YUPB Foodie Corner: My Most Successful Healthy Nigerian Meatpie (Mr Bigs Style)

Yummylicious!!!

Meat pie is my favourite Nigerian snack. Everyone around me knows that.
I 've always tried to bake it but it's either the crust is too hard or the filling is just plan dry, my plight came to an end when I stumbled upon Dooneys Kitchen, in fact like she said in her meat pie post, as you are reading this, all your troubles with baking meat pies are dropping right now, as in, they are totally over! Lol. 

I learnt a few new tricks that got my meat pie to ass kicking levels! Like boy you need to have a taste of this! If not that I have to watch my weight, menn I could finish 4 or more of these delicious meat pies in one sitting.

 Just reminds me of the good old days Mr. Bigs meat pie with the creamy filling that hits the right notes as you devour each mouthful of meats, carrots and potatoes, with a hint of dried thyme. Ouch! I know I 've got someone salivating already. Wait till you 've tried this for yourself and then thank me later. In fact going this way, I could give most of these new eatries a run for their money. Lol. 

To make this meat pie as healthy as i could, i substituted one cup of plan flour to one cup of wheat flour.

Now I will share with you a step by step guide on how I achieved this delicious feat.

Nigerian Meat Pie Recipe 

for the dough you will need:

2 cups self rising flour
1 cup of wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

1 Nutmeg

250gm of margarine  (it's usually written on the pack, just check before buying)
1 cup of cold water (not chilled water)

For the Meat Filling

300gm of minced meat
3 sweet carrots
5 Irish potatoes
1 Spring onion
1 ball of red onion
Curry
Dried thyme 

Pinch Ghana pepper or black pepper
Salt
Seasoning cubes (preferably Knorr Chicken cubes)
Chilli peppers 1 red, 1 green
2 bay leaf
1 cooking spoon of olive/sunflower/soy oil

Now Let's Bake

For meat pie filling preparation:

1. Cube your carrots. parboil potatoes just a little in their skin and peel the skin off and cube. Cut chilli peppers in thin circles,cube your red onions, and dice your spring onions finely.

2. Pour your minced meat in a bowl and season with half teaspoon each of curry and dried thyme, 1 knorr chicken seasoning cube and a pinch of Ghana/cameroun pepper.

3. Pour 1 cooking spoon of oil into a non-stick frying pan, and fry seasoned minced meat until it is looks like tiny pebbles, golden light brown and tastes crunchy.

4. Pour your chopped ingredients from step 1. And fry for 5 minutes to soften the veggies. (If you don't want to parboil your potatoes first before chopping in cubes, you can cube them raw, rinse in warm water and then add it with other veggies at this stage, if you have parboiled your potatoes, then do not add them with your step 1 veggies)

 

5 . Add a little water into the meat now and allow is to cook for 5 minutes. All the water will be absorbed into the meat. Add a little more water and readjust taste witha pinch of salt, a cube of knorr seasoning cube, put in bay leafs, cover the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes then take out the bay leafs as we need just a hint of its flavour.

6. We want the meat to be soft and plum, so if at this point your sauce still looks dry and the meat still tastes crunchy, you can add a little water, take off the heat and allow it to stand for like 30 mins.( you can use this time to make your dough)

7. Put on your cooker again on very low heat. If the meat has absorbed all the water, still add a little more water and readjust taste with salt and knorr cubes.

8. Add cubbed potatoes.

9. Mix 1 heaped table spoon of corn flour with water, to liquid milk consistency, and stir into the meat. You will instantly see it turn saucy and creamy. Readjust the taste if necessary and cook on low heat for 2 mins.

10. Take off the fire. Now here goes your tasty Mr Bigs like yummylicious filling. Now be careful not to finish eating the filling all in the name of tasting o! Lmao.

For Your Dough ( pls note that your measurements here have to be precise)

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. If you don't have a self rising flour, this formula I got from Dooney works just fine

1 cup flour + 1 teaspoon Baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon salt=  Self rising flour.

2.  Pass all the dry ingredients through a sieve to incorporate air.

3. In a bowl, break the margarine into chunks and gently rub into the flour. Mix in until you get a garri/breadcrumb like consistency and turns pale yellow.

4. Slowly pour in a little water and mix. Please be careful here because this will determine the outcome of your crust. Pour water in gradually until your dough is firm and a bit rough. If your dough is not forming properly, just mix 1 teaspoon of milk in 1/4 cup of water and add to it.

5. Form your dough into a ball, wrap in a cling film and put in the freezer for 30 mins or 1 hour in the fridge.

6. Take out your dough from the refrigerator, you will notice a how smooth it looks now. knead the dough a little, cut off a small chunk and roll into a soft ball in between your palms.

7.Sprinkle a little flour on your rolling board and rolling pin,  then, using a rolling pin, roll out flat to about 1 cm thick. Remember not to rest your weight on the rolling pin, rather let the strenght come from your wrist so that you don't over flatten the dough.

8. Using a cookie cutter or any round cover that is wide enough, press down and trim off the edges.

9. Scoop in the filling into the middle of the circle,  be sure not to over fill.

10. Break the egg, whisk it and using a baking brush, brush on the egg to the round edges of the circle around the filling. Like you want to glue the two sides.

11. Fold over the dough to cover the filling totally. Then using a fork, dip in water and press down the edges of the pie all the water round, dragging towards you as you do so to totally seal up.

12. Grease your pan with the remaining margarine. Place pies on the pan and refrigerate until you have finished with the whole dough.

13. Preheat oven to 250 degrees you can taste for sufficient heat, by putting a piece of white paper in the oven, if it turns brown in 2mins then your oven is ready for you to bake.

14. Coat the pies with the remaining egg for a glistening finish, and bake the pies for 25 minutes.

Now you can enjoy that fantastic Mr Bigs like warm and yummy meat pie in the comfort of your home, snugged up under a blanky with a glass of juice by the side and tv remote in one hand, and of course the AC piping cold!