Nigerian Meat Pie

30 minutes

Ingredients

To make the dough

In a shallow mixing bowl, add flour, salt, sugar (if using) and butter
Rub together till all turn to crumbs
Add 100 ml of water and mix till all is combined. If the dough still needs water add a tablespoon of water at a time till you get well combined dough
Set dough aside in a cool place or a fridge for 30 minutes then you move on to preparing the meaty filling
Yes! Making the dough is that easy but remember, DO NOT overwork it when handling

To make the yummy pie filling

Place a pan on medium heat and add oil, heat for 2 minutes, add chopped onions and fry till onion is translucent. Add mince to the onion and stir mince till its brown then add curry powder, thyme, stock cube, a pinch of salt and stir till all combine. Reduce the heat if need be to avoid burning.
The fat from the mince should make the sauce juicy but if it looks dry, add a cooking spoon (100ml) of water to it. (decant oil if it is too much)
Add boiled potatoes and carrots, combine well and cook on a low heat for another 3-5 minutes.
The mince should be well cooked now. Now you move on to thickening the mince.
Add 2tbsp of flour to a bowl and mix with water to form a paste. Add the paste to the mince meat on the heat and combine well. Leave to cook for another minute. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

Rolling the dough and making the meat pie

Preheat oven at 180C/350F
Break the egg into a bowl, whisk and set aside
Sprinkle a bit of flour on a plain, clean surface/worktop
Divide dough into 2 or 3 places and roll out flat using a rolling pin
Place a circle cutter on the flat dough and cut out into many circles you can get. use a makeshift if you don’t have a cutter. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough
Add the meat filling to the centre of the circled dough, brush one half of the circle with whisked egg and carefully fold over the meat filling making sure the 2 edges touch one another. The aim of the egg is to seal the dough.
Close edges by pressing down with the tip of a fork as seen in picture.
Repeat this process for the remaining dough and filling. Place a foil in a baking tray and rub with oil this stops the pie from sticking to the tray when done. Alternatively use a parchment paper.
After you have completely filled the pastry, set on a baking tray, egg wash the top and pinch with a fork
Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180C⁰/350F.

Notes

You can also use salted butter for this recipe. If you would be using it, please omit salt from making the shortcrust pastry.
You can add a bit of water to the mince filling if it looks too thick or dry.
Allow the meat pie filling to cool down completely before adding to pie dough.
Use kitchen scale to measure the pastry ingredients instead of cups. (1 cup of all purpose flour is 128g and a cup of butter is 225g while 500g ground meat is 1.1lb)