Chicken Turnovers

October 14, 2016

Chicken Turnovers

It might seem a little tedious to make the dough for the chicken turnovers from scratch, but it is just so much better than the store-bought dough. Best part, you know exactly what is going into it.

Growing up in India, life was very different from here. We were always surrounded by family and a chunk of my early childhood was spent playing with cousins. Especially during the long summer and winter holidays. We did not have many toys, but we came up with creative ideas and role-playing. Many a afternoon would be spent playing and rolling in laughter over silly jokes. There would never be any scrambling for arranging for babysitters since a grandparent or aunt or uncle or an older cousin will be always there.

Evening snacks were different too. We had access to fried and fun stuff within a minute's walk and loads of sweets. Everything would be freshly made and there was hardly any processed stuff available. Whatever did not sell would get thrown away at the end of business day or given away. Most often than not, each shop would get fresh supplies few times during the day. There would be at least one 'telebhaja' shop and tea shop selling yummies by the dozen at every block. Sometimes more than one. And New Market would be the one place common man could get Pattice and pastries - the Indian version of turnovers and frosted cakes by the slice till Franchises like Monginis and Sugar& Spice became popular.

I still crave for those. Sometimes I make turnovers, which are nowhere close to those but still extremely yummy and loved by the family.

Ingredients: Chicken Turnovers: Yield - about 6

Flour - 1 1/4 Cup
Butter - 1/2 Cup, cold and cut into cubes
Chilled Water - about 5 tbsp (Take a cup of water and stick it in the freezer till it is ice cold)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Egg white mixed with a little water for brushing the pies (or use melted butter)
Leftover minced chicken or filling of your choice

This is how you make the Chicken Turnovers

Preheat oven to 400 F once you are ready to bake. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and keep aside.

Add the flour and salt to your food processor (or stand mixer) give it 2 or 3 pulses. Throw in about 2 tbsp of butter and give a few pulses till it resembles a crumbly mixture. Now add the remaining butter and give it a couple of more pulses. Take the crumbly flour mix out in a bowl and add 3 tbsp of the water and and mix the dough using a rubber spatula. Now add the remaining water, give it another mix and take the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it using the palm of your hand into a ball. Wrap it in a cling wrap/plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. For more tips for how to bake the perfect pastry dough for the turnovers, check out my Mixed Berry Galette recipe.

You can make the dough ahead of time and store it in the fridge, cling wrapped for up to 2 days.

Once the dough has chilled, take it out and roll it out into a circle or a rectangle. I rolled mine into a rough 10 inch square. Fold it into half and then into quarter. Roll it out again and repeat the same steps of folding it into half first and then into quarter.

Wrap the dough in a cling wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 30 more minutes.

Take out the chilled dough and roll it out a little thinner than 1/8th inch. Cut the rolled out dough into 4-5 inch circles or squares. Once again, stick it back in the fridge to chill.

Take out one circle or square at a time and spoon in about 2 tsp of the ground chicken mixture into the middle of the squares/circles - fold it in half and using a fork, firmly press down and crimp the edges. Brush it with egg wash (or melted butter) and transfer it to the parchment lined cookie sheet using a spatula.

Cover the cookie sheet with a plastic cling wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes till turnovers start turning golden brown on the edges. Serve once it is cool enough to be handled.