Vegetable puffs conjure up wonderful memories for me!!! During my college days, after a long day in the laboratory tinkering with all the apparatus and chemicals, all I wanted to do was to go home, wash up and have something spicy and tasty (made lovingly by my Mom) with piping hot coffee!!! It was either something fried or some sandwiches. But the one snack I loved to bite into was crispy, hot vegetable puffs, filled with a spicy potato-onion-vegetable mix, dipped in tomato ketchup!!
Making the pastry sheets (for the puffs) is a very cumbersome and lengthy process, so we preferred to purchase vegetable puffs from a nearby bakery.
I tried to relive those days today by making some vegetable puffs at home with store-bought pastry sheets lying in the freezer. We love anything Chinese, especially Indo-chinese (it is a fusion and amalgamation of Chinese and Indian flavors using Indian spices; with extra ginger, garlic, chillies, masalas etc. to suit the Indian palate!!), so I decided to give the puffs a Indo-Chinese twist and used a filling I normally make for Chinese vegetable fried or baked spring rolls. Hence the Indo-Chinese vegetable puffs!!
Hope you get to try them and enjoy this subtle twist on the traditional vegetable puffs!!
Cripsy, flaky vegetable puffs with the flavors of Indo Chinese cuisine!
Ingredients
- 1 box of Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
- ½ cup sliced or chopped onions
- 1 green chilli or jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon each grated ginger and garlic
- ¼ cup capsicum or bell pepper, chopped
- 1 to 2 cubes Maggi seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce or any chilli sauce
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Salt to taste
- Coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Centigrade.
- Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
- Chop all the filling ingredients and keep ready.
- To make the filling:
- Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and green chillies and sauté for a couple of minutes till the onions are soft
- Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds till the raw smell goes.
- Add the bell pepper and sauté for a minute.
- Add the carrots, cabbage, seasoning cube, sriracha sauce, vinegar and salt and mix well.
- Fry on high for about 2 minutes till all the moisture is gone, but the vegetables still have a crunch in them. Turn off the flame and mix in the coriander leaves.
- Let cool.
- Assembling the puffs:
- Thaw the sheets according to box instructions.
- Separate the sheets and roll on a floured surface slightly with a rolling pin.
- Cut the sheets either into rounds or squares.
- Fill each square or round with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling.
- Fold over to form a triangle shape and seal the edges by pressing well and marking them with a fork (for the round puffs, place a second cut sheet on the filled rounds and seal).
- Bake in a 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celcius oven for about 20 minutes till golden light brown.
- Enjoy hot, crispy vegetable puffs with an Indo-Chinese flavor, alongside a dip of either ketchup or any sauce you prefer.
Step-by-step method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Centigrade.
Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
Chop all the filling ingredients and keep ready.
To make the filling:
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onions and green chillies and sauté for a couple of minutes till the onions are soft.
Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds till the raw smell goes.
Add the bell pepper and sauté for a minute.
Add the carrots, cabbage, seasoning cube, sriracha sauce, vinegar and salt and mix well.
Fry on high for about 2 minutes till all the moisture is gone, but the vegetables still have a crunch in them. Turn off the flame and mix in the coriander leaves.
Let cool.
Assembling the puffs:
Thaw the pastry sheets according to box instructions.
Separate the sheets and roll on a floured surface slightly with a rolling pin.
Cut the sheets either into rounds or squares.
Fill each square with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling.
Fold over to form a triangle shape and seal the edges by pressing well and marking them with a fork.
If making round puffs, fill the bottom half of the round sheet with the filling and place the other round on top and seal the edges well with a fork.
Brush the top of the puffs with either melted butter or ghee (optional). Bake in a 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius oven for about 20 minutes till golden light brown.
Enjoy hot, crispy vegetable puffs with an Indo-Chinese flavor, alongside a dip of either ketchup or any sauce you prefer.
Hi, can you freeze once baked and then warm it up again in the oven on 180 degrees until warm? Will it become soggy?
Lovely recipe! Could the filling be made a day in advance?
Thanks so much Dharna ? Sure, you can make the filling ahead and refrigerate until you are ready to fill. Just make sure it is devoid of any moisture.