Chana Masala Pie

Chana masala in a pie sounded like a great idea, so we decided to try it, and we were right on! We're willing to bet this one will be a recipe staple. 

It's deceptively simple, and almost feels like cheating. Bonus that it's vegetarian! 

Serves 4

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas (i.e. the chana in chana masala)
• 2 medium sized onions 
• 1" ginger
• 4 tbsp Smoki Seasoning Salt (add a bit more to taste if you like!)
• ½ cup tomato pulp/passata
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp tamarind concentrate/pulp (this is definitely recommended, but sometimes hard to find. Leave it out or sub for lime juice if you can't find any. Also, make sure to get unsweetened tamarind!) 
• Handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 pack of frozen puff pastry 
• 1 tbsp cooking oil or butter
• 2 tbsp natural yogurt, or if you can get your hands on it, dahi (optional) 

Method:

1. Heat a pot over a med-high heat. While it heats, peel and half the onions, and place in a food processor with the ginger and garlic. Process until fine but not pureed. This is a great time saver, but if you prefer, chop your onions and grate your garlic and ginger. 
2. Add the oil to the pan, and cook the onion, garlic and ginger until golden brown. Add the tomatoes, Smoki, tamarind, salt and drained chickpeas. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the coriander, and set aside. 
3. While the chana cooks, roll out some dough to around a ¼ inch thickness. Heat your oven to 380f. Brush oil onto a 9”pie dish, and place the dough into the dish, letting it hang over the sides, this can be trimmed off after. To prevent the dough from rising in the oven, poke holes all over with a fork. This technique is called docking. 
4. Bake the pastry for 15 minutes, until fully cooked. This is called blind baking; it means that you don’t get soft, raw dough at the bottom of your pie. Blind bake your pies, please! When it's cooked, use a serrated knife to trim off the excess pastry. 
5. When the dough is cooked, pour in the chana masala. Roll out a second sheet of puff pastry, and cut it to the size of the pie crust. Place it on top, and press the dough onto the edges to seal it. Cut a hole in the top to allow steam to escape, and score the top if you want it to look pretty. If scoring, be careful not to cut all the way through. Another optional step is to brush with whisked egg for better colour. Alternatively, you can brush with milk. This doesn’t give as good colour, but is less wasteful.
6. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and flaky. 
7. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before cutting, to let the filling set. Cut a slice, and spoon over some yogurt. 

Notes: It's easy to get your hands on good quality store bought pastry - but if you want to make your own, make shortcrust pastry!  

Make it Vegan: Use a vegan puff pastry, and don’t finish with yogurt. 

About Smoki

Smoki Seasoning Salt was inspired by Parsi family lunches from one of our founders' childhood. It is earthy, warm, and works wonders on everything from rubs, marinades, to salad dressings.