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chicken curry pot pie

White Chicken Curry Pot Pie

All the spices and fragrances of India in a comforting chicken pot pie.  Bake it up in a large baking dish or in little individual ones, and the whole house will smell fabulous!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 2 lb 908 grams boneless chicken breast (I used both breast and thigh meat)
  • 2 large potatoes or 10 baby potatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 cups 705 ml water, divided
  • 2 onions quartered
  • 10 garlic cloves
  • 1 inch 2.5 cm piece of ginger
  • small handful of cashews
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 inch 2.5 cm cinnamon stick
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 1 star anise optional
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 green chillies slit open slightly (I used a combo of a red chilli and a jalapeño pepper)
  • salt
  • 1/2 cup 120 ml semi thick coconut milk, or more as desired
  • 1 tsp white or black pepper
  • 1/2 cup 120 mi thawed frozen green peas (optional)
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves optional
  • 1 sheet of puff pastry thawed
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 tbsp black sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Clean and pat try the chicken. Cut into 1 inch cubes, or slightly smaller
  2. Peel the large potatoes and cut them the size of the chicken. If using baby potatoes, there is no need to peel, just scrub and cut in half or thirds depending on the size.
  3. Dice the carrots to the same size.
  4. In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of the water, the onions, garlic, ginger and cashews. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes or until softened. Cool and then transfer to a blender. Purée to a smooth paste.
  5. Place the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom, star anise and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth. Bring the corners together and tie tightly to make a bag. Using a wooden mallet or even a sturdy mug, crush the contents gently to release their goodness.
  6. Add the oil to a heavy bottomed pot and warm over medium heat. add the spice sachet to the oil. Then add the onion paste. Simmer for a minute, but do not let it turn brown at all. Stir constantly. Then add the chilli peppers and at least 1 tsp of salt.
  7. Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots and remaining cup of water. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes at a bubbling simmer. The chicken should be cooked through and the veggies just softened enough.
  8. Remove the lid and add the coconut milk and white pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the desired consistency is achieved. If you like it thicker, raise the heat and cook another 5 minutes. If you want it thinner, add a touch more coconut milk.
  9. Remove from the heat. Taste to see if you want to add more salt. Remove the chilli peppers and the spice sachet.
  10. At this point I added the thawed peas and thyme. Stir and let cool down a bit while the oven is pre-heating.
  11. Preheat the oven to 425F (220C or gas mark 7) Spoon the chicken mixture into one large baking dish or into individual ramekins.
  12. To make the crust, unroll the puff pastry and cut out any shape(s) you want. Place on top of the filling, brush with egg wash and sprinkle the sesame seeds over it.
  13. Bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the sauce is bubbling.

Recipe Notes

I cut my puff pastry 'rolls' into 1/2 inch rounds. Next time I would roll them less tight, and cut slightly thinner. This will give them more ability to expand open and make a pleasing crust. Alternatively, the dish that I covered with just some puff pastry loosely draped over the filling baked up more evenly.