Tasty homemade curried vegetable ‘hand’ pies

Perfect for entertaining, these wonderful ‘hand’ pies (called such because of their semi-circle shape, perfect for being held in the hand) are packed with vegies and have a delicious, subtle curry flavour! They also make a great afternoon snack (especially served with some mango chutney), or can be teamed with a simple salad for a light dinner.

These can also be made as ‘regular pies’ and, if you have a pie maker, a batch can be quickly created using the recipe below.

Makes 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 375g tikka masala simmer sauce
• 1 zucchini, finely diced
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 100g green beans, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 cob of corn, kernels removed
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, halved crossways
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds or cumin seeds, to sprinkle (optional)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add tikka masala simmer sauce and 1/3 cup water. Bring curry to the boil.
2. Add zucchini, broccoli, green beans and corn. Stir until well combined. Cook for 4 minutes or until tender. Cool.
3. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place 1 pastry half on a clean work surface. Spoon one-quarter of the mixture over one short end of pastry, leaving a 1cm border. Fold over the pastry to enclose the filling. Use a fork to seal the edges. Place on the lined tray. Repeat with the remaining pastry halves and mixture.
5. Brush pies with a little egg. Sprinkle with sesame or cumin seeds. Bake for 20-25 mins or until pastry is golden and puffed.