If you’re making the curry and bread all in the same day, you should start with the dough first, since it requires a few hours to rise. You should also let the curry cool down before filling the dough. It would probably be best to make the curry a day or two in advance.
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup water, warmed to 110°F - 115°F
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery sticks, melted and cooled
1 cup water
1 cup of Japanese curry (recipe below)
Egg replacer for 4 eggs (I used Ener-G powder mixed with water)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 cups canola oil, for frying
2 cups canola oil, for frying
- Mix the yeast, ¼ cup warm water, and a pinch of sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the mixture foams.
- Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, melted Earth Balance, and 1 cup of water. Mix with a fork until a dough forms.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 8-10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for about 60-90 minutes, until it doubles in size.
- Punch down the dough, cover again, and let sit for another 45 minutes.
- Punch the dough down again and knead for 2 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces and set aside.
Assembly:
- Roll out each piece of dough into a 6-inch circle and place a spoonful of the curry in the center.
- Brush water around the edge of the dough, fold over, and pinch to close.
- Dip each dough ball into the egg replacer mixture and then into the panko breadcrumbs to cover. Transfer to a plate or baking sheet.
- Cover the breaded dough balls with a clean towel and let rise while you heat the oil to 350°F in a large skillet or Dutch oven.
- Once the oil is heated, place dough balls (1-2 at a time) into the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Place on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool.
For the curry:
In a pinch, you can use those pre-made blocks of roux, such as S&B Golden Curry. The packaged stuff is usually high in sodium, MSG, and other unsavory things, so check the label if those are things you’re trying to avoid. I used the Japanese curry recipe featured in the March 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times (posted online here). You can make the curry while waiting for your dough to rise.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
3 large carrots, cut into ½-inch-thick half moons
2 ½ tablespoons curry powder, such as S&B
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 ⅔ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small apple, peeled and finely grated
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce, such as Annie's
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame or peas
- Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.
- Sauté onion 7 to 9 minutes, or until it starts to brown.
- Add carrots, and sauté 5 minutes.
- Stir in curry powder and garlic, and cook 1 minute, or until fragrant.
- Add broth, potatoes, apple, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and miso.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
- Add edamame or peas, and simmer 5 minutes more.
Some notes:
- Next time I’ll either mash the curry or cut the carrots and potatoes into smaller pieces so that it’s more manageable when filling the dough.
- I’ll also roll the dough out thinner, because I ended up with more bread than curry in the final product.
- I’ll also add cubes of tofu to the curry. :)
As you can see, curry pan-making is quite a process, but I had to try it out. It’s such a fabulous snack and now I have a greater appreciation for the folks at Muracci’s. Try it out and let me know know how it goes!
