DIY Recipes: How to make the perfect Ghanaian savoury homemade fried pies (Seafood stuffed).

You can fill the pie with a variety of stuff depending on your choice.

Ingredients

Pie Filling

½ lb crawfish meat (fresh or frozen)

½ lb crab meat

½ large onion (chopped)

1 green bell pepper (chopped)

2 jalapeno peppers (chopped)

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp flour

Celery salt (to taste)

Pie Dough

305 grams all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)

3 tbsp softened unsalted butter

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Method

Making the Pie filling

In a wide saucepan, on low -medium heat, sauté the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno peppers in the coconut oil till the onions turn translucent and the peppers soften.

Add in the 2 tbsps of flour and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes until the colour of the flour turns light brown

Add the crawfish and crab meat to the pan with 3 tbsp of water and allow to cook for another 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with celery salt if necessary, take off the heat and allow to cool completely before stuffing the pie dough.

Making the pie dough

While the pie mixture is cooling, in a bowl, combine the 305g flour, baking powder sugar and salt.

Rub the butter in with the flour mixture and gradually add in water a little at a time, kneading after each addition until a soft pliable dough is formed. The dough should not be too hard or too sticky.

Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes before using

Making the Pies

Cut the rested dough into 12 even pieces. Taking one piece of dough at a time, roll it out into a circle and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling on half the dough circle. Use the other half to cover the filling and seal the edges of the dough by crimping with a fork. To ensure a secure seal, brush the edges of the dough circle with water before close and sealing.

In a pan or fryer heat enough oil (to 350 degrees Fahrenheit) to fry the pies.

Place the pies in the hot oil gently (do not overcrowd the fry pan or fryer), and fry each pie until it is golden brown on each side.

Drain the fried pies and allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes before frying.