• 

Aloo Puff is a popular tea time snack and weekend breakfast delicacy in India. It’s a flaky, light pastry stuffed with a savory filling. You need good quality pastry sheets to make puffs lighter and perfectly layered that form nice air pockets after baking. I couldn’t help applying a fundamental software development principle of ‘Don’t reinvent the wheel’ (occupational hazard) and decided to use ‘Pepperidge Farm”s puff pastry sheets. These pastry sheets are the best ones I have used so far and shall not disappoint you.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 US medium-sized potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed.
• 1/4th cup green peas.
  (I used Vadilal brands frozen green peas.)
• 1 tsp red chili powder.
• 1/2 tsp dry mango powder.
• 1/2 tsp cilantro powder.
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder.
• 1 tsp freshly prepared ginger-garlic paste.
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion.
  (I skipped ginger-garlic paste & onion for this recipe, but I recommend it.)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
• Whisked egg for coating.
  (Use butter for coating if you don’t eat eggs.)
• Salt as per your taste.
• One pasty sheet.

• 

• 

RECIPE

• Heat oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic paste once oil is hot.
• Next, add finely chopped onions. Stir fry everything for a couple of mins.
• Add turmeric, cilantro-cumin powder, turmeric, red chili, garam masala, and dry mango powder (or chaat masala).
• Mix everything well, and add green peas and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Next, add mashed potatoes. Sprinkle some salt and mix well.
• Sauté the mixture for a minute. Transfer it in a bowl.
• Preheat your oven at 375 °F.
• Meanwhile, cut pastry sheet on a cutting board and cut into four squares, as shown in picture 3 and 4.
• Next, place the stuffing. Then, lift the top left corner and join it with the right bottom corner.
• Seal edges using a tip of a fork with a light hand. It gives a beautiful design too.
• Coat a thin layer of whisked egg on the top of the puff. It adds a glaze and delightful color to your puff pastry.
  (Use butter if you don’t eat eggs.)

• 

• 

• 

• 

• Bake puffs for 25 mins in a preheated oven. (Preheating oven at 375 °F and 23 mins of baking for four pastry puffs worked for me).
• Serve freshly baked puffs with a choice of your favorite ketchup. I enjoyed my snacks with Kissan’s hot and chili tomato sauce.

It’s common to add carrots, beans, corn, and many more veggies while preparing savory filling for a puff. However, my favorite stuffing is a combination of onion, potatoes, and peas with spices. You can make paneer, chicken, and lamb kheema puff, too, using the same pastry sheets. An important takeaway is to use the right puff pastry sheets.