Nigerian Meatpies
I don’t remember when my story of making meat-pies began..
but an early memory that comes to mind, is the first time I sold a batch of meat-pies.
I grew up in the Northern part of Nigeria, in a town called Kano, and my mom owned a school right in the city. Her school had a kiosk that kids would rush to at break time to buy a variety of Nigerian snacks such as puff-puff, buns, meat pies, biscuits, soft drinks etc. (the good ol’ days!)
I must have been around thirteen and I was just discovering my love for cooking. I don’t remember what drew me to it, but I remember having a recipe diary, where I would write down my favourite recipes as I watched others cook or as I cooked myself. One of my earliest memories of cooking involved making meatpies for my mother’s school’s kiosk and it all started as a trial run.
I was probably making way too many meat pies at home, enough to feed a village and my mother suggested we begin selling them at her school. To my surprise, the kids loved it, and the meat pies would always sell out! Thus it became a staple at the kiosk.
I modified the standard recipe too. Instead of using salt in the crust, I opted for some sugar. Before I knew it, I was making batches of meat pies every evening to be sold the following day, and enjoying every bit of it!
You know those recipes you’ve made so many times, and you get excited to make each time? This meat pie recipe is one of those for me. It’s heartwarming, and it’s always a joy getting to serve and share it with friends and family as well.
I hope it warms up your kitchen and your heart with all the lovely aromas, as it does mine.
Let’s begin, shall we?
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Yield: This depends on the size of the cutter you use. If your cutter is 10 inches in diameter, you'll make about 10 meat pies.
Prep/cook time: 1 hr
Bake time: 40 - 45 mins
Total time: 1 hr 45 mins
Ingredients
For the Dough:
7 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4 cups of butter (margarine)
I tablespoon of sugar (or 2 pinches of salt)
1/2 cup of cold water
For the Meat Filling:
2 medium Irish potatoes (optional)
1/2 a cup of vegetables (optional)
4 cups of ground beef (minced meat)
1 medium-sized onion
2 cooking spoons of coconut oil (or vegetable, canola, olive oil)
2 maggi/knorr cubes (or to taste)
1 teaspoon of thyme
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of curry
1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or 1 teaspoon of minced garlic)
1 teaspoon of ginger (or 1 teaspoon of minced ginger)
1 teaspoon of crayfish (optional)
1 atarodo (scotch bonnet)
salt (to taste)
2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour
1 cup of water
For the Glaze:
1 Egg
Steps
For the Meat pie Filling:
Peel the potatoes, wash them and cut it into tiny cubes.
Slice the onions
On medium heat, heat your cooking oil in a pot, and stir in the diced onions.
Stir in the ground beef vigorously until it turns pale
Add all of the seasoning, and stir
Add one cup of water
Cover the pot and once the contents start boiling add in frozen mixed veggies (optional), and potatoes (optional) and cook until it is all done
Mix the tablespoons of flour in half a cup of cold water and add to the meat pie filling. This is to ensure that the filling does not dry up during baking.
Stir the contents and turn off the heat.
For the Meat-Pie Dough:
Put the flour in a mixing bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and the sugar (or salt). Mix well!
Use a tablespoon to put the margarine into the bowl of flour.
Using your fingertips, rub the margarine into the flour, till it looks like crumbs. Do not use melted butter!
Add cold water in little amounts, while folding the mix until it turns into a ball of dough is formed
Knead the dough well, and leave it to rest for 5 minutes, this makes it more elastic.
Cutting the Dough:
Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and leave it to preheat.
Rub some of your margarine on the insides of your oven tray and set aside.
Break your egg, whisk it, and set aside
Knead the dough until it's quite thin (not too thin)
Use a cutter (this could be a bowl turned upside down, or a teacup turned upside down and cut around it), to make round cuts on the rolled-out dough
Put some meat pie filling into the centre of the cuts
Rub the edges of the meat pie cut with eggs, before folding it. This ensures the meat pie is sealed and doesn't open up during baking.
Fold one part of the dough to meet the other, and use a fork to press the edges together to close tightly
Rub the egg of the meat pies using a cooking brush (or you could use your hands too if you do not have a cooking brush). This gives the meat pie a golden brown look when done.
Baking:
Set the meat pies on the tray, and place the tray in the preheated oven, allowing it to bake for 30-40 minutes. Once it starts browning, you know it's almost done. Remove when it’s golden brown.
Et voila, you’re done. Serve on a lovely plate that brings you joy.
Le Ebae Non Sen,
Onivie