Butter Chicken Pot Pie

Your favourite creamy Indian curry in pie form. Boneless chicken thighs are cooked in a creamy, mildly spiced curry sauce, then baked in ramekins topped with crispy puff pastry lids. Just 20 minutes of prep required, then the oven does the rest.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra for pie topping
• ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 250 ml (1 cup) thickened (whipping/heavy) cream
• 370 g (2 cups) cooked basmati rice
• 1 sheet puff pastry, slightly thawed
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds

Method

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add the chicken, garam masala, cumin, yellow mustard seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the chicken is slightly browned.
4. Add the tomato paste and cream, stir to combine, and cook for 8 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) (200°C/400°F fan-forced). Remove the pastry from the freezer to thaw.
6. Divide the rice evenly among four ovenproof ramekins (125 ml/½ cup each).
7. Top the rice with the butter chicken mixture.
8. Cut the puff pastry sheet into four even squares and top each ramekin. Fold down the edges using your fingers.
9. Brush the pastry all over with the egg. Sprinkle each pie with sesame seeds and salt.
10. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Tips

• Can be made as one large pot pie - allow an extra 10–15 minutes cooking time.
• The filling can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge.
• Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave. The pastry will soften - remove and reheat separately in oven if you prefer it crisp.
• Not suitable to freeze.