Photography: Con Poulos
Think of these as a portable, pastry-wrapped curry night. Roasted pumpkin, cashews, and baby spinach are simmered in a fragrant blend of mustard seed, fenugreek, and curry powder, then tucked into golden shortcrust pastry parcels.
Serve alongside a quick coconut spinach sambol for a fresh, zesty contrast to the warm spices. Make them full-size for a hearty vegie main, or go mini for a party starter that’ll disappear fast.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced (220°C conventional).
Put pumpkin on a baking paper-lined oven tray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil; season. Roast for 25 minutes or until just tender.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat remaining oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until softened. Add garlic, mustard seeds, fenugreek, curry powder and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add coconut milk, cashews and spinach. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted and the sauce has thickened. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool, then stir in roasted pumpkin. Season.
Cut an 18cm circle from a pastry sheet. Brush the rim of the circle with a little egg. Put 1/5 of the filling on one half of the circle. Fold to enclose; use a fork to crimp edges together. Repeat with remaining pastry, egg and filling.
Put hand pies on a lined oven tray. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with extra mustard seeds. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile, to make Spinach sambol, put warm water and coconut in a medium bowl. Stir to combine; set aside for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Stir in remaining ingredients, season to taste.
Serve vegie hand pies with spinach sambol.
Yes—assemble the hand pies and refrigerate unbaked for up to a day, or freeze for up to a month. Bake from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cook time.
Fenugreek seeds add a subtle, slightly bitter, maple-like note common in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking. If you can’t find it, the pies will still work—just leave it out rather than substituting.
Shortcrust gives these their sturdy, flaky casing, but puff pastry works too if you prefer a lighter, more delicate bite—just watch the bake time as puff cooks faster.
Yes, they freeze well after baking too—cool completely, then freeze in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven at 180°C until warmed through and crisp again.
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