Prawn Rissois

Before you start

• The dough is a hot-water pastry made in a pan, not a rolled shortcrust. It must be worked while hot, so have a bowl and a wooden spoon ready.
• The filling has to be cold and stiff before you fill anything. Make it first and refrigerate it an hour.
• These freeze beautifully at the crumbed stage, which is how most Goan households actually make them. Assemble one day, fry the next.

Method

1. For the filling, cook the onion, garlic and green chilli in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add the chopped prawns, pepper and salt and cook 3 minutes, until just pink, then stir in 2 tbsp of the flour and 1/2 cup of the milk.Three minutes maximum. The prawns cook again in the fryer.
3. Cook 3-4 minutes more, stirring, until it thickens into a stiff paste that holds a ridge. Finish with lemon and coriander and chill 1 hour.
4. For the dough, bring the water, remaining milk, remaining butter and 1 tsp salt to a rolling boil.
5. Tip in the rest of the flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon until it forms a single ball that leaves the pan clean, about 2 minutes.All at once and beat immediately. Adding it gradually gives you lumps you will never get out.
6. Turn it out, and as soon as you can bear the heat, knead 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
7. Roll the warm dough thin, about 2mm, and cut 9cm rounds.Work with a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest covered. It stiffens fast and cracks when cold.
8. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling on each round, fold into a half-moon and seal the edge firmly, pressing out any air.
9. Dip each in beaten egg, then press into the breadcrumbs to coat evenly. Chill 20 minutes.
10. Heat the oil to 175C (a crumb dropped in should sizzle and rise at once) and fry in batches of five for 3 minutes, until deep gold.Too hot and the crumb burns before the pastry cooks; too cool and they drink oil. Adjust between batches.
11. Drain on a rack, not paper, and serve hot.

Safe temperatures: Prawns, crab and squid are done when the flesh is opaque and pearly right through. Egg dishes are done at 71°C / 160°F; a whole egg when the yolk and white are both firm. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov

Storage

Fry to order. Crumbed, unfried rissois keep 3 months frozen on a tray then bagged. Fry from frozen, two minutes longer. Fried ones go soft within a few hours.