Curry Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Ever since the May challenge [Apple Strudel] was revealed, i convinced myself that i was going to sit this one out. Why? I don't particularly like my fruits cooked/baked and rolling out paper-thin dough required time I did not have (Pathology NBMEs). Sighhh, but after 25 days of looking through numerous DB's completed challenges, i just couldn't resist-- the savory strudels were the ones that won me over. So for my strudel, I stuffed it with a curry filling that was inspired by the popular Chinese pastry-- Curry Dumplings. Everything went surprisingly well during the process and i had no problems rolling out the dough. It was so soft and moist that it took almost no effort to produce that translucent flour sheet. Now i wish i've tried out this recipe earlier in the month and had the time to experiment other fillings and variations... ah well, summer is just 2 weeks away... there's always next time!

Strudel Dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

• 1 1/3 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar [ i used red wine vinegar]

1. Combine the flour and salt in bowl.
   
2. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup.
   
3. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour and mix until it comes together [picture 1, 2]. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
   
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally [picture 3.
5. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better) [picture4].

Curry Filling
INGREDIENTS:

• 150g onions, chopped
• 350g ground pork [i used ground turkey]
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon starch + 1 tablespoon water [or any other thickening agent]

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a saucepan with a little olive oil and add in the onions. Saute until onions are soft [picture 1].
2. Add in the ground pork and cook for 3 minutes [picture 2].
3. Add curry powder, salt, sugar, soy sauce to the ground pork and cook until meat is done [picture 3].
   
4. Pour in the starch water and stir until the meat mixture thickens [picture 4].

Curry Strudel

1. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can [picture 1].
2. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
3. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
4. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the melted butter over the dough using your hands.
5. Spoon the filling onto the dough and fold the short end of the dough onto the filling [picture 2]. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself [i didn't have a tablecloth so i rolled it with my hands] [picture 3, 4].
   
6. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
7. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown.
8. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

My "Colon" strudel... or so my bf says ;)

Curry Strudel