Puff Patties

Culinary Chronicles

By Yasmin Rahul Bakshi

Those He Could Leave Behind –

I still remember that smell. Guwahati cantonment in September smelled like wet earth, fresh tea leaves. Our accommodation stood where the garden ended. The jungle began just beyond.

That was the rule there. You did not tell the elephants where to go. There was a proper corridor between the MT garage and the ration store. At night you heard movement near the store. A massive head pushed the store door, pulling out flour sacks. If rum cases were found it was over. The rum got finished in one go. Then the animal just stood there swaying completely drunk.

The cantonment had just got that fancy new cinema hall that year. Proper Dolby sound system. For the first time they started screening films through UFO Moviez, the satellite based digital cinema network. For us it was a big deal.

That day 18 September 2011 was a Sunday. They were screening “Mausam” with Shahid Kapoor as an Air Force pilot. Full hall with families, kids and the puff patties served over a disposable plate lingering with the buttery aroma.

On screen, Shahid’s jet took off for that final mission, that loud roar built up. Then another roar joined it. Deeper. From below. For one stupid second I thought wow what sound effects.

Then the screen shook. The whole hall shook. The side lights swung like crazy.

It was not the film. It was an earthquake. A massive tremor. Later we knew it was the Sikkim quake.

The kids screamed. Everyone rushed to those two small exit doors. I got pushed out with the crowd. I was outside, my heart in my throat, looking for Tiger. He was not next to me.

I turned. He was still inside.

The hall was almost empty, still shaking. That old lady was still there in the third row from last. Her wheelchair wheels were stuck in that thick old carpet. The lady who brought her left her behind, ran out. The old lady sat there alone, both hands gripping the armrest so tight, her knuckles turned white, looking around, completely lost.

Tiger saw her.

He did not think. I knew that face. He turned around, ran back in when everyone else was evacuating. He picked her up in his arms. He left the wheelchair there.

He carried her out while the floor still moved. Her little hands held his shirt so tight.

Outside on the open ground everyone was on the grass, holding their kids, some crying. Far behind near the ration depot the elephants trumpeted loudly, scared.

He put the old lady down on the grass very gently. He knelt down so he was at her eye level. She did not say anything. She kept patting his hand. Her daughter-in-law came to thank him. Tiger smiled at her, said, “It was okay Ma’am, it happened in panic and she was fine.”

He never mentioned it again that night. Back home the power came back for ten minutes, then went again. We sat with a candle, two cups of tea. His hands still shook a little.

I asked him, “Were you not scared to go back in?”

He said, “I saw her face. How could I leave her?”

This was not the only time I saw that in him.

That was Guwahati for me. Beautiful, quiet, unforgettable in its own way. Mist over tea gardens, elephants that knew every old track, a cinema hall that finally had Dolby sound.

Yet what stayed with me was not any of that. What stayed was him going back, again and again. For a stranger in the third row in a hall that shook, I saw what selflessness truly meant. It had his face.

Ingredients:

For the Puff Pastry

1. Refined flour (maida) – 2 cups
2. Salt – ½ tsp
3. Lemon juice or white vinegar – 1 tsp
4. Chilled butter – 2 tbsp (for the dough)
5. Ice-cold water – ½ to ¾ cup, as required
6. Chilled butter – 1 cup (for laminating )

For the Potato Filling

7. Potatoes – 2 cups (boiled and roughly mashed)
8. Onion – ½ cup (finely chopped)
9. Green peas, boiled – ½ cup
10. Butter – 1 tbsp
11. Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
12. Ginger – ½ tsp (finely grated )
13. Green chilli – ½ tsp (finely chopped)
14. Black pepper – ½ tsp
15. Dried mixed herbs – ½ tsp
16. Kashmiri chilli powder – ¼ tsp
17. Salt – according to taste
18. Fresh coriander – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
19. Lemon juice – 1 tsp
20. Milk – 2 tbsp (for brushing)

Method:

Making the Puff Pastry

• Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Rub 2 tablespoons of chilled butter lightly into the flour.
• Add lemon juice and enough ice-cold water to make a firm but pliable dough. Do not over knead.
• Shape the dough into a rectangle, cover and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes.
• Place 1 cup chilled butter between two sheets of baking paper. Tap and roll it into a rectangular slab about 1 cm thick. Refrigerate until firm but still flexible.
• Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle approximately twice the length of the butter slab.
• Place the butter slab over one half of the dough. Fold the other half over it and seal the edges so that the butter is completely enclosed.
• Gently roll the dough into a long rectangle, taking care that the butter does not break through the dough.
• Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter. This completes the first turn.
• Cover and refrigerate for 20–30 minutes.
• Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll it again into a long rectangle and fold it into thirds.
• Refrigerate again for 20–30 minutes.
• Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process until 5–6 turns have been completed.
• After the final turn, refrigerate the pastry for at least 30 minutes before using.

Making the Potato Filling

• Heat the butter or oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
• Add the chopped onion and sauté gently until soft and translucent. Do not brown heavily.
• Add ginger and green chilli, if using, and sauté briefly.
• Add the boiled potatoes and peas and mix gently, keeping some texture in the potatoes.
• Season with black pepper, dried mixed herbs, Kashmiri chilli powder and salt.
• Cook for 2–3 minutes until the filling is dry. The mixture should be savoury and mildly seasoned rather than strongly spiced.
• Switch off the heat. Add the chopped coriander or parsley and lemon juice.
• Cool the filling completely before using.

Shaping and Baking

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Roll the chilled puff pastry to approximately 3–4 mm thickness.
• Cut into equal-sized rectangles.
• Place approximately 2 tablespoons of cold potato filling on one half of each rectangle.
• Lightly moisten the edges with water and fold the pastry over the filling.
• Press the edges gently to seal without crushing the laminated layers.
• Arrange the patties on a baking-paper-lined tray and refrigerate for 15–20 minutes.
• Brush the tops lightly with milk, avoiding the cut edges.
• Make a small slit on top of each patty to allow steam to escape.
• Bake at 200°C for 20–25 minutes, or until well risen, crisp, flaky and golden.
• Serve hot.

(Yasmin Rahul Bakshi is an accomplished senior consultant Chef and a food historian. A widely travelled Army wife from the Mussoorie hills with exposure to international cuisines & preserving recipes with the medium of food photography and digital content creation in the form of stories.)