The ease and joy of digging into one single bowl of a complete dish are just incomparable, where it's instantly made hot cuppa noodles or Chicken Pot Pie. This western cuisine, Chicken Pot Pie with those criss-cross flaky crusts placed over flavorful chicken may look like a herculean task at first sight, but this is not the truth. The flaky crust can be made with a tight dough doused with abundant butter that helps achieve the flakiness and crispness in the crust and is eaten with cooked chicken after both being baked together. The chicken meal cooked with some veggies, a few spices, chicken stock and refined flour makes a full-bodied thick and saucy chicken filling.
Origin Of Pot Pies
Pot pies are a famous North American cuisine. Various types of meat meals are topped with a pie crust and the chicken pot pies are also called Chicken and pastry in other parts of the US. Popularly eaten throughout the US and Canada, the pot pies are made of seafood, poultry and beef. Besides, the kinds of fillings and flaky crust also vary from region to region. Among various kinds of Pot Pies, Chicken Pot Pie is greatly popular.
Preparation: 1 hour
Cooking: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 bowls of Chicken pot pies
Ingredients :
For making crust
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup butter (cut into cubes)
• ⅛ tsp vinegar
• 2 ½ tbsp cold water
• Egg wash
For making the filling :
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp onion (chopped)
• 2 tsp garlic (minced)
• 200 gms boneless chicken (cut into cubes)
• ¼ cup carrot (chopped)
• ¼ cup green peas
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• Salt
• 1 cup mushroom (chopped)
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• ¼ tsp mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup milk
• Nutmeg (grated)
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• Salt
Method:
• In a bowl, take refined flour and add frozen butter to it and rub the flour with butter until the flour gets a sand-like texture
• Then add little vinegar to it and add icy cold water with one spoon at a time and then bring the dough together like a clump and don't knead it
• Wrap this dough in a cling film and flatten this slightly with palms. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes take the dough out of the cling film and place parchment paper over it and roll it until its ⅛ of an inch thick
• Cut it into strips and brush them with egg wash and keep it in the fridge
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and add onions. Saute them until translucent
• Add garlic and saute until the raw smell goes off
• Then add chicken cut into cubes and mix well with the onions
• Introduce carrot in the pan and saute for a couple of minutes
• Add peas to it and saute at high flame for 2 minutes and add salt and pepper to the pan
• Add chopped mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes
• Add chilli flakes and dried herbs and saute for another 2 minutes
• Add butter to this mixture and mix well
• Then add refined flour and saute it for 1 minute
• Add chicken stock and stir everything gently. Cook until everything starts to bubble
• Then add grated nutmeg to it and also add pepper powder. As the chicken sauce thickens a bit, turn off the flame and add salt to taste
• Place the chicken stock in baking bowls and then put the thin strips of pastry dough in a criss-cross pattern
• Bake them for 20-30 minutes at 180-degree celsius
• Wait for 10-15 minutes before eating them
Frozen butter and ice cold water need to be added to the dough preparation to make everything clumpy. Chicken stock helps get rich flavour and nutrition, not possible with plain water. Pepper and herbs added by the end of the chicken recipe are optional and can be adjusted according to one’s choice.
