Nigerian Meat Pie is my go-to Nigerian pastry. I always make sure I’ve got them stored away in my freezer so I can easily reach for them whenever I begin to crave junk food. Nigerian meat pie is quite easy to make, you can even use the same recipe for Chicken pie, just replace the minced meat with minced chicken and you’re good to go.

I thought I loved my Meat Pie plain and simple until I got to speak with someone recently who wanted me to make meat pies for him but he wanted just the mince and potatoes in them, nothing more. No carrots, no peppers, no onions, nothing! Just the mince and potatoes, different strokes ei?  Truth be told I’m not a fan of “crowded” meat pies as well, I love to keep them as simple as possible.

So here’s my simple Nigerian Meat Pie recipe, this recipe should make 8-9 medium size meat pies. Now, let’s begin…

So here’s my simple Nigerian Meat Pie recipe, this recipe should make 8-9 medium size meat pies. Now, let’s begin…

Filling Ingredients:

300 Grams Minced Meat

1 Big Irish Potato

1 Big Carrot

1 Medium Onion

2 Heaped Tablespoon Plain Flour

11/2 Cup Water

1 Cooking spoon Vegetable Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Thyme

1/2 teaspoon Curry Powder

2 knorr Chicken Cubes

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder (optional)

Salt to Taste

Dough Ingredients

500 Grams Plain Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

250 Grams Margarine/ Baking butter

1/4 Cup Cold Water

Pinch of Salt

Filling Method:

Dice your potatoes, onions and carrots and set aside…

Place a pot or wok on a hob on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil, when it’s hot, add the onions and sauté till translucent…

Now add the mince meat, stir thoroughly to break up clumps. Fry for 2-3 minutes or till it loses its pinkness.

Now add the diced potatoes and carrots, then add a cup of water, also add the Knorr cubes, thyme, curry powder, garlic powder and salt to taste, cover and let it cook till the vegetables are soft…

While that’s cooking, mix 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/2 cup of water, mix till you get a milky consistency and set aside.
When the vegetables are well cooked, add the flour and water mixture, mix thoroughly…

Now switch the heat off and let it continue to simmer with the residual heat for 2-3 minutes
Your end product should have a somewhat creamy consistency and not dry, you need the moisture so the baked filling can taste and look gooey. You should end up with something like this:

Now set aside. It’s time to prepare the dough…

Dough Method:

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together then sift to get rid of clumps…

Add the margarine/ baking butter…

Mix the margarine with the flour till you get a bread crumbs like consistency, like this:

Create a little well in the mixture, add the water gradually, be careful not to pour it all in at once, you may not need it all.

Work and knead the dough till you get a thick and non sticky dough. Now wrap it up in cling film and leave in a fridge for about 1/2 an hour…

While you’re waiting on the dough to cool off a bit, break an egg into a small plate, whisk and set aside.
After half an hour, take out the dough and place on a flat surface. You’ll notice the consistency of the dough has improved and is more manageable.

Now knead for a bit, be careful not to over knead. Now cut the dough into smaller pieces and roll. Get yourself a dough cutter or just a saucepan lid and cut out circles. The size of the circle will depend on your intended pie size.

Now scoop up 1-2 tablespoons of filling unto the middle of the cut out dough; making sure there’s enough room to seal it up.

Now, rub the egg mixture on the edges of the dough, this will help seal it up properly…
Now close it up and use a fork to press down the edges…

Repeat the same process with the remaining dough; rolling, cutting and filling till you’ve exhausted your dough and filling then place all your pies all on the baking tray and lightly glaze the top of each pie with the whisked egg.
Pierce each pie using a fork to allow steam seep out while baking..
Now place the tray in the pre heated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Depending on your kind of oven, you may need to turn the pies over at some point to allow them cook on both sides.
They are ready when they are fully cooked and begin to brown on the outside.

Nigerian meat pies are best served and eaten while hot…