This deeply seasoned vegetable pot pie has an amazing flavor from garam masala and other Indian spices! Topped with crispy, puff pastry rounds, this is a total comfort food casserole.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian Fusion, Vegan

Ingredients

For the Masala Sauce

  • 1 3/4 cups non dairy milk (such as unsweetened plain almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk or cashew milk. Use 2 cups for more sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon flour (unbleached all purpose or use rice flour for gluten-free)
  • 2 tablespoons cashews (or use 1 tablespoons flour)
  • 3 cloves of garlic (or 3/4 teaspoons garlic powder)
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 hot green Chile such as serrano (or use cayenne to preference)
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (or 1/2 tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg)
  • 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ground mustard and cayenne(use lesser cinnamon if your garam masala is cinnamon-y)
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar (or maple syrup, omit if using sweetened milk or coconut milk)
  • 2 teaspoon oil (optional)

For the Pot Pie

  • 1 1/2 cup fresh baby greens (or 1 cup frozen spinach)
  • 1.5 to 2 cups veggies (such as cauliflower, green beans, carrot, peas, zucchini, broccoli)
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas or cubed tofu, (optional)
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1 sheet puff pastry (rolled out and then cut into 2.5" circles with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter, or use vegan biscuit dough)
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk (optional)

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 425° F (220º C).
  2. In a blender, add all the masala sauce ingredients. Blend well. Taste and adjust salt and spice, if needed. Do not add too much, as the spices and flavors get stronger while baking.
  3. Add all of the baby greens and veggies to your baking dish (8x10 inch or similar size ceramic, glass or stoneware), then pour on the sauce, and mix well to combine. Cover the dish loosely with parchment paper or foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil or parchment carefully. Meanwhile, roll out your puff pastry, if using, so it's about 2" wider than it originally was. Cut it into circles or whatever shapes you like.
  4. If using puff pastry, arrange the puff pastry cutouts over the top of the casserole. Then quickly Mix the maple syrup and non-dairy milk, and brush it onto the tops of the puff pastry(optional). Immediately Put dish back in the oven, Bake for 17 to 19 minutes until golden. If using biscuit dough that is not already in biscuit shape, pat down into 3/4 inch thick rectangle, use cookie cutter to cut biscuits, place biscuit dough in the casserole over the veggies. Put the dish back in the oven for 18 minutes or until golden. Cool for a few minutes, add a dash of cayenne and serve.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.