Allergy Friendly Mini Savory Bean Pie

Taking off from my previous post on Allergy Friendly Mini Coconut Pie…the inspiration for this savory pie also traces its roots to a Southern Indian dish, modak, traditionally made during the festive season. What I absolutely drool over in this recipe is – it so totally answers my constant search for tasty, nutritious and gourmet alternatives. This pie recipe is free of all the top 8 food allergens including soy and wheat but still packs an energetic vegetarian protein punch.

The making of Allergy Friendly (AF) Mini Savory Bean Pie…

Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup(s) of White Rice Flour
2/3 cup(s) of Hulled split Mung Bean/ Hulled Matpe Bean
1/4 tsp. of Pepper
5 tbsp. of shortening/ oil
1/4 tsp. of Salt

Steps

Crust:

In a heavy bottomed vessel add a pinch of salt and 2 tbsp shortening to 1 and ¼ cup water and bring it to a boil. Simultaneously, boil ¼ cup water and keep it aside.
Lower the flame completely and add the rice flour slowly while stirring the mixture constantly. If the dough seems too dry add the extra boiled water that had been kept aside. Turn off the heat and cover it with a damp kitchen paper towel. The dough forms in less than a minute.
As my dear friend Indu reminded me – once the dough cools down knead it thoroughly again to get a smoother crust. Thanks girl for the shout-out 🙂

Filling:

Wash and soak the mung bean/matpe bean in enough water to cover it completely for 2 hours.
Drain the water and grind it coarsely in a blender with just enough water so the blades can move.
Heat 2 tbsp of shortening on low flame in a small nonstick pan. Add the coarsely ground thick batter to the pan with salt to taste. Stir it constantly to ensure that it the batter has no excess moisture in it but remains moist. Remove from heat.

Putting it together:

Melt 1 tbsp of shortening. Use some of this to grease the inside of 6 ramikens using some of the melted butter substitute. On a pastry board spread out 1 square foot of plastic wrap. .
Grease the tip and palm of your fingers with a little bit of the melted butter. Take a ball of dough slightly bigger than a golf ball. Roll it into a smooth ball ensuring there are no lumps and press it down in the center of the spread out plastic wrap.
With the tips of your greased fingertips gently spread the dough to a size large enough to fit the bottom of the ramiken. Dough made from rice flour is a little brittle and will form cracks as your spread it. Don’t worry about it – just seal it with your fingers. In fact, the few cracks and rough edges add to the homemade country appeal.
Gently turn over the flattened dough onto the palm of your hand and press it down into the ramiken. Smooth out any rough edges or splits with your fingertips.
Add 1/6th of the prepared filling into the flattened dough lined ramiken. Now flatten out another ball of dough to fit the top of the mini-pie and lay it gently on top of the filling. Pinch the edges just like a regular pie. Use the edge of a greased fork to give the crimped look. Prepare the remaining mini-pies the same way.
If you own a steamer, place the ramikens on a plate that will fit inside the steamer and steam the pie for 12 – 14 minutes. You may need to steam the mini-pies in 2 batches.
If you don’t own a steamer: Take a big and deep vessel and add 2 inches of water to it. Place a vessel inside it and a plate on top of it. Now place the ramikens on the plate. Cover the vessel with a lid leaving a little gap for the steam to escape or cover it with a muslin cloth. Steam it on medium high flame for 12 – 14 minutes.
Wait for the steamer to cool down slightly before removing the steamed pies. Let the pies cool down…lo and behold – Allergy Friendly Mini Savory Bean Pies are ready to be served 🙂