HOW TO MAKE TASTY NIGERIAN MEAT PIE

INGREDIENTS:

(FOR THE DOUGH)

500g flour ,(10 cups)

200g Butter or margarine( 1 butter)

120ml Milk (Any tin milk can serve)

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon grounded nutmeg

For the filling ( fills 12 large pies-you can store in freezer for future use):

2 big sized potatoes

2 carrots

250g minced meat

1 brown onion

1 cup of water

1/2 Spoon Multipurpose seasoning

1/4 spoon Cameroon pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 bullion ( u can use maggi cube)

1 cooking spoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

Wash the meat thoroughly with clean water, steam the meat and and add little spices(maggi, curry, thyme) to taste.

Sieve the out the meat sauce, keeping the meat only. Chop the meat in small dices, and keep.

Peel potato, rinse and dice into small cubes.

Wash carrots, scrape and dice into small cubes.

Chop the onion into small pieces

Put the vegetable oil in a pot and set the cooker on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and stir then add the minced meat.

Stir till the meat changes colour and then add water, add a little bit of seasoning to give the potatoes and carrots taste. Cover the pot and leave to boil.

When it starts to boil add the diced potatoes and carrot, cover the pot and cook till it’s soft. This takes about 8minutes. Add salt to taste.

THEN

Mix 2 tablespoon of flour with about 20ml of water in a cup and add to the meat pie filling/sauce.

Note: This makes the filling hold together, creamy, moist and prevents drying up during baking.

Stir and take off the cooker and set it aside to cool.

THE DOUGH

In a mixing bowl put the flour, salt, nutmeg and mix well. With the flour sieve, sieve out impurities from the mixture.

Add butter and mix with your hands until you get a crumby texture.

Now add the egg yolks and the milk to the flour and mix thoroughly. Knead and leave the dough to rest for 15minutes in a cool place.

TIP: Don’t overwork the dough. This is to prevent pie from shrinking or cracking when baked.

Cut small part of the dough and roll on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin.

Put this dough on a dumpling mould, put the meat filling/sauce inside ( about 2 tablespoonful for each).

Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the dough with egg and seal close.

If you do not have a dumpling mould, Use a round object like a round bowl or round pot cover to cut the dough into circle, then fill the middle with the meat filling, brush edges with egg and close using fork to seal edges.

Repeat process until you use up the dough.

Lightly grease baking pan or line with a baking sheet. I normally just line with baking sheet. I like the easy way as long as I get good result

Place the pies on the baking pan and brush the top part of the dough with egg. Pierce the top of the pies in two places with fork.

 TIP : This gives the pie a golden colour, crusty finish and looks more appealing to the eyes.

Egg white will give it no colour but shiny finish, egg yolk will give a deep golden brown colour and glossy finish, whole egg(both egg white and yolk) will give yellowish golden with shiny finish, and if you use milk to brush you will get a brown colour but no glossy finish.

For this batch I used the whole egg. Whisked it well and brushed the pie.

Preheat oven at 150degrees (gas mark 2) for 5minutes and bake the meatpie in pre heated oven for 30 to 40minutes or till it’s done.

Result? Yummy, moist, creamy filling meatpie

Best served warm.