Curry Puff

The curry puff is the golden, half-moon pastry of Malaysian tea time, stuffed with curried potato, onion, and peas and fried until shattering. It is the snack sold at every coffee shop and night market, eaten warm with a drink and usually two or three more, and the best ones have a thin, crisp shell and a generous filling, with a crimp along the edge that is the signature of the stall that made them. Homemade versions are rare treats, which makes them all the more special.

Golden half-moons with a curried potato heart

The pastry is crisp and flaky, the filling is soft and warmly spiced, and the curry flavor is gentle enough for the whole family, while the potatoes hold the curry in a way that never drips down your hand, which is the mark of a properly made puff. They freeze beautifully before frying, so a batch can be assembled on a lazy afternoon and fried on demand for weeks. They are best the day they are made, warm, with the crimped edge bitten first, because that is where the crunch lives.

Craving more? Explore all Malaysian Kitchen recipes.

Curious how this curry compares to others? Our World of Curries guide explains 8 styles.

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