Cookbook:Nigerian Meat Pie

Nigerian meat pies are tasty pastries stuffed with minced beef, potatoes, and carrots. The filling is moist and tasty, and the dough is somewhat flaky and rich in flavor. These meat pies are quite popular in Nigeria and West Africa. If you haven't tried Nigerian meat pie yet, you must do it immediately; it is the ultimate comfort food!

The number of meat pies you can make with this recipes is determined by the size of the meat pie cutter you use.

Filling

 * Vegetable oil
 * Onion, cleaned and chopped
 * Minced meat
 * 1 seasoning cube
 * Thyme
 * 1 Irish potato, peeled and chopped
 * Carrot, peeled and chopped
 * 1 tablespoon plain flour
 * ¼ cup cold water
 * Salt

Dough

 * 1 kg plain flour
 * Baking powder
 * Salt
 * Margarine, cut into small pieces
 * ½ cup cold water

Other ingredients

 * 1 egg

Filling

 * 1) Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat.
 * 2) Add the diced onions, and stir for a bit until softened.
 * 3) Add the minced meat, and stir vigorously until the meat turns pale. Add the stock cube and thyme.
 * 4) Add enough water to just cover the minced beef. Cover the pot, and bring to a boil.
 * 5) Add the diced carrots and potatoes, and cook until tender.
 * 6) Combine flour and cold water. When the filling is cooked, mix in the flour paste. This keeps the filling moist and prevents it from drying up during baking.
 * 7) Season the filling with salt to taste. Stir the contents and turn off the heat.
 * 8) Set the filling aside to cool down completely.

Dough

 * 1) Sift the flour into a sizeable bowl; add the baking powder and salt. You do not need a lot of salt for the dough because the meat pie gets most of its taste from the filling. Mix these dry ingredients very well.
 * 2) Add the margarine to the flour. The smaller you make the bits of margarine, the easier it will be for you to rub them into the flour.
 * 3) Use your finger tips to rub the margarine into the flour until the mixture resembles crumbs.
 * 4) Add cold water in bits, and mix by hand until a stiff ball of dough is formed. At most, you should only need ½ cup of water for this amount of flour.
 * 5) Place the dough on a flat surface and knead until smooth.
 * 6) Put the dough back in the bowl. Cover, and leave it to rest for about 10 minutes. This gives the dough a softer texture and makes it easier to work with.

Assembly

 * 1) Break the egg, beat it, and set aside; you will use it for glazing.
 * 2) Rub margarine on the insides of a baking tray and set aside. This is so that the undersides of the meat pies do not burn or stick to the tray during baking.
 * 3) Set your oven to 170°C (335°F) and leave to preheat while you continue with the meat pie. For fan ovens, set to 150°C (300°F) or gas mark 3 or 4.
 * 4) Knead the dough again. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 5-mm thickness. If well mixed, the dough should not stick to the surface.
 * 5) Use a round 8-inch (20 cm) cutter to cut circles in the rolled-out dough.
 * 6) Remove the excess dough, leaving behind the circles.
 * 7) Scoop some filling into the centre of the dough circles—the quantity should be such that you can comfortably close the dough without overflow.
 * 8) Brush some beaten egg on the inside edge of the dough circle. This helps to seal in the filling while baking.
 * 9) Fold one half of the dough circle over the other half, enclosing the filling inside.
 * 10) Press the two edges of the pastry together with a fork to seal it, making sure that the top and bottom dough are combined. This is so that the pie does not open  during baking.
 * 11) Transfer the pies to the greased baking tray.
 * 12) Bake the pies in the preheated oven until golden brown.
 * 13) Remove and cool slightly before serving.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Whatever type of oven you have, the important thing to note is that the best meat pies are the ones baked at medium heat. You can confirm that the meat pie is done when it starts browning. It is alright to open the oven to check this.
 * Do not substitute butter for the margarine.
 * You can use the cover of a small pot or pastry cutter to cut out the dough circles.