Veg Puff is one of the most popular evening snacks in Tamil Nadu. In our local tamil language it is mostly referred as Pups (பப்ஸ்) 😉 Though it sounds funny, we all are used to the colloquial way of addressing it.
You can never say no to a cup of hot masala tea & a vegetable puff from roadside bakery shop. They are match made in heaven 🙂
I still remember those precious school days.Me and my friends used to wait in queue in the _ “Iyengar Bakery_” to get hold of these flaky,delicious puffs. I never ever imagined that we can make these at home. I used to think Puffs as an exotic dish that can be made only by professionals. Nowadays everything is so easily available and thanks to Ready Made Puff Pastry sheet, I was able to recreate my childhood favorite dish at home itself.
Here I have used a simple vegetable based filling however you could substitute that with soya,mushroom,boiled egg or chicken based filling. Only thing you need to take care is that the filling should be cooled down before placing it inside the pastry sheet and shouldn’t have too much moisture in it. Or else the puffs will be very soggy. I used half of the puff pastry sheet. That yielded me 6 medium sized puffs.
Tips on handling Pastry Sheet :
– Always get readily rolled out pastry sheets. That will ease our process. I used the brand JusRol’s pastry sheet.
– If you have stored the sheet in a freezer, make sure to defrost the sheets for minimum 12 hours before using them.
– If its in normal rack you dont have to wait much. You need to wait for only 5-10 minutes. I usually prepare the filling, let it cool for sometime and then will take the sheet from fridge. Then start using it.
– I have used around 2 tbsp of melted butter + 2tbsp milk to get that golden brown color on the puffs. You need to just brush the top of the puffs with this mixture before baking
– If you have eggs at home you can use egg wash on top of the puffs to obtain a golden color.
Ingredients for the filling :
- Potato – 2
- Onion – 1
- Carrot – 1
- Tomato – 1
- Frozen Sweet Corn or Frozen peas – 1/4 cup
- Ginger garlic pieces – 1/4 tsp each
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
- Chilli Powder – 1/4 tbsp
- Garam Masala Powder – 1/4 tbsp
- Coriander Powder – 1/4 tbsp
- Oil – 1/2 tbsp
- Saunf – 1/2 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Butter – 2 tbsp
- Milk – 2tbsp
Preparation of the filling :
1. Pressure cook potatoes upto 3 whistles and allow it to cool completely
2. In a kadai or wok, heat oil. Add saunf, mustard seeds. Let it splutter
3. Then add chopped onions,ginger garlic.
4. Saute well. Sprinkle salt and turmeric
5. Now add chopped tomatoes, carrots and add all the dry powders.
6. Lower the flame and do not add extra water. Once the veggies are 3/4th cooked, add potatoes, sweet corn (or frozen peas based on your preference)
7. Mix everything together. Let it cook for another 4-5 minutes in low flame. Adjust salt and turn off the flame.
Shaping the puffs :
1. Make rectangle shapes from the puff pastry sheet.
2. Keep a spoon of filling in the middle of each and every piece of sheet.
3.Close the sheet gently and make sure you don’t overfill.
4.Using fork seal the edges.
5. Apply milk first & then butter on top of the puffs before baking in oven.
6.Bake the puffs in a preheated oven (200c) for 20 minutes.
7.Since I was using Gas Oven I didnt get a very even brown color on top. I had to turn on Grill mode and then bake for few extra minutes.
8. You need to keep an eye on the whole process. There are chances where you might over-bake the puff. Since it depends on the type of oven you use, kindly note that the temperature and duration given above may vary slightly.
Once they are baked, remove from oven. Serve the flaky, filling veg puffs along with a cup of hot tea or coffee.
