After moving to Bangalore, I found myself quite lethargic. I had all the time I could ask for, though there was work pending up. I had an article to review, chapters to be sent to my supervisor and a journal article awaiting submission. I tried motivating myself to work 5 hours a day and found myself under the spell of the procrastination fairy who had generously dusted some fairy powder over me making me immobile and catatonic. Finally, I decided to motivate myself. I decided I would give myself the opportunity to cook something exciting whenever I completed a task and so when I completed two of my tasks - this pie was born. I wanted to bake a pie but somehow found it quite tedious a process. But that particular day I wanted to immerse myself into something laborious. And maybe I was being strongly influenced by Master Chef Australia. I wanted to have a perfect recipe for pie crust. I have baked pies back home before I got married but post marriage- my living in a different city without a kitchen sapped from me the opportunity to experiment with food. So I finally decided to go and get all the required ingredients. I made the dough for the pie and rushed to the nearest supermarket, got back in half an hour and started prepping the filling. I wanted to surprise my hubby, I was not sure if he would love a pie because his basic taste revolves around stuff like typical spicy Kerala fish curry and Tandoori chicken ( flavours I wasn't planning to incorporate into the pie). So with fingers crossed I baked this pie. And I was surprised with the results. The crust tasted far superior to what I baked back home. The filling was perfect and my hubby and I polished it off in two days. It was quite filling and for the first time my hubby did not touch the chilli flakes. He keeps pestering me for another pie and I have decided to go for another recipe. Hopefully something light and not heavy like last time. I am not happy with how my pics turned out because of the poor lighting but nothing can take away the satisfaction of having nailed the perfect pie crust. I am waiting to complete my next task and then to reward myself with another adventurous task :)
Ingredients for Chicken Pot pie
For the Pie Crust
All purpose flour- 3 cups
Butter- 8 ounces
Sugar- 1 tbsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Ice water - 1 cup
Directions
Chop the butter into cubes. In a bowl add the sieved flour, salt and sugar. If you have a stand in mixer or food processor add the dry ingredients directly into the mixer/processor bowl. Add the cubed butter and mix till it looks crumbly. I used my hands and did the same process. Don't knead and try softening the butter completely. The dough right now will have pieces of butter here and there and that's fine. Add 3/4th of the ice cold water and mix again. Add more water if the dough looks dry. Please remember you need not use the mixer once you have added the cold water, mixing the dough with hands will be ideal at this stage. Again, do not knead the dough just mix it till the dough comes together. Refrigerate this dough for 30 minutes. You can refrigerate it upto two days. I got the recipe from this youtube video so those of you interested can view it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC87gs1V-Gc
Chicken- 300 gm
Carrots- 100 gm
Green peas- 100 gm
Onion- 1
Celery- 2 stalks
Milk- 100 ml
Flour- 2 tbsp
Butter- 50 gm
Cream- 150 ml
Salt- to taste
Pepper- 1 tsp
Egg- 1
Milk- 1 tbsp ( for egg wash)
Directions
Boil the chicken with 1 litre of water and salt/ Reserve the stock after the chicken is boiled and shred the chicken. Dice the vegetables into small cubes. In a pan heat the butter and when it has melted add the flour and saute for a minute now add the milk and cream followed by salt and pepper. Add the reserved chicken stock and let the sauce simmer for few minutes. Take the sauce off the heat.
Now take the refrigerated pastry and roll it. Divide the dough into two balls, refrigerate the second half while you work on the first one. Roll the first ball according to the size of your baking tin, I prefer using glass bowl so you get to see whether the bottom is well cooked. Ideally you should roll the dough and lift it using your rolling pin and comfortably layer it onto the base of your dish, effectively avoiding lifting the dough with your hands and breaking it. But I don't think using your hands will make it go wrong so you are free to roll and line your baking pan. Pinch of the excess dough. If your using a tart pan gently press the dough to the ridges of the pan so that it takes the desired shape. Now add the shredder chicken, chopped vegetables and layer them the way you want. Add the white sauce and garnish with chopped celery. You can add some freshly ground pepper if you like. The celery brings in a different flavour to this dish so I would recommend it highly.
Now depending on our preference you can roll the second ball of dough that you have refrigerated. If you prefer the lattice style you can roll it and cut into strips and make a woven top cover like I have done. I like this because it lets of some steam and bakes well and fast.
Else you can roll a layer like the bottom pie shell and cover the top sealing the edges. Make an incision on the top so that you have a vent to let the steam escape. Brush the top of the pie with some egg wash. For the egg wash whisk an egg with little milk and brush the top of your pie this will give you a browned effect.
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I am quite unhappy with the pics I have because of my poor lighting but I assure you it tasted perfect. My sis recently baked a spinach, boiled egg pie I guess I will try it the next time. But I am into a vegetarian mode off lately so I guess the vegetarians can expect some exciting dishes here. So Ciao! till we meet again.
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