Jamaican Curry Chicken Patties (Printable)
Flaky turmeric pastry wrapped around savory spiced chicken and potato filling, bursting with Caribbean heat and aroma.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Pastry Dough
01 - 2½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon salt
03 - 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
04 - ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
05 - ½ cup cold shortening, cubed
06 - ½ cup ice water
→ Curried Chicken Filling
07 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
08 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
09 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
10 - 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
11 - 1 pound ground chicken
12 - 1 cup potato, peeled and diced small
13 - 2 tablespoons Jamaican curry powder
14 - 1 teaspoon ground allspice
15 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
16 - ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
17 - 1 teaspoon salt
18 - ½ cup chicken broth
19 - 2 scallions, chopped
20 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
→ Assembly
21 - 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
# How To Make It:
01 - In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and ground turmeric. Add the cold cubed butter and cold cubed shortening. Cut the fats into the flour using a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually stir in the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two equal portions, shape each into a flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
02 - Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and minced garlic, and sauté until softened and fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. If using the Scotch bonnet pepper, stir it in now. Add the ground chicken and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until no longer pink throughout.
03 - Stir in the diced potato, Jamaican curry powder, ground allspice, dried thyme, black pepper, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes to bloom the spices. Pour in the chicken broth, cover the skillet, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the liquid has thickened. Remove from heat, fold in the chopped scallions and fresh parsley or cilantro, and let the filling cool completely.
04 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
05 - On a lightly floured surface, roll each chilled dough disk to approximately ⅛ inch thick. Using a 6-inch round cutter or bowl as a guide, cut out as many circles as possible. Gather and re-roll the scraps to yield a total of 8 rounds.
06 - Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the cooled chicken filling onto one half of each dough round, leaving a small border around the edge. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges together firmly and crimp with a fork to seal. Transfer each patty to the prepared baking sheet.
07 - Brush the top of each patty evenly with the beaten egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and flaky. Allow the patties to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- That turmeric stained pastry shatters into golden flakes the moment you bite through it, and nothing from a store freezer case comes close to that sound.
- The filling is deeply spiced but not overwhelming, which means even people who swear they cant handle Caribbean heat will happily eat two of these.
- They freeze beautifully before baking, so you can make a double batch and pull them out on nights when cooking feels impossible.
02 -
- If the filling is even slightly warm when you fold it into the dough, the butter in your pastry will start melting immediately and you will lose all the flakiness you worked for.
- Do not skip the rest time for the dough in the fridge because the gluten needs to relax or the pastry will shrink and fight you when you try to roll it out.
03 -
- Work with one dough disk at a time while keeping the other in the fridge, because the pastry becomes impossible to handle once the fat starts warming from room temperature and your hands.
- A light dusting of flour on your rolling pin matters more than flour on the counter, and if the dough starts sticking, slide it onto a sheet of parchment to roll the rest of the way.