Savoury Pastry
Savory pastries are a delicious treat! They can be filled with various ingredients like cheeses, vegetables, and spices. The recipe is good for baking these delights using airfryer too . I have shown the same recipe being used to bake in an airfryer . Pics below .
While pre-made shortcrust pastry sheets are convenient for whipping up quick pastries without the hassle of starting from scratch, making your own pastry sheets can be a healthier option. In this recipe, I've opted for a lighter approach by using less butter. I rolled out dough balls into thin discs and layered them, applying a small amount of butter between each layer. In total, I used only 3 tablespoons of butter to create six layers. This controlled amount of butter still allows for a crispy, flaky homemade pastry. We absolutely enjoyed these savory pastries with homemade sheets. If you prefer a thicker, flakier pastry, you can simply double the number of layers, which would require about 6 tablespoons of butter—still less than what's typically found in commercial pastry sheets.
Ingredients
2 cups breadflour or wheat flour
1 tbsp oil
salt
1/2 tsp carom seeds ( optional )
Prepare a soft dough with ingredients mentioned , and allow to rest for 15 minutes for dough to relax.
To prepare the layers
3 tbsp soft butter
Filling
You can use any filling of your choice .
I used the following
3 potatoes pressure-cooked, mashed to a smooth texture
finely minced 2 onions, carrots, green chilies , 2 garlic , some cabbage , using a processor to get finely minced .
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chili powder
pinch of turmeric powder
big pinch of garam masala , (i used a tsp of biryani masala powder )
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt as needed
pinch of chaat masala
Method
Add 1 tsp oil to a kadai, add cumin and allow to roast lightly , add in the minced ingredients first , saute in oil .
add in mashed potatoes, now the mixture will be smooth , add in turmeric powder, chili powder , coriander powder, salt, biryani masala powder , chopped coriander leaves for garnish .
keep the filling on slightly spicy side as the pastry will taste bland after baking if you use less chili powder . The taste is in the filling .
How to prepare the layers for pastry ..
Pinch off small balls of the dough and roll out into thin discs , sprinkle with flour if needed .
Finish preparing all the discs, and now take a plate and place one rolloed out chapati disc on it , smear butter all over, plce another disc on it , smear butter on top , proceed with same way for remaining rolled out discs. note butter needed may vary if you add more layers , here i have barely used 3 tbsp to finish all the layers .
after stacking them one above another, wrap in cling wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes . so that the dough is easy to handle .
after 30 minutes, remove the pile of discs from the refrigertaor, now roll out the pile stacked together , carefully into one big disc , do not roll out too thin .
with a cutter, or knife , make the necessary sizes of the pastry squares, add filling to each , fold and place on a baking tray ,smear the top with melted butter , here you can choose any shape you want for the savoury pastry , i kept it simple for even baking by just folding . you can even make long rolls of it .by shaping as cylinders or small squares or triangles .
bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 minutes or till done .
Enjoy these yummy crunchy pastries that tastes so much like samosas as the carom seeds will give that taste to the pastry .
For more crunchy layers , roll out more dics of dough and butter accordingly .
Some interesting pastries are :
Spinach and Feta Triangles: Filled with a mixture of spinach, feta cheese, onions, and herbs, wrapped in flaky phyllo pastry.
Empanadas: Flaky pastry filled with seasoned vegetables onions, bell peppers, and spices, then baked or fried until golden brown.
Vegetable Puffs: Puff pastry filled with a medley of mixed vegetables like carrots, peas, and potatoes, seasoned with spices and herbs.
Cheese and Onion Pasties: Shortcrust pastry filled with a mixture of grated cheese, onions, and sometimes potatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Vegetable Rolls: Puff pastry wrapped around seasoned sausage vegetables often served with mustard or ketchup for dipping.
Spanakopita: A Greek pastry filled with spinach, feta cheese, onions, and herbs, layered between flaky phyllo pastry sheets.
These are just a few options, but the possibilities for savory pastries are endless! You can customize the fillings to suit your taste preferences and dietary needs.
savoury pastries
Airfryer method :
For baking in airfryer, follow all steps of making the pastry , preheat the airfryer for 5 minutes, set the temp at 180 C , bake for 10 minutes or till done , do check at interval and flip inside to get even baking .