Curried Vegan Pot Pie with Vegetables and Tofu

Pot pie is classic comfort food. The crust is flaky and buttery. Pot pies can be made with a variety of fillings.  It makes a wonderful main dish for a vegan or vegetarian holiday meal.  They’re a filling meal all by themselves so they can be a great standalone vegan/vegetarian option, served with a side of salad. For my version of the Curried Vegan Pot Pie, I have made individual serving portions in small 6-ounce ramekins.  I personally feel that the bottom crust gets soggy and the entire dish is very heavy if both the top and bottom are covered in pie crust.  Therefore, I have only covered the tops of the pot pie in pie crust.  The flaky top crust hides a filling of coconut curry sauce, vegetables, and tofu.

Pie Crust:   I have used a home-made vegan pie crust for this recipe. You can make the same recipe using regular butter if you are not vegan.  If you would like to save on time, there are some wonderful vegan and vegetarian pie crusts available in the grocery stores.  Use them to significantly cut down on your prep time and still make a stunning main course for your special meal.  In my humble opinion, there is nothing wrong in using some outside help at times when we need it. 

A few things to keep in mind when making home-made pie crust

Using a food processor makes it a bit easier for me, but you can mix the dough by hand. 

Use fridge cold butter and ice cold water for the dough.  This will make the dough flaky. 

Put the dough ball wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator for at least an hour before you roll it. 

While rolling, you may feel that the dough is falling apart, but keep pinching and bringing the dough back together. 

Use the ramekins for serving as your guide when you cut the rounds for the tops.  You want the rounds to be 3/4 inch bigger than the ramekins so there is an overlap.

Filling for Curried Vegan Pot Pie

I have used potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn and peas as the vegetables.  If there is a particular vegetable you do not like, leave it out and increase the quantity of the other vegetables a bit.  I have used tofu as the protein here but if you eat dairy, you can substitute paneer and it would taste wonderful.  Paneer is a semi soft Indian cheese that is easily available at any Indian store.  It does not come packed in water so it does not need to be pressed to remove water like tofu.  Cooking either tofu or paneer in the coconut curry sauce, helps it absorb the sauce and gives it a lot of flavor. 

Curry Powder and Spices used for Curried Vegan Pot Pie

I have used a store bought curry powder mix for this recipe. Curry powder is available at most grocery stores.  Curry powder is a mix of ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, mustard, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and red dry chilis.  As an Indian household, we have all of those spices handy but call me lazy that I just don’t like to pull 10 spices out when I can just use curry powder.  I find the proportion of spices in the curry powder mix perfect and don’t like to mess around with it.  But feel free to make your own blend of curry powder using the spices mentioned.  One tip would be that the curry powder mix is heavy on ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric and lower on the other spices.  You can find your favorite recipe online and make a big batch of the mix as well.  Maybe I will do it one of these days!!

I like things spicy, so I have used some extra red chili powder in the filling.   I would suggest that you taste the filling mix after it cooks and adjust for heat later. 

Through the holidays and the winter months is the perfect time to enjoy these vegan pot pies.

Make ahead and storage tips for Curried Vegan Pot Pie

You can make the filling and the pie crust 1-2 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. On the day you assemble the pot pies and bake them, remove the pie crust from the refrigerator 1/2 hour prior to rolling it. Proceed with assembly as the recipe indicates.

If you have any unused ramekins of pot pie, you can store them in a large plastic air tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator 1/2 – 1 hour prior to heating it in the oven. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

If you love the taste of curry and would like to try another vegan curry, please check out my recipe for Vegan Tofu Katsu Curry. So good!

Curried Vegetable and Tofu Pot Pie (Vegan)

Vegan Pot pie simmered in tasty curry sauce.

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Recipe by Divya Jhaveri

5 from 1 vote

Course: Main

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Baking Time

25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

• 1/2 cup green beans, diced in 1/2 inch pieces

• 1/2 cup frozen green peas

• 1/2 cup frozen corn

• 1 large yukon gold potato, peeled and diced in 1/2 inch pieces

• 6-8 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, packed in water

• 1 cup coconut milk

• 2 cups Vegetable Broth

• 1 tablespoon Corn starch

• 2 tablespoons Curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder (optional)

• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated

• 1 Bay leaf

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (I use Avocado oil)

• salt, to taste

• Vegan Pie Crust

• 1 3/4 cups All purpose flour

• 1/2 cup Vegan butter, cold, cut into pieces

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (I use Avocado oil)

• 3-5 tablespoon ice cold water

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

• Drain the tofu and press it down for about an hour to remove the extra water. Cut in ½ inch dice.
• Making the Crust
• Add flour, sugar, salt, butter and oil to a food processor. Pulse a few times for the butter pieces to break up and combine with the flour.
  
• With the food processor running, add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water. Add additional 2 tablespoons if the dough does not come together. Do not over mix. Stop immediately as the dough comes together.
• Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour while you make the filling.
• Making the Filling
• Heat 1 tbs oil in a wide skillet. When heated, add bay leaf and all the cut vegetables. Stir and cook for 2 minutes on medium high flame.
• Add curry powder, grated ginger and salt to the vegetable mix. Cook for another minute.
  
• Mix corn starch in 2 cups of vegetable stock. Add coconut milk, vegetable stock/corn starch mix to the vegetables. Also stir in the tofu. Bring it to a boil, cover and let this cook for 6-7 minutes. The gravy should thicken and the potatoes should be tender.
• Taste the filling and add red chili powder if you desire extra heat. Add lemon juice and turn off the heat. Let it cool completely before using it to make the pot pies.
• Assembling and Baking the Pot Pies
• On a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin, roll the chilled dough to about 1/8th inch thickness. Place the ramekins upside-down over the dough and use a paring knife to cut out circles about 3/4 inch larger on all sides. Cut 6 rounds.
  
• Ladle the filling in the individual serving ramekins, filling all 6 ramekins. Place a dough circle on top of each ramekin and press down on the sides for it to stick. Cut a few slits in the center of the crust for the steam to escape.
• Place the prepared pot pies in the refrigerator for half an hour to chill. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the chilled pot pies on a baking tray before placing it in the oven. The tray will catch drips, if any from the bubbling pot pies. Bake in the oven until golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Tips

• If you do not have a food processor, you can mix the pie crust dough by hand. Add flour, sugar, salt, butter and oil to a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Then, using your hands, rub the mixture together so the butter is absorbed in the flour. Gradually drizzle ice water into the bowl, mixing with the pastry blender or fork until the dough just comes together.
• Use store bought pie crust to significantly cut down on your preparation time for this dish.