egg wash and then top with the puff pastry lids. Brush with more egg and close the pie maker.
- Cook for around 5-7 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.
Notes
- Pastry – to save time, I’ve used frozen shortcrust pastry and frozen puff pastry sheets, but you can also make them from scratch if you prefer. For the best pie case, use shortcrust pastry on the bottom (firm and crispy) and puff pastry (flaky) on the top. In Australia, pastry comes in 25 x 25cm ready-rolled sheets that are found in the freezer section of most supermarkets. You will need about 3 sheets of shortcrust and 2 sheets of puff pastry for this recipe.
- When using individual pie tins (12cm diameter, 3cm deep), this recipe makes 6 pies that are quite large and filling. They can be made larger or smaller, depending on preference. Use individual pie tins, muffin trays (for mini pies) or a pie maker. As the filling is already cooked, the pies only need to cook until the pastry is crisp and golden.
- Make sure you cut the vegetables very finely to avoid undercooked and hard lumps in the sauce.
- Seal the lids with a little egg wash and then use a fork to press down the edges. This will stop the filling from leaking out.
- Use the leftover pieces of pastry to cut some fancy shapes and add them to the top of the pies for decoration.
- The filling should not be runny, or it will spill out of the pie when bitten/cut. Adjust the sauce to your desired consistency by adding more flour (to thicken) or more stock (to make it thinner).
- Want to add some meat? Reduce the amount of vegetables slightly and add some leftover shredded chicken to the pie filling when you add the peas.
- Make them ahead; These pies can be assembled and chilled (covered) for 1 day in advance. When ready to cook, brush them with egg and bake. The pie filling can also be made ahead and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, before making the pies as normal.
- Make ahead; These pies can be assembled and chilled (covered) for 1 day in advance. When ready to cook, brush them with egg and bake.
- Storage; Leftover pies can be wrapped and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.
- Reheat; These pies make a great make-ahead meal, because they freeze and reheat beautifully. To reheat the pies, place the thawed pies into the oven at 180C/356F for 10-15 minutes, or air fryer at 180C for 8-10 minutes, or until crisped on the outside and completely heated through in the middle.
- Please note that the nutrition information is based on the mixture being divided into 6 individual pies, with one pie being one serve. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings, sides or sauces.
- This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary.
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