Kare Pan
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 40 minutes plus 1 hour resting time
Cooking time: 40 minutes (recipe is best started one day ahead)
Serves: 8
For Beef Curry Filling
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
- 250g/8.8ozs. beef mince
- 1 apple, grated
- 43g/1.5ozs curry roux (half a 92g/3oz packet of curry roux)
- 1 1/4 cup beef stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
For the bread:
- 1 1/4 cup/200g/7ozs plain all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon caster or superfine sugar
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs. lukewarm milk or water
- 1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons oil
For frying:
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup/60g/2ozs. panko breadcrumbs
- 1 litre oil for deep frying (not olive oil)
Step 1 - First make the curry as it is best made the day ahead so that the sauce sets. Heat oil in a frypan and add the onion and saute for a few minutes until softened. Add garlic and sauté for a minute. Then add beef mince, grated apple, stock and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Knock down to a simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes until meat is cooked through.
Step 2 - Add the curry roux to the liquid and sauté for 5 minutes or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper if needed and cool and then place in an airtight container in the fridge.
Step 3 -Make the dough. Whisk the flour, sugar, milk or water and yeast together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Then mix with the oil until you get a shaggy mixture. Knead with a dough hook for 10 minutes or until elastic. Scrape out of the bowl and shape into a ball without any cracks. Oil the same bowl and place the ball inside it and cover and allow to rise until double the size. I put it in another larger bowl with hot water and then replaced the water with hot water 2-3 times.
Step 4 - Punch down the dough and knead in the salt. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. I weigh the total and divide it by 8. Roll into balls and rest for 5 minutes. Then roll out into a large circle around 11-12cms/4.3-4.7inches in diameter. If the dough contracts let it rest for 5 minutes for the gluten to relax. Thin out the edges creating a 1cm thinner border around the circle. Place a small scoop of filling inside the dough and pinch sealed-you can shape them into balls or with pointy ends. The important thing is to make sure that the seams are tight and that no curry leaks out.
Step 5 - Start preheating oil up to 160C/320F. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a shallow dish with sides. Brush the beaten egg over the donuts and roll in the breadcrumbs and return to the tray and repeat with all of the donuts. Do not do a long second rise.
Step 6 - Fry two of these at a time. Important: place the donut into the hot oil and wait for 5 seconds and then immediately turn it over and fry on each side for 2 minutes. Place on paper towels and allow to drain. Serve hot or warm.