2 tb Butter
2 oz Button mushrooms, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 ts Garam Masala
3 1/4 c All-purpose flour
2/3 c Chicken stock
8 oz Cooked chicken, diced
1/3 c Frozen corn, thawed
Salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 ts Salt
1/3 c Cold margarine, diced
1/3 c Lard, diced
1/4 c Cold water
1 Egg, beaten
Tomato slices, halved (opt)
Fresh parsley sprigs (opt)
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add mushrooms, onion and Garam Masala and
cook 2 minutes.
Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and cook 1 minute, then stir in stock and
bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes,
stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chicken, corn, salt
and pepper; cool.
Sift remaining flour into a bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and cut in
margarine and lard finely until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add
cold water and mix to form a fairly firm dough. Knead gently until
smooth.
Preheat oven to 375’F. (175’C.). Preheat a baking sheet. Cut off 2/3
of pastry and cut in 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece to a 7″ circle.
Line 4 (5″) fluted pie pans with removable bottoms with pastry
circles, allowing pastry to overlap top edges slightly. Press pastry
well into flutes but do not trim top edge. Cut remaining 1/3 of
pastry in 4 equal pieces and roll each piece to a 6″ circle.
Spoon cold chicken mixture into pastry-lined flan pans and smooth
surfaces. Dampen edges of pastry in pans and cover with pastry
circles. Seal edges well and trim by pressing pastry edges firmly
flat blade of a knife. Make a small hole in center of each pie.
Reroll pastry trimmings and cut out leaves to decorate pies. Brush
surfaces of pies with egg, then decorate with leaves and brush leaves
with egg.
Place flan pans on preheat baking sheet and bake in preheated oven
40-45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is heated
through. Cool before carefully removing from pans. Garnish with
tomato slices and parsley sprigs, if desired, and serve cold.
VARIATION: Substitute Curry Powder for Garam Masala or try a mixture
of each.
Yields
4 Servings