Make bakery style veg puff with this easy recipe using store bought puff pastry. Made with mixed vegetables, these make a great snack with chai or you can also enjoy them for breakfast or lunch!

Made with puff pastry and filled with a spicy vegetable filling, these puffs were something I grew up eating. We would also call them veg patties.

And pretty sure if you are an Indian and did your schooling from India, there’s no way you could have missed these. They were always available in school canteens.

I remember treating my friends to these veg puff (or vegetable puff as you may call them) on my birthdays along with a bottle of soda. Yes, that was pretty much the level of treat we would give to our friends then. It’s crazy to think that things have changed so much now!

These puffs are available at most bakeries in India and my mom got them when we had guests over and she would always serve them with chai. That’s a match made in heaven!

After moving to US, I often craved for these puffs. The ones available in stores and Indian bakeries here were never good enough and so I started making them at home. Puff pastry sheets are so readily available in the grocery stores here and so I always make these at home when the cravings kicks in.

Why We Love The Veg Puff

• they are easy to make with store bought puff pastry.
• can easily be made vegan with one simple swap.
• makes a delicious tea time snack.
• can also be packed in lunch-boxes.

Ingredients

The best part about this recipe is that you need only few basic ingredients to put this all together.

• Puff pastry: as much as I like making things from scratch, there are some fantastic puff pastry sheets available in the market. So, I always use store bought puff pastry. It saves me time and works great. However, if you do want to make puff pastry at home, then I do have a easy puff pastry recipe which you can check out.
• Veggies: I have used potato, carrots and green peas as a filling in this puff. You can also use beans, beet etc. You can also add grated paneer if you like.
• Spices: to flavor the filling, I have used spices like garam masala, turmeric, chili powder. I love using some fennel and coriander seeds too for that extra flavor.

Step by Step Instructions

1- Start by steaming the vegetables first. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Similarly peel and chop the carrots into small pieces as well. Place the chopped veggies along with green peas on a steamer basket. Steam until they are cooked but not mushy. I used a steaming basket and steamed in Instant pot for 2 minutes (with 1 cup water in main steel pot) and let the pressure release naturally. You can steam them using a stove-top steamer as well. Once steamed, set the veggies aside.

2- To a pan on medium heat, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and crushed coriander seeds. Let the seeds sizzle for few seconds and then add chopped ginger. Cook the ginger for 1 minute or so until it starts changing color.

3- Then add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent.

4- Then add in the steamed veggies and stir.

5- Add the salt and then add the spices- garam masala, amchur, turmeric, and red chili powder.

6- Stir everything together and slightly mash the veggies with the back of the spatula while stirring. Sprinkle little water (around 1 teaspoon) so that all the veggies are well coated with the spices. The filling is now ready, remove pan from heat and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees.

7- Thaw the frozen puff pastry according to instructions on the package. Mine needed to be at room temperature for 30 minutes before it could be used in the recipe. Unroll the thawed puff pastry (I am using 1 puff pastry sheet from the 2 sheets that come in the 17.3 oz box)) and cut it into 4 equal parts. Now place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling (make sure filling is cooled completely) on each of the cut 4 pieces. Apply a paste of water and flour all around on one of the rectangles and then lift one side and place it over the filling to seal it. Press the sides as well so that the pastry is completely sealed.

8- Repeat the same step with all the puffs. Brush them with milk (or use egg wash if you eat eggs for that golden sheen on top). Bake at 400 F degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until the puffs turn golden brown in color. Serve veg puff with ketchup or chutney.

Air Fryer Instructions

You can also air fry these puffs. In fact, I think these turn out even better in the air fryer.

To air fry, follow the same steps and then bake the puffs at 390 F degrees for around 9 minutes. The puff gets darker and crispier in the air fryer compared to traditional oven.

Storing & Re-heating

You can store unbaked puffs in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Simply bake in the oven straight from the fridge when you want to eat it.

You can also freeze unbaked puffs for 2 months. To bake, just put in the oven and bake straight away. Increase the baking time by 2 to 3 minutes if you are baking frozen puffs.

To re-heat, air fryer works best. Re-heat at 300 F for 10 minutes. Or you can also re-heat in the oven 350 F degrees for 15 minutes.

Tips & Notes

• You can use more vegetables here like green pepper, green beans, beetroot.
• If it’s warm where you live, make the puffs and then place them in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes and then bake them. Cold temperature will ensure that the pastry puffs up nicely in the oven.
• Make sure your filling has cooled down to room temperature before you use it in the pastry.
• You can also make these puffs triangular in the shape, just fold accordingly.
• The number of puffs this recipe makes will depend on the size of puff you make. It will make 4-6 puffs depending on how or small your puffs are.

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