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Golden spiral curry puffs, one cut open to show the chicken and potato filling
Serves20 puffs
CuisineMalaysian
Southeast Asia

Malaysian Curry Puffs (Karipap Pusing): Spiral Pastry with Chicken and Potato, 20 Pieces

How to make 20 Malaysian spiral curry puffs (Karipap Pusing): a chicken and potato curry filling, separate water and oil doughs given three book folds, shaping in a 10 cm curry puff mold, and frying at 180°C until golden. Covers the first chill and the later firmness checks, and notes which amounts are not fixed.

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 28

Peel, dice and soak the potato

Peeled, small-diced potato soaking in water
Soak the diced potato before cooking

Peel the potato, cut it into small dice and soak the pieces in water.

STEP 22 / 28

Sauté the lemongrass, ginger and chili until fragrant

Lemongrass, ginger and red chili sautéing until fragrant
Sauté the aromatics until they smell fragrant

Trim the lemongrass to the white part only, removing the green part and the tough outer layer. Prepare the ginger and red chili. Heat some of the 2 tbsp filling oil in a pan and sauté the lemongrass, ginger and chili until fragrant. The rest of the 2 tbsp is for the chicken.

STEP 33 / 28

Add the onion and cook until translucent

Onion cooking with the aromatics until translucent
Cook the onion until translucent

Add the onion to the aromatics and cook until it turns translucent.

STEP 44 / 28

Take the aromatics out of the pan

Translucent onion and aromatics being lifted out of the pan
Set the aromatics aside; they go back in later

Lift the onion and aromatics out of the pan and set them aside.

STEP 55 / 28

Cook the diced chicken

Small diced chicken breast cooking in the pan
Cook the chicken until cooked through

Cut the chicken breast into small dice. Cook it in the same pan with the rest of the filling oil until cooked through.

STEP 66 / 28

Return the aromatics to the chicken

Reserved onion and aromatics being returned to the chicken
Return the aromatics before the potato goes in

Put the reserved onion and aromatics back into the pan with the chicken.

STEP 77 / 28

Add the potato, seasonings and 100 ml water

Pouring the 100 ml simmering water over the potato and seasonings
The 100 ml water goes in after the potato and seasonings

Drain the potato and add it with the curry powder, chili powder, light soy sauce, sugar, white pepper and salt. Then pour in the 100 ml water.

STEP 88 / 28

Simmer until the potato is soft

Filling simmering over low to medium heat until the potato is soft
Simmer until the potato is tender

Simmer over low to medium heat until the potato is soft. If the filling becomes too dry before then, add a little water.

STEP 99 / 28

Add the peas and cook until almost dry

Filling with green peas cooked over low heat until almost dry
Finish when the liquid has almost gone

Add the frozen green peas. Simmer over low heat until almost no liquid is left.

STEP 1010 / 28

Make the water dough

Even water dough in the food processor
Process the water dough only until it is even

Put the 160 g cake flour, cold butter, 15 g sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and 85 ml water in a food processor. Process on low speed, briefly, just until the dough is even. This takes under a minute. Don't keep processing past that point.

STEP 1111 / 28

Make the oil dough separately

A separate oil dough of cake flour and shortening
The oil dough is a very soft paste with no water

In the food processor, combine the 125 g cake flour and the shortening into a very soft, even paste. Do not add water.

STEP 1212 / 28

Place the oil dough on the water dough

Oil dough placed in the center of the flattened water dough
Set the oil dough in the middle of the water dough

Flatten the water dough into a rectangle and place the oil dough in the center.

STEP 1313 / 28

Roll the two doughs out together

Rolling the layered doughs under plastic film into a long rectangle
Roll the two layers together into a long rectangle

Lay plastic film on top. Roll the layered doughs into a long rectangle, roughly four times as long as it is wide.

STEP 1414 / 28

Make the first book fold

Book-folding the dough so four sections stack
The first book fold

Fold both ends in to the center, then fold one side over the other. You now have four stacked sections.

STEP 1515 / 28

Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes

The first folded dough wrapped and chilling in the refrigerator
The first chill is at least 30 minutes

Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Don't take it out before 30 minutes, even if it feels firm sooner. If it is still soft at 30 minutes, keep chilling until firm.

STEP 1616 / 28

Roll out and make the second book fold

Second book fold stacking four sections
The second book fold

Roll the dough out again and make a second book fold, so four sections stack again.

STEP 1717 / 28

Wrap and chill until firm

Folded dough wrapped and chilling until firm
Chill by firmness, not by the clock

Wrap the dough again and chill it until firm.

STEP 1818 / 28

Make the third book fold

Third book fold stacking four sections
The third book fold

Roll the dough out once more and make the third and final book fold.

STEP 1919 / 28

Wrap and chill until firm

Third-fold dough wrapped and chilling until firm
Chill until firm before rolling the log

Wrap the dough and chill it until firm.

STEP 2020 / 28

Roll into a Swiss-roll log

The folded dough rolled into a Swiss-roll log
Roll the dough up into one log

Roll the final rectangle of dough up into a log, like a Swiss roll. If it is too soft to handle, chill it again until it is easier to work with.

STEP 2121 / 28

Lengthen the log and divide into 20

Dough divided into 20 pieces
20 pieces of dough

Roll the log under your palms to lengthen it, then divide it into 20 pieces.

STEP 2222 / 28

Roll each piece into a round

Rolling a dough piece into a round slightly larger than the 10 cm mold
Make the round just a little larger than the mold

Roll one piece into a round slightly larger than the 10 cm curry puff mold.

STEP 2323 / 28

Place filling in the center

Filling placed in the center of the dough round
Put the filling in the middle

Place some filling in the center of the round.

STEP 2424 / 28

Close the mold and press firmly to seal

Closing the mold and pressing the edge firmly to seal
Press firmly so the edge seals completely

Close the mold and press the edge firmly so the puff is completely sealed.

STEP 2525 / 28

Trim the excess dough

Trimming excess dough from the mold
Trim the excess and use it in the next piece

Trim off the dough that sticks out of the mold, and add the trimmings to the next piece of dough.

STEP 2626 / 28

Unmold the puff

An unfried curry puff removed from the mold
A shaped, unfried puff

Remove the puff from the mold. Repeat steps 22–26 with the rest of the dough and filling.

STEP 2727 / 28

Deep-fry at 180°C until golden

Curry puffs frying in 180°C oil until golden, about 6 minutes in total
About 6 minutes overall, until golden

Heat vegetable oil to 180°C (350°F). Fry the puffs until golden, about 6 minutes in total. Larger puffs take longer.

STEP 2828 / 28

Move onto kitchen towels

Fried curry puffs resting on kitchen towels
Let the kitchen towels absorb the excess oil

Lift the fried puffs onto kitchen towels to soak up the excess oil.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

1 / 1

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp Filling: the total for sautéing the aromatics and cooking the chicken
Lemongrass 1 stalk Filling: white part only; remove the green part and the tough outer layer
Red chili 1 medium Filling aromatic
Ginger, chopped 1 tsp Filling aromatic
Onion 1 (about 100 g) Filling aromatic, cooked until translucent
Chicken breast 125 g Filling: cut into small dice
Potato 125 g Filling: peeled, diced small and soaked in water
Water for soaking the potato as needed Soaking only
Curry powder 1 tbsp Filling seasoning
Chili powder 1 tsp Filling seasoning
Light soy sauce 1.5 tsp Filling seasoning
Sugar 1 tsp Filling seasoning
Ground white pepper 1/4 tsp Filling seasoning
Salt 1 tsp Filling seasoning
Water 100 ml Filling: for simmering the potato
Frozen green peas 2 tbsp Filling, added near the end
Cake flour 160 g Water dough
Butter, cold 35 g Water dough
Sugar 15 g Water dough
Water 85 ml Water dough
Salt 1/4 tsp Water dough
Cake flour 125 g Oil dough: the same cake flour as the water dough
Shortening 70 g Oil dough: no water goes into this dough
Vegetable oil as needed For deep-frying
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Curry Puffs with Spiral Layers: Two Doughs, Three Folds, One Mold

What this recipe keeps

Two separate doughs become one laminated sheet. It gets folded three times and chilled after each fold, then rolled into a log and divided into 20 pieces. Each piece is shaped around a chicken and potato curry filling in a 10 cm mold and fried until golden.

A spiral curry puff is a filled pastry made from two doughs folded into layers, with the curry filling inside. This article follows one specific version: the Malaysian-style spiral curry puff, or Karipap Pusing, published by KP Kwan on Taste of Asian Food. He describes it as the method used at the restaurant where he works, and it makes 20 puffs.

The pastry comes from two doughs made separately. One is a water dough of cake flour, cold butter, sugar, salt and water. The other is an oil dough of cake flour and shortening only. You set the oil dough on the water dough and roll them out together. Then you book-fold the sheet three times, chilling it after each fold. The filling is chicken breast and potato cooked with lemongrass, ginger, red chili, onion and curry powder, simmered until almost dry.

This recipe has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan. It is set out here as KP Kwan published it, and the places where his recipe gives no amount or time are marked in the FAQ below. Other curry puff recipes, including single-dough versions and other spiral formulas, are not mixed in.

Ingredients for 20 Curry Puffs

Curry puff ingredients grouped into filling, water dough, oil dough and frying oil
The filling, the two doughs and the frying oil are separate groups

Water is used three separate times. The potato soaking water is as needed. The 100 ml is for simmering the filling, and the 85 ml goes into the water dough. The 2 tbsp of vegetable oil covers the whole filling, and the frying oil is separate.

Choosing and Shopping Notes

  • Cake flour: both doughs use the same cake flour, 160 g for the water dough and 125 g for the oil dough. You don't need two kinds of flour.
  • Shortening: the oil dough is made with shortening.
  • Light soy sauce: look for a bottle labeled "light soy sauce."
  • Lemongrass: one stalk; only the white part goes into the filling, so trim away the green part and the tough outer layer.
  • Curry puff mold: the shaping relies on a 10 cm curry puff mold, which closes the puff and seals the edge.

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • Rolling pin
  • Plastic film (cling film)
  • Refrigerator space for a flat slab of dough
  • Knife
  • Pan for the filling
  • 10 cm curry puff mold
  • Pot or wok for deep-frying
  • Kitchen towels

Method: Filling, Two Doughs, Folding, Shaping and Frying

How the work flows

Steps 1–9 make the filling, and steps 10–21 build the layered dough. Steps 22–26 shape the puffs and steps 27–28 fry them. The folding stage takes the longest because the dough chills after each of the three folds.

When Something Goes Off Course

What you see What to do
The dough is still soft 30 minutes after the first fold Keep chilling until firm before rolling it out again
The dough feels firm before 30 minutes after the first fold Leave it in for the full 30 minutes anyway
The dough is soft after the second or third fold Keep it in the refrigerator until it is firm
The Swiss-roll log is too soft to handle Chill it again until it is easier to work with
The filling is drying out before the potato is soft Add a little water and keep simmering over low to medium heat
The puffs are larger than usual Expect them to take longer than about 6 minutes to turn golden
About the frying time

About 6 minutes is an overall guide for these puffs, not a time per side, and not a guarantee for every size. Use the golden color as your endpoint, and allow more time for larger puffs.

Other Curry Puff Versions, and Why They Stay Separate

Curry puff recipes are not all built the same way. Christie Lai's Malaysian curry puff on Christie at Home uses a single dough: flour and salt mixed with hot oil and then room-temperature water. Her recipe makes 26 pieces. Rasa Malaysia has another spiral curry puff recipe with its own water-dough and oil-dough formula and portion weights. That one makes 24 puffs.

These are different recipes from different authors. They show that home cooks have more than one way to make curry puffs, not a single national standard. Their amounts, dough handling and frying directions are not mixed into the version on this page. If you want a single-dough pastry, follow one of those recipes as a whole rather than swapping parts in.

The Names and Where You Find Them

KP Kwan's page gives the names curry puff, Karipap and 咖哩角. The recipe here is specifically the spiral type, Karipap Pusing. Many curry puffs are not spiral, so this name identifies one style rather than defining every curry puff. KP Kwan presents his version as the restaurant method from his workplace.

Christie Lai introduces her own curry puffs as a snack or appetizer sold at food stands and Malaysian restaurants. She also notes that nearby countries have versions of their own. That is how one author describes the dish today, not a history of it. This article does not cover where curry puffs began or how the name came about, because the sources here do not settle those questions.

KP Kwan's recipe card estimates 2 hours of preparation and 6 minutes of cooking. Those are published estimates, not a promise. Chilling until the dough is firm after each fold can stretch the time. For more of the country's food, see Malaysian dishes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do both doughs get water?

No. The 85 ml of water goes only into the water dough. The oil dough is just cake flour and shortening.

Is it two different flours?

No. Both doughs use the same cake flour: 160 g for the water dough and 125 g for the oil dough.

Should the filling be cooled before shaping?

KP Kwan's recipe doesn't include a cooling step for the filling, and it gives no temperature or time for one. It also doesn't say the filling must be hot when you shape the puffs.

How much filling goes into each puff?

KP Kwan's recipe gives no weight or volume per puff. It says only to place the filling in the center of each round.

Is each of the three chills 30 minutes?

Only the first chill has a time: at least 30 minutes, and longer if the dough is still soft. The second and third chills go by firmness, with no set number of minutes.

Which way do I cut the log into 20?

KP Kwan's wording leaves the cutting direction unclear, so this article doesn't specify one. What is fixed is that the log is lengthened and divided into 20 pieces.

How is the 2 tbsp of filling oil split between the aromatics and the chicken?

The split isn't given. The 2 tbsp is the total for the whole filling, covering both the aromatics and the chicken, not 2 tbsp for each stage.

Can I use a different amount of curry powder?

The curry powder line on KP Kwan's recipe card starts an optional phrase that is cut off, with no alternative amount given. This article uses the stated 1 tbsp only.

Is it 6 minutes per side?

No. About 6 minutes is the overall frying guide, until golden. The 180°C and 350°F figures appear together in KP Kwan's instructions. The amount of oil, how many puffs to fry at once and when to turn them are not given.

Does 20 puffs mean 20 servings?

No. The recipe makes 20 puffs. It doesn't say how many people that serves.

Sources

  • KP Kwan, "How to make curry puffs in three simple steps / Malaysian style spiral curry puffs," Taste of Asian Food, published 2018-06-11. The recipe followed in this article: the 20-puff spiral Karipap Pusing with its ingredients, filling method, water and oil doughs, three book folds, mold shaping and frying at 180°C (350°F) for about 6 minutes until golden; also the names curry puff, Karipap and 咖哩角, and the author's attribution of the method to his restaurant. https://tasteasianfood.com/curry-puffs/
  • Christie Lai, "Easy & Simple Malaysian Curry Puff (Karipap)," Christie at Home, published 2023-11-08, modified 2024-11-06. Used for comparison only: a separate single-dough recipe making 26 pieces, and the author's description of curry puffs as snacks sold at food stands and Malaysian restaurants. https://christieathome.com/blog/malaysian-curry-puff/
  • Bee Yinn Low (recipe card credits Ho Siew Loon), "Curry Puff," Rasa Malaysia, published 2024-11-04, updated 2026-06-10. Used for comparison only: a separate spiral curry puff formula making 24 puffs. Its account of the dish's origins is not used in this article. https://rasamalaysia.com/curry-puff/