I was talking with some friends on Spoutible a day or so ago about the best type of pies. Savory or sweet. I LOVE sweet pies. So much so that I haven’t had a birthday cake in years, opting for pie instead. This also makes it easier for anyone making it for me, to guarantee it’s vegan as well. 😄 They were naming their favorite pies, and I threw out my Potato Curry pie, then said I would share the recipe.
This is a long post I will warn you as I make my own crusts, curry powder, and Garam Masala powder and will include the recipes for all for them.
So let’s jump into this!
The ingredients you’ll need for the pie filling are as follows:
4 large Potatoes, about 4 pounds
1 large Onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon Oil (You can use what you want but I’m an extra virgin olive oil lover.)
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (You can crush these in a mortar and pestle if you want, but do NOT use pre-made powder. Powder flavor is fleeting compared to whole seeds.)
1 clove Garlic finely chopped
1 small piece of Ginger grated (This is optional. I am highly attuned to ginger and am not a fan of it, but now and then it’s a nice addition.)
3 tsp Curry Powder (See recipe following this. You can use your favorite store bought brand. I just prefer to make my own spices as it makes the recipe fresher tasting.)
1 teaspoon Garam Masala (See recipe following this. You can use your favorite store bought brand. I just prefer to make my own spices as it makes the recipe fresher tasting.)
3/4 teaspoon Salt (You’ll have to play with this as you cook more of them to taste. I prefer no salt in the recipe and salting after the fact on each plate. If adding in to the pie, for a nice taste addition, use a smoked sea salt to add a smoky flavor to the pie.)
1/2 cup Peas (fresh or frozen NEVER canned! I will hunt you down if you use canned!)
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Next, make your short crust pastry and pie shell. (I make my own to make sure they are vegan, you can use pre-made store-bought shells if you wish. MAKE TWO BATCHES, you’ll see why at the end. I actually prefer a flakier puff pastry crust for this, you can find my recipe for it HERE or you can use store-bought for that as well.)
1 â…“ cups all-purpose flour, (plain flour)
3.5 oz vegan butter (I use Miykos Plant Milk Euro Butter), cold, cubed.
2 tbsp granulated sugar (For vegan sugar you can substitute Stevia on a 1:1 ratio, and if you don’t want to spend a lot on smaller company’s vegan brands, C&H now makes vegan sugar in the forms of C & H Pure Cane Washed Raw Sugar and C & H Pure Cane Certified Organic Sugar)
½ teaspoon sea salt (Don’t use pink sea salt, I know that’s still a fad/trend, but it is a finishing salt. Use a regular granulated sea salt.)
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk (I use Oatley Full Fat Oatmilk for cooking. It’s as close to real milk as you will find).
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or scraped vanilla beans. (This is optional, I only use it on fruit or sweet pies.)
Now, make your short crust dough.
Mix and chill the dough. Add the flour, vegan butter, sugar, salt, and non-dairy milk, to a bowl. (I use the bowl from my KitchenAid when I make anything. It’s the perfect size.)
You can mix it by hand in the bowl as there are not a lot of ingredients, but be careful, as your hands may melt the butter. So I use my Bread attachment and give it a rough tumble. Then dump it out, wrap it in saran wrap, and chill for about 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Lightly grease your pan with the vegan butter and a VERY light layer of flour.
Roll out your chilled dough so that it is an inch or so larger than the circumference of the pan. Rather than try the whole lifting it using the rolling pin trick, which you have to be a magician to pull off correctly, roll it out on wax paper or parchment paper. At the proper size, place the pan on top of the dough, gently lift it from under the paper, and flip it over. Tada! Perfectly placed on the pan.
Use a knife to GENTLY cut around the edges, allowing it to rise slightly higher than the sides of the pan, then pierce the dough several times using a fork.
I always blind-bake my dough. I’m not adventurous enough to try a parabake! (A blind bake, bakes the crust to done, a parabake, bakes the crust to half done, which still gives the chance of a soggy bottom.)
For a blind bake, take a sheet of parchment paper and cut it into a circle slightly larger than the crust. Rest it on top of the pastry and fill the base with dried beans. (You can use rice, lentils, or baking beads, I just have a ton of different beans always on hand.😀)
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the beans/baking beads from the crust. Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 12-15 minutes until light golden brown.
Then let it cool.
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Making the pie:
Preheat your oven to 350 to 400 F. Temp and cooking times will vary by oven.
Peel Potatoes and cut into small pieces. Cook in salted water until soft. (Do NOT overcook. Just soft. Not mushy. You may have to play with this a few times to get it exactly right.)
Heat the oil and Cumin Seeds in a frying pan over medium-low heat. When just beginning to be aromatic, add Onion and Garlic, and cook until Onion is soft. Add Ginger and Peas, and stir.
Add the Curry Powder, Garam Masala, and Salt. Drain Potato pieces and add them to the frying pan, and combine well. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool.
Once cooled, fill the pie crust, pack it fairly tight.
Lay ANOTHER flat round sheet of the shortcrust pastry on top of the pie. Roll it out slightly larger than the pie itself. Crimp the edges. Gently slice the center in any pattern you wish to release steam.
Brush the top crust if you are NOT vegan with an egg wash. If you are vegan, you can use a little melted vegan butter or even a watered-down amount of JUST EGG vegan eggs to create a vegan egg wash. (Don’t use milk, as that creates a pale crust.)
Bake for 30 minutes until the crust turns a gentle golden brown on top.
—Alternatively, you can make this with JUST THE TOP CRUST. Only make or use one batch of dough, and fill the pan directly with the pie filling, then place the top crust, following the baking steps.—
Now, you’re ready to serve! Enjoy This is great with Roti or Chapati flat breads, though if you have some, a fragrant herbed Fougasse is amazing with it. (If you want to try your hand at making the Fougasse you can find my recipe HERE.)
Also, Hari aka green chutney, Imli (Tamarind) Chutney, or Timater (tomato) Chutney goes amazing with this and the bread.
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Here is my Curry powder recipe. I like it a lot.
1/4 cup coriander seeds
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tbsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds (Omit for Mild Curry Powder)
12 small dried red chili peppers (this is for HOT Madras style. Use 4 for Mild Curry Powder)
4 dried curry leaves (can substitute 1 large bay leaf)
2 tbsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger (Optional really. I’m not a ginger fan, which is odd for my heritage, so sometimes I use 1/4 or none at all.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt r to taste. (I omit salt in the powder preferring to season individual dishes instead.)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Heat a skillet over medium (low medium if you want to be more careful but it takes more time) heat and roast the whole spices and curry/bay leaves for a few minutes until very fragrant. Be VERY careful not to scorch the spices or they will be bitter. Let the spices cool completely. Place the whole spices in a spice/coffee grinder along with the remaining ingredients and grind until you get a fine powder.
I recycle glass jars from everything I buy, so just store it in one of these in a dark cool place. It makes about a half cup of powder.
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And this is my Garam Masala recipe:
2.5 tbsp. coriander seeds
2.5 tbsp. cumin seeds
2.5 tsp black peppercorns
1 1/4 tsp whole cloves
1 1/4 tsp cardamom seeds from GREEN cardamom pods (NOT Black).
1 1/4 tsp caraway seeds
5 dried bay leaves
6 inches of cinnamon stick.
1 whole nutmeg
Like the Curry spice, lightly toast over medium heat in a skillet. Let cool. Then grind into a fine powder.
And there you go, one amazing Curry Potato Pie. This is not a fast dish if you have to make everything, spices, crusts etc. But if you make he spices once, and use pre-made crusts, then it only takes about 45 minutes total to make with baking time.
Enjoy!
