Think Cornish pasties, only smaller and spicier. Curry Puff or known to the locals as Karipap is a savoury snack taken as breakfast in the morning or late afternoon tea. But being Penangnites, food is consumed at any time of the day and so is Curry Puff.

What is a Curry Puff?

Curry Puffs are crescent shaped parcels made from local pastry with spicy potato and onion curry filling. These are not your saucy curry served with roti or rice but the dry type. The potato and onion curry puffs is most common but there are also the meaty and sweet variety. Depending on the vendor some curry fillings are spicier than others.

Other than the vegetarian curry potato and onion filling, there is also a meaty version with cubes of curried chicken and a generous amount of potato and onion filling.

Deep fried to golden brown, these puffs are crunchy and tasty with a crumbly crust on the edge.

Other Varieties of the Puffs

Sweet variations called the Kaya Puff and Peanut Puff with sweet caramel or pandan jam and crushed peanut filling respectively are available from bakeries. Although these are baked rather than deep fried and uses a different pastry mix.

One is never enough, once you had a taste of the curry puff, we will definitely be back for more.

Where can I get Curry Puff?

Curry puffs are found at local cake stalls in the morning markets. Indian and Malay street food stalls also offer these. It is usually sold with other delicious ready made cakes known as ‘kuih’. If you are lucky you might come across ‘specialist’ Curry Puff stalls that prepare them fresh with its gas fired deep fryer.