Baked Keema Puffs
Golden, shatteringly flaky puff pastry triangles filled with spiced lamb keema, sweet peas, ginger and garam masala. Baked rather than fried, they are easy to assemble and perfect for parties, lunchboxes or snacking with chutney.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 42 min
- Wait
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 57 min
- Makes
- 8 large puffs
Steps
Before you start
- Thaw the puff pastry in the refrigerator for 6–8 hours or overnight (or follow the package directions). It should be cold but pliable, not warm or sticky.
- Plan for the filling to cool completely (about 30 minutes) before assembling. Warm filling melts the pastry's butter layers and prevents a good rise.
- Set one oven rack in the center position and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mince the ginger, garlic and chili and measure the spices before you start cooking, since the filling cooks quickly.
Toast cumin, cook onion
- Heat the ghee in a 12-inch (30 cm) skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.
- Add the cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds, until they sizzle and smell nutty.
- Add the chopped onion and ½ teaspoon of the salt.
- Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 7–8 minutes.
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Ready when: Onion is soft, translucent and golden at the edges, with no raw onion smell.
Tip: If the onion browns too fast, lower the heat; burnt onion turns the keema bitter.
Add ginger and garlic
- Add the minced ginger, garlic and green chili (if using) to the onion.
- Stir constantly for 1 minute.
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Ready when: The mixture smells fragrant and the garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Brown the lamb
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the ground lamb.
- Break it into small crumbles with a wooden spoon and cook for 6–7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- If there is more than 2 tablespoons of liquid fat, spoon off the excess.
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Ready when: No pink remains, the lamb is in small crumbles, and the juices have mostly evaporated.
Tip: Don't crowd or stir constantly at first; letting the meat sit for a minute between stirs gives better browning.
Spice and simmer
- Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Stir in the garam masala, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, tomato paste and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the water, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer for 3–4 minutes.
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Ready when: The mixture is thick, moist and clinging together, with no liquid pooling in the pan.
Tip: A wet filling makes soggy pastry bottoms, so keep simmering until the pan is almost dry.
Finish and cool filling
- Stir in the peas, cilantro and lemon juice and taste; add a pinch more salt if needed.
- Spread the filling on a large plate or rimmed baking sheet and let it cool until no longer warm to the touch, about 30 minutes.
- You should have about 400 g (roughly 2 cups).
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Ready when: Filling feels room temperature when you touch the center.
Tip: Spreading it thin cools it much faster than leaving it in the pan.
Preheat and cut pastryOven 400°F / 205°C
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
- Lightly flour a clean counter.
- Unfold one pastry sheet and roll gently to a 10-inch (25 cm) square if it is smaller.
- Cut it into 4 equal squares (about 5 inches / 12 cm).
- Repeat with the second sheet to make 8 squares total.
- Keep unused squares in the fridge while you work.
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Ready when: Squares are even and cold but flexible.
Tip: Cut with a sharp knife straight down, without dragging, so the edges don't seal shut and can puff.
Fill the squares
- Spoon about 3 tablespoons (roughly 50 g) of cooled filling onto one half of each square, diagonally off-center, leaving a ½-inch (1.25 cm) border.
- Mound it slightly but don't overfill.
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Ready when: Each square has an even mound with a clear border around the edges.
Tip: Overfilled puffs burst open in the oven and leak, so use measuring spoons for the first one.
Fold and crimp
- Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water.
- Brush a thin line of egg wash along the border of each square, fold the pastry over to make a triangle, and press out any air around the filling.
- Press the edges firmly with the tines of a fork to seal.
- Transfer 4 puffs to each lined baking sheet, spaced 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
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Ready when: Edges are sealed flat and crimped with no gaps.
Tip: Keep egg wash off the cut edges; it glues the layers together and stops the pastry rising evenly.
Chill and glaze
- Refrigerate the filled puffs on their trays for 15 minutes to firm the butter.
- Brush the tops with egg wash, sprinkle with nigella seeds if using, and cut two small 1-inch (2.5 cm) slits in each top to vent steam.
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Ready when: Pastry feels firm and cold, and the tops are evenly glossy with egg wash.
Tip: Brush gently and avoid letting egg pool at the base.
Bake until goldenOven 400°F / 205°C
- Bake both trays at 400°F (200°C) for 22–25 minutes, swapping the trays top to bottom and rotating front to back halfway through.
- Cool on the trays for 10 minutes before serving.
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Ready when: Puffs are deep golden brown on top and underneath, well risen, and the filling reads 160°F (71°C) in the center.
Tip: Pale pastry is underbaked and will be doughy inside, so bake until it is a deep golden brown.
Good to know
Tips
- Keep the pastry cold. If it softens or gets sticky while you work, slide it onto a tray and chill for 10 minutes before continuing.
- Make sure the filling is moist but not wet. Excess liquid causes soggy bottoms and leaking.
- Serve warm with mint-cilantro chutney, tamarind chutney or a squeeze of lime.
- For smaller party-size puffs, cut each square in half to make rectangles, fill with 1½ tablespoons, and bake for 18–20 minutes.
Make ahead
"The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Unbaked, assembled puffs (before the egg wash) can be frozen on a tray, then bagged for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 400°F (200°C), adding 5–8 minutes, after brushing with egg wash."
Storage & reheating
"Room temperature: up to 2 hours when serving. Refrigerator: store cooled puffs in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezer: freeze baked puffs for up to 2 months. Reheat from the fridge or freezer on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) for 10–12 minutes (15–18 minutes from frozen) until hot and crisp; avoid the microwave, which makes the pastry soft."
Substitutions
- ground lamb → ground beef, ground goat, or ground chicken thigh. Beef works the same way; with chicken, cook until no pink remains and the filling reaches 165°F (74°C), and note the filling will be milder.
- frozen peas → finely diced cooked potato (½ cup / 80 g). A classic keema-aloo style filling; make sure the potato pieces are small and dry.
- ghee or neutral oil → vegetable or avocado oil. Gives a slightly less rich flavor but works well.
- garam masala → 3/4 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander plus ¼ teaspoon each cinnamon and black pepper. A quick approximation if you have no garam masala; the flavor will be less layered.