[Free Pattern] Curry Puff (Karipap) Amigurumi Crochet Pattern・钩针编织咖哩角(马来咖哩餃)

Today is National Day. I can't help but remember that over the course of the past few years, a persistent question raised and explored, especially during this time, is what it means to be Singaporean or what makes us Singaporean. And for some reason, this year the curry puff came to mind.

It's been around 11 months and 10 kueh amigurumi since I began this local kueh amigurumi project, and with each item, I'm gaining a deeper appreciation of my country's culinary heritage. This next item, the humble curry puff, is one such example. Before I looked closely into it, I only had a vague idea that our beloved snack showcased the multicultural heritage of our food. However, I was unaware of the fact that the curry puff is not only a kueh, but is also unique to our region, born out of the confluence of European, Chinese, Indian and Malay culinary influences. For those who're interested, read on for more about the delicious curry puff but if not, feel free to skip to the pattern.

Curry puff amigurumi and a real one from Old Chang Kee (IG)

The curry puff is a deep fried or baked, crescent-shaped pastry with a curried filling. The curry is usually thick and on the dry side to prevent it from oozing out of the pastry. The kind of curry filling depends on the ingredients used but the most common fillings are chicken with potato, tinned sardine, or a vegetarian alternative of carrot, onion and potato. The pastry shell is usually shortcrust pastry (an English influence). But also popular in Singapore and Malaysia are the ones with spiral pastry, called spiral curry puffs or karipap pusing, e.g. these by one of our veteran makers Soon Soon Huat and J2. The spiral pastry is made by the more laborious double dough method, combining an oil and a water dough, then repeatedly rolling and flattening the combined dough, see for e.g. these recipes by Huang's Kitchen, Lisa's Lemony Kitchen, Singapore Shiok! and What To Cook Today. This pastry method is used to make the Singapore-style flaky Teochew tau sar piah, a method that was a marriage of Chinese and Western influences when in the 1970s, a veteran Hainanese baker (yup, Loong Fatt) came up with the idea of mixing a Western pastry technique into the traditional Chinese confection, resulting in a crispy, flaky, buttery pastry. But I digress....

The curry puff is a staple street snack in Singapore and Malaysia, and goes by different names, e.g. gā lí jiǎo (咖哩角 or 咖哩餃) or gā lí pào咖喱泡 in Chinese, karipap or epok epok in Malay. It is also known by other versions and names in Southeast Asia, e.g. karipok in Indonesia, karipapกะหรี่ปั๊บ in Thailand, bánh gối or bánh xếp in Vietnam. I should add that some insist that epok epok and curry puff, though similar, are not the same. Other related but different variations across Southeast Asia include the Malaysian kuih spera, the Indonesian kue pastel, Makassarese jalangkote (be it the same or different from kue pastel), Manadonese/Minahasan panada and the Burmese duck-filled mont or betha mont.

So, the curry puff is a type of kueh. I neglected to mention before that the kueh category is very broad and contains both sweet and savoury items. Before working on this amigurumi, I simply saw the curry puff as a common street snack that I grew up loving, and had no reason to ponder its origins or creation. I guess I'm saying it's so much interwoven into life in Singapore that I forget it is a part of our culinary and/or cultural heritage. It's much easier to remember the ondeh ondeh, for instance, as a kueh, as we typically think of kueh as sweet, sticky snacks or confections made with glutinous rice. If the ondeh ondeh represents the centuries of our culinary heritage through the combination of 3 ancient Southeast Asian ingredients, then the curry puff represents the marriage of culinary techniques and flavours of the various ethnic groups that settled in our region.

The curry puff is a beloved street food with its crispy pastry encasing a thick, savoury curried filling (IG).

Largely thought of as an invention unique to the Malay Peninsula, the origins of the curry have been attributed to the Indian samosa, Portuguese empanada or British Cornish pasty. As the Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonise India, Malacca and Indonesia in the 1500s, it has been opined that the Portuguese empanada is the ancestor of our curry puff. Plus it is largely believed or accepted that the Indonesian pastel and the Manadonese panada developed from the empanada. Portuguese-Asian food historian Janet Boileau theorises that the Portuguese/Iberian empada is likely "the puff's most important ancestor". As if it's not confusing enough: empanada, now empada? Maybe not so confusing, as it has been pointed out that although not the same thing, it is likely that the Portuguese empanada evolved from the Iberian empada.

But the other theory or widely accepted belief is that our curry puff was adapted from the Indian samosa to satisfy the British colonials' taste for Cornish pasty (ah! the British love for pies) and curry: introducing the shortcrust pastry shell and ingeniously adding some version of the Malay chicken curry (itself a multicultural mix of Indian, Malay, Chinese and British culinary influences). That too is plausible as the British loved the Indian samosa and Indians brought it with them wherever they traded or settled.

Whichever theory, the Indian samosa descended from the Persian sanbosag through Egypt, Libya and Central Asia, and so did the Portuguese empada/empanada through the Moorish invasions of the Iberian peninsula. So, I like how Mr. Tony Boey of Johor Kaki summed it up: "The curry puff is like the reunion in British Malaya of the long lost Persian sanbosag siblings — the Indian samosa and Iberian empanada with English puff pastry." So perhaps, the ultimate ancestor of our humble curry puff is Persian.

Coming back to the question of what it means to be Singaporean. To me, maybe the curry puff is a reminder of things past and present. Though Singapore (as a sovereign nation) is young, the curry puff is a reminder that we have a rich heritage that predates 9 August 1965 and is inextricably shared with our neighbours in the Malay archipelago. That there was a time when Singapore was a place where traders, merchants and settlers from all over the world came to, that many of our ancestors were migrants who settled here for whatever reason or circumstances and made this place their home. That many of the things in our day-to-day lives here are so ingrained that we don't even remember the aspects of our heritage they embody. That regardless of which country or culture, national identity and cultural identity are not static concepts. Nor are they created or developed in isolation.

And so, wrapping up this final thought.... Here is the crochet pattern for my curry puff amigurumi.

CURRY PUFF AMIGURUMI CROCHET PATTERN

Materials & Tools:

• Yarn - golden brown or tan brown
For this amigurumi, I used Scheepjes Catona No.249 Saffron.
• 3mm crochet hook
• Stuffing
• Stitch marker
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Safety eyes and embroidery thread (optional)

Abbreviations (US terms):

R : round / row (as the case may be)
MR : magic ring
ch : chain
sl st : slip stitch
st(s) : stitch(es)
sc : single crochet
hdc : half double crochet
dc : double crochet

rsh : reverse shell stitch (with hdc sts instead of dc sts)
inc : increase
(...) : a set of pattern instructions
[...] : total number of sts in the round/row

Finished Size:

Approx. 10.5cm × 5cm × 3cm
(Note that the final finished size of the amigurumi depends on hook size, yarn weight, crochet tension, and how much the work is stuffed.

Pattern Notes:

• This amigurumi is worked in a continuous spiral.
• For how to do the reverse shell stitch, see this Heart Hook Home video tutorial, but note that for this amigurumi, the stitch is worked with half double crochet stitches instead of double crochet stitches.
• Feel free to add safety eyes and/or embroider cute expressions or kaomoji on the amigurumi with embroidery thread. I didn't on the one I made, but I might do that for the next one!

CURRY PUFF

Using golden brown or tan brown yarn, work in rounds,
R1. Ch 6, in 2nd ch from hook, 4 sc, 3 sc into the last ch, work along the other side of the ch, 3 sc, inc. [12]
R2. Inc, 3 sc, 3 inc, 3 sc, 2 inc. [18]
R3. 3 sc, (1 sc, inc) repeat 3 times, 3 sc, (1 sc, inc) repeat 3 times. [24]
R4. 3 sc, (inc, 2 sc) repeat 3 times, 3 sc, (inc, 2 sc) repeat 3 times. [30]
R5. 3 sc, (3 sc, inc) repeat 3 times, 3 sc, (3 sc, inc) repeat 3 times. [36]
R6. 11 sc, (inc, 2 sc) 2 times, inc, 11 sc, (inc, 2 sc) 2 times, inc. [42]
R7. 11 sc, (inc, 3 sc) 2 times, inc, 12 sc, (inc, 3 sc) 2 times, inc, 1 sc. [48]
R8. 11 sc, (inc, 4 sc) 2 times, inc, 13 sc, (inc, 4 sc) 2 times, inc, 2 sc. [54]
R9. 11 sc, (inc, 5 sc) 2 times, inc, 14 sc, (inc, 5 sc) 2 times, inc, 3 sc. [60]
R10. 11 sc, (inc, 6 sc) 2 times, inc, 15 sc, (inc, 6 sc) 2 times, inc, 4 sc. [66]
R11. 13 sc, (inc, 5 sc) 2 times, inc, 20 sc, (inc, 5 sc) 2 times, inc, 7 sc. [72]
Mark the 23rd and 60th sts with stitch markers.
Fasten off and cut yarn.

For the next step, fold the piece in half. Align the 23rd st to the 60th st, then match up the other sts. Use stitch markers or pins to hold the matching stitches in place at intervals; this will help keep track of the st alignment. The next step is worked through the sts on both sides, and will create the crimped edge of the curry puff.

R12. Rejoin the yarn in the corner, then rsh* the edges together, working through the sts on both sides. Each rsh is worked over 6 sts of R11 (3 sts on each side of the work). Stuff as you work. [12 shells]

*Please refer to this video tutorial by Heart Hook Home for how to make the reverse shell stitch. But work the rsh with hdc sts instead.

Remember to stuff well before closing the work completely.

Fasten off and cut yarn. Weave in or hide all the ends inside the work.

And it's done! Pop it into a paper bag or a plate, and have it with a cup of kopi or teh to finish off this pleasant afternoon snack.

The curry puff sitting alongside my amigurumi version is the chicken curry puff from Old Chang Kee, one of the popular places in Singapore to buy curry puffs. Though some say it's not by means the best, IMO it still yummy and sets a good standard. (on IG).

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Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have fun making this crochet curry puff. As with all my other patterns, I would love to see how your finished items turned out, so please tag me with my Instagram handle @yotsuba_blythes.

While I'm happy to share my pattern without charge and would be delighted to see it being used, please note that my pattern is for personal use only. Please respect my legal and moral rights as the author with respect to this pattern and all the images therein. This pattern and images are not for commercial use, sale or distribution. The sale of this pattern or any of the images is not permitted without my prior written consent. If you wish to share this pattern, please link to this post and my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes. You are welcome to sell limited quantities of the finished items you have made from this pattern. Thank you.