Sri Lanka Deep Fried Beef Filled Pasties
Submitted by smcnair
Crispy Sri Lankan beef pasties with a spiced filling of minced beef, potato, curry leaves, cardamom, and coconut milk tucked into flaky homemade pastry and deep-fried golden.
YIELD
1 servingPREP
45 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsThese Sri Lankan pasties are the kind of snack that stops a room. Shatteringly crisp pastry gives way to a warmly spiced beef filling that hits you with cardamom, cumin, green chile, and the subtle richness of coconut milk.
The pastry is simple: flour, butter, egg yolk, and lemon juice kneaded into a stiff dough that fries up flaky and golden. The filling cooks quickly on the stovetop with minced beef, diced potato, fresh curry leaves, and a blend of Sri Lankan spices.
Roll, fill, fold, seal with egg white, and into the hot oil they go. A few minutes on each side and you’ve got golden half-moon pockets of pure flavor.
Kitchen Tips
- Let the dough rest a full 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and it rolls out without springing back
- Cool the filling slightly before filling the pastry. Hot filling melts the dough and makes sealing difficult
- Fry at a steady 350F (175C) for even browning without greasy pastry
- Fresh curry leaves make a real difference here. Find them at Indian or Sri Lankan grocery stores
- These freeze well before frying. Arrange on a tray, freeze solid, then bag them up for frying straight from frozen
Ingredients
Directions
Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter.
Separate the egg and add the yolk to the flour along with the salt and lemon juice.
Mix in sufficient water to make a stiff dough, knead well and put on one side for 30 minutes.
Mince the beef, chop the onion and chile, crush the cardamom and clove, dice the tomato and cube the potato.
Heat the oil, add the onion and curry leaves and fry until the onion turns light brown.
Add minced beef, chile, cardamom, clove salt pepper, coriander powder, chile powder, cumin vinegar and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato and potato and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add lime juice.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board and, using a pastry cutter, cut circles in the dough.
Beat the egg white.
Place a little beef mixture in the centre of each pastry circle, apply the beaten egg white to the edges and fold patty in two.
Seal the edges and deep fry until golden brown.
Drain well.
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