Name: Karipap Pusing (Malaysian Spiral Curry Puffs)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 125 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil; 85 grams (½ cup / 3 ounces) finely chopped onion ((1 small onion)); 85 grams (½ cup / 3 ounces) finely diced chicken breast meat; 170 grams (1 cup / 6 ounces) peeled and finely diced potato; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; ½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste (start with less and add more as needed)); ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper; ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves; Pinch sugar ((optional)); 6 tablespoons water; 150 grams (1 ¼ cups minus 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour; 1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; 30 grams (2 ½ tablespoons) vegetable shortening or lard (at room temperature); 5 tablespoons water; 100 grams (¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon) all-purpose flour; 85 grams (7 tablespoons) vegetable shortening or lard (at room temperature); Vegetable or canola oil (as needed for frying); Sweet chili sauce (to serve (optional))

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Karipap Pusing (Malaysian Spiral Curry Puffs) are super flaky, melt-in-your-mouth delicious fried turnovers filled with a fragrant curry-infused filling of potatoes and chicken.

Flaky karipap pusing curry puffs with a spiral pattern in the dough on a white platter.

Karipap, or Curry Puff, is a small, usually deep-fried but sometimes baked half-moon shaped pastry typically filled with a thick curried chicken and potato filling.

These Malaysian curry puffs can feature a smooth dough (sometimes called epok-epok) or a spiral patterned dough (called karipap pusing 螺旋咖喱角), with the Malay word pusing referring to the spiralized pattern.

Although making a smooth dough for karipap is easier, the impressive spiral pattern is worth the additional steps to achieve. The gorgeous aesthetics aside, the flavor and texture is absolutely outstanding.

Closeup of a karipap pusing curry puff showing off the flaky spiral pattern in its dough.

Making the signature flaky spiral pattern requires making two kinds of dough, a water dough and an oil dough, and wrapping one with the other. From this point, it’s just a matter of folding and rolling to get the desired result. It takes time, but is very simple and straightforward to do.

There are many other filling variations one could use for karipap including eggs, sardines, tuna, and various vegetables. Additionally, there are varieties of curry puffs common in other Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, and more. The fillings and doughs can vary quite a bit.

I’ve had curry puffs from local Malaysian and Southeast Asian restaurants in New England, and many serve theirs with sweet chili sauce for dipping. It may not be traditional, but it sure is delicious!

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for karipap pusing on a light grey background.

Spices: Karipap pusing is usually flavored with Malaysian meat curry powder. To make this recipe more accessible for anyone who can't find it, I copied the spices you may find in that type of curry powder (these can vary as well). You could, however, substitute 2 ½ teaspoons of another type of prepared curry powder for the coriander, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and cloves.
Shortening: You can use vegetable shortening or lard to make the dough. Many brands of vegetable shortening are hydrogenated (which is really bad for you). If you can, I recommend using non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening for this and any recipe calling for shortening.
Potato: The main ingredient in the filling is potato. I use gold or yellow potatoes here, which are a waxy type of potato, good at holding their shape after cooking. Peel and dice the potato fairly small, into about ¼-inch pieces.
Chicken: The chicken is not the star of the filling, but it adds a bit of protein along with another flavor and textural element. Dice chicken breast to a similar size as the potato, about ¼-inch pieces. If you wanted to make these karipap pusing vegetarian, you could replace the chicken with fresh or frozen peas (add them toward the end of the potato cooking time), and use vegetable shortening instead of lard in the dough.

Two fingers holding up half of a curry puff to show off its filling.

How to make the filling

Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion and cook until softened (PHOTO 1). Then add diced chicken and continue stirring and cooking for a couple minutes (PHOTO 2).

Cooked chopped onion in a skillet, and then with cooked diced chicken added to it.

Add finely diced potato and seasonings (PHOTO 3), stir to coat, then add water and cover with a lid. Cook until the potato is tender and there is little liquid remaining (PHOTO 4).

A potato, onion, chicken, and spice mixture in a skillet before and after finishing cooking.

Remove from the heat and slightly mash some of the potato with the back of a spoon to make the mixture more cohesive. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely before using. The karipap pusing filling can be prepared up to 2 days in advance, covered in plastic wrap, and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before using.

Diced potato and chicken curry puff filling in a metal bowl.

How to make the dough

First make the water dough. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add shortening or lard and rub it into the flour mixture to combine and create a crumbly mixture (PHOTOS 5-6).

Before and after mixing vegetable shortening into a flour mixture in a metal bowl.

Add water and combine, bringing the dough together, and kneading gently, to yield a soft, smooth dough.

Wrap it in plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Next make the oil dough. Combine flour and shortening or lard in the same bowl used to make the water dough (PHOTO 7). Knead it until it becomes a smooth and pliable dough. It will resemble soft cookie dough. Form roughly into a ball, cover and set aside until the water dough is done resting (PHOTO 8).

Before and after mixing vegetable shortening with flour in a metal bowl.

Finally, laminate the dough. Place the water dough on a very minimally floured work surface. Roll it out into a 7 ½-inch diameter circle.

Place the oil dough into the center of the circle (PHOTO 9). Pull up the sides of the water dough to completely enclose the oil dough and pinch the ends together to seal it closed (PHOTO 10). Let it rest for about 10 minutes before rolling out.

A round disc of dough topped with another ball of dough, then wrapped to enclose it.

Use a rolling pin to roll the enclosed dough on a lightly dusted surface. Roll it into a rectangle about 8-by-12-inches with the long side closest to you.

A rough rectangle of rolled out dough on a wooden board.

Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, resulting in a rectangle about 8-by-4-inches.

Rolled out dough folded into thirds like a letter on a wooden board.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees so one of the folded sides is closest to you.

A rectangle of folded dough rotated 90 degrees so the long edge is facing you.

Then roll it out again into an 8-by-12-inch rectangle.

A rolled out rectangle of dough on a wooden board.

Fold it again like a letter into thirds into an 8-by-4-inch rectangle.

Folding rolled out dough into thirds like a letter on a wooden board.

Wrap or cover the dough, and let it rest for 15 minutes.

How to assemble the curry puffs

On a lightly floured surface, rotate the dough another 90 degrees, and roll it out into a rectangle measuring 8-by-12-inches, with the long edge closest to you.

With your fingers, roll the karipap dough into a long cylinder (like a jelly roll) starting with the edge closed to you and rolling away from you.

Rolling a flat rectangle of dough like a jelly roll on a wooden board.

Cut the dough crosswise into 12 slices. Keep the dough covered and work with half the slices at a time.

A log of dough cut into pieces on a wooden board with a knife next to it.

On a lightly floured surface, use the heel of your hand to flatten each dough piece into a disk.

Six discs of dough pressed flat on a wooden board.

Use a rolling pin (preferably a skinny Asian dowel-style rolling pin) to roll each disk into a thin circle, about 4 ½-inches in diameter.

Six spiral shaped discs of dough rolled out flat on a wooden board.

Place one portion (or one-twelfth) of the filling into the center of each circle.

A flat disc of dough topped with a curried chicken and potato mixture.

Lightly wet the edges with a little water on your fingertip. Fold the dough over itself to create a half-moon and press the edges together to seal.

A disc of dough folded over its filling to seal closed like an empanada.

Pleat along the sealed edge to create a rope-like pattern from one end to the other (pinch and fold over onto itself). Set aside on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, cover, and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Twelve uncooked half-moon shaped empanadas on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

How to cook them

Place a rack on top of a paper towel-lined sheet pan for draining the finished karipap pusing.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven, wok, or deep saucepan, or deep-fryer at a depth of about 1 to 2 inches to 375°F. Add curry puffs in small batches and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, gently jostling them around a bit with a spider skimmer to keep the bottoms from over-browning, and occasionally flipping them over so they cook evenly (PHOTOS 11-12).

Malaysian curry puffs in a deep fryer before and after getting golden brown and fully cooked.

Use a spider skimmer to remove finished karipap from the oil and let them drain and rest on the prepared rack. Repeat with additional karipap pusing until they are all fried.

Twelve deep-fried Malaysian curry puffs resting on a wire rack set over a paper towel.

You may keep the curry puffs warm in a 200°F oven if you’d like, but they will stay crispy for a while at room temperature.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Optionally, serve with sweet chili sauce on the side.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

A platter of fried curry puffs with a dish of dipping sauce in the background.

Expert tips

Store leftover karipap pusing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat leftover refrigerated karipap in an oven, toaster oven, or air-fryer at 350°F for about 10 minutes to freshen them back up.

To freeze uncooked curry puffs, place them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer bag or other freezer-safe container. To cook, don’t thaw but rather fry from a frozen state using the original cooking instructions but adding a couple more minutes as needed to cook them all the way through.

To freeze cooked curry puffs, follow the same method as above to freeze in a single layer for 1 hour, and then transfer to a freezer bag or other freezer-safe container. Reheat frozen karipap pusing in an oven, toaster oven, or air-fryer at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until heated through and crispy.

You may fry using a deep fry thermometer to track the oil's temperature. The downside to this is you may have to fiddle with your stovetop controls to adjust the heat in order to maintain the right temperature if it drops or rises significantly.

Instead, I recommend using an electric deep-fryer (I have an old version of this one passed down from my grandmother!). It does a great job of maintaining the oil temperature without any stress. I actually remove the fryer basket because it takes up room and would require me to use even more oil to get the depth I need. Instead I fry directly in my fryer and use a spider skimmer to remove the cooked karipap.

Ten karipap pusing on a white rectangular platter next to a blue and white towel.

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