Indulge & Devour: Quiche

Quiche is a savory pie. This pie is super delicious and sinfully scrumptious. Prepare in an hour, it's heavenly!

You will need, Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 200g all purpose flour

• 100g butter

• 1 egg

• Cold water as required

For the filling:

• 150g chicken

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 tsp garlic paste

• 100g cheese grated

• 150ml milk

• 100ml fresh cream

• 50g green peas

• 50g corn kernels

• 1 large capsicum chopped

• 1 large carrot grated

• 1/2 bunch spring onions

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• Pinch of mixed herbs

• Salt to taste

Step 1: prepare the short crust pastry

Freeze butter till it hardens before proceeding for the pastry preparation. Short crust pastry is prepared by mixing butter and egg with flour. Preheat oven to 200'C.

Use a dough cutter to powder butter in flour. While making pastry, we are powdering frozen butter. Using a dough cutter in faster speed helps to get the powdery texture.

Make pastry in a cool environment. Stay away from the heat of gas and oven.

Keep going on. Chop-chop sound gradually gets lower when you are faster.

Now use your fingers (make sure your hands are dry) to check the texture. Keep smoothing the flour and butter with light fingers.

This process takes a little time, but it's worth to wait for what is about to come. There should be no butter lumps in the flour. If there are any, Keep using dough cutter. Don't forget the pie is deadly delicious because its made with perfection.

Alright, beat an egg and mix to the pastry flour. Knead patiently, add 2 tsp water. Don't add water in large quantity, this dough is not similar to the normal dough. Use very little water again if required.

Short crust pastry dough requires very less water.

The Dough is ready! Cover your dough with a damp cloth and refrigerate for 20 minutes undisturbed.

Remove from refrigerator. Use a rolling pin and roll the dough in a round pie tray shape by 1/2 cm thickness. According to this recipe, pastry dough will be enough for a 9x9 inch round pie tray. If you have small pie trays, then divide your pastry dough.

Fork press the sides continuously till you reach the end. Again fork press randomly on the base for air to pass.

Bake in oven for 25 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the filling.

Step 2:

Heat oil in a non stick pan, add garlic paste. Stir for 2 minutes, add chicken and sauté for 5 minutes. Add all vegetables, black pepper and mixed herbs. Add salt accordingly. Mix milk and fresh cream and to the sautéed vegetables. Turn the heat off. Stir well and add grated cheese.

Remove Short crust pastry from the oven very carefully. Don't turn off the oven.

Pie trays are very dangerous, especially the removable base trays. They are very DANGEROUS! Be careful, wear good quality oven gloves.

You will notice the sides have shrunken. All purpose flour dough shrinks after exposing to heat. The baked pastry will appear hard and crusty. You have reached beyond the halfway...kudos!

Step 3:

Transfer all the filling in the short crust pastry. Spread evenly. Pop in the oven again for 20 minutes.

Oh finally the oven alarm rings. Yes! Its done! But relax!!! Don't rush in excitement and touch the hot piping pie-tray. A year back I did the same thing and I have an everlasting scar on my wrist. It never fades, sigh!

Keep your oven door open for 10 minutes. Remove the pie tray very carefully. Leave it with its tray to cool down again for 10 minutes more.