Empanadas in Spiral Shells

The empanada is of Spanish and Portuguese origin. Usually filled with vegetables and some meat. The name comes from the word empanar which means to wrap in bread. Introduced to many places and became really popular. The shape varies from country to country as well as the filling. The Asian version is called curry puffs of spiced potatoes in a special spiral shell.  I thought of making some with a usual  empanada filling in a special spiral shell. Here they are crispy, crumbly and tasty!

Here's how. Make the empanada filling first. Sautee 1 cup of cubed chicken breast with 1/2 of an onion then add 1 1/2  cups of tiny diced potatoes, 10 chopped filled olives, 1/2 of red bell pepper, 1/3 cup green peas and season with salt and pepper. Cook with about 1/2 cups of water until potatoes are soft or until water have evaporated. Set aside and make the shells.

Put 2 cups of flour in one big bowl and 1 cup of flour  in a small bowl. In the big one add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, 1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp salt. Mix thoroughly then add about less than 1/2 cup of cold water little at a time to make a smooth but firm dough. In the small bowl add 1/3 cups of vegetable oil and mix to make a dough soft enough to spread. Add a few drops more oil if necessary.

Roll the big dough into about a foot rectangle and place the smaller oil dough on the top upper half of the  bigger dough. Make sure it is within 1/2 inch border.

Fold in half covering the oil dough completely and seal it, making sure no air is trapped inside.

Shape the dough by pressing and rolling a 30 or more inch by 11 inch rectangular. The dough should be thin enough to roll into a log.

When rolled, slice off the uneven tip of the log and slice the next one into about 3/4 of an inch. Put the spiral dough flat on a piece of plastic wrap and carefully roll it into about 4 1/2 inch in diameter round to wrap about 2 tsp of filling. The log should yield 12 or more empanadas. Close the shell with the aid of the plastic wrap forming half a circle by pinching the edges flatly then beginning from one end folding each pinched edge consecutively until the other end. Deep fry them in vegetable oil until golden. Place them on paper towels to absorb excess oil and serve.

Empanadas are usually severed as snacks or pass around food for picnics and at parties. Enjoy!