Soft Trinidad Aloo Pie Recipe: Savory Fried Pie with Seasoned Potato Filling

Aloo pies are long, deep-fried pies that are stuffed with seasoned potatoes (aloo). The seasonings used here include cumin (geera) powder and fresh Caribbean green seasoning made with chadon beni (culantro), garlic, and pepper.

Aloo pies are popular street food and are usually served with well seasoned channa (chickpeas) or sauces like tamarind and mango.

The origins of Trinidad aloo pies are likely from India’s aloo kachori or aloo ki kachori.

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Aloo pie ingredients

If you aren’t serving doubles channa with your aloo pies, you can pick up tamarind sauce or mango chutney on Amazon.

Equipment

No special equipment is needed for making this recipe.

How to make aloo pie trini style

Cook the potatoes

Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cut them in half. Add to a pot of water on medium heat and leave to boil until the potatoes are soft. This can take about 30 – 40 minutes. Once soft all the way through, set aside to cool.

Alternatively, you can cook the potatoes in the microwave for about 8 – 10 minutes.

Knead the dough

Here’s the aloo pie dough recipe. In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together. Rub the butter into the mixture until fully incorporated.

Next, add water a little at a time and knead to form a soft, smooth dough. I used 1.5 cups of water here to bring everything together. Cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes.

Make the stuffing

Using a blender, food processor, or the fine side of a grater, grind the onion, garlic, pepper, and fresh herbs (or Caribbean green seasoning) together. You can make the seasoning a little chunky (like below) or smoother – the choice is yours.

Peel the cooked potatoes, mash them and add the ground seasonings, cumin or geera powder, salt, and butter. Mix thoroughly, taste test and adjust the flavor to your liking with more salt, pepper, etc.

Stuff the dough

Punch down the dough and divide it into 2-inch balls. Flatten one dough ball and add flour to one side. The flour will make sure the filling spreads out and doesn’t stick onto or tear the dough.

Add a spoonful of the seasoned potatoes. Pinch the edges of the flattened dough together to seal the stuffing inside the dough. You don’t want to roll the edges together as this will create lines in the aloo pie when frying (which I learned the hard way).

Dust flour on the stuffed dough and set aside. Repeat for all the other dough balls, then cover and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

Fry the aloo pies

Place a large pot on medium heat. Add at least three to four inches of oil for deep frying. Allow the oil to heat up – you want it nice and hot.

Rub your hands with oil. Take one of the stuffed dough balls and flatten it between your hands from your fingers to your palm. Gently push the filling around to ensure even distribution in the pie. Some use flour and roll the pies out with a rolling pin. But, excess flour on the pies will end up in the hot oil and eventually burn. If you want to use the oil on another day, skip the flour and use oil instead to flatten the pies.

Once the oil is nice and hot, add a couple flattened aloo pies and leave to cook for 3 – 5 minutes, then flip over and fry for another 3 – 5 minutes. The pies should puff up and float to the top but if they brown too quickly, lower the heat.

Once the dough is cooked, remove from the heat and store place in a sealable container with grease paper or napkins. Cover the container to trap the heat and steam. This will ensure your pies are soft and fluffy. If you do not cover them, the aloo pies will remain crispy.

Serve the pies when hot with channa (chickpeas) or your favorite sauces like tamarind, mango and more.

More Trini street food recipes

What is the difference between aloo pie and doubles?

Aloo pie and doubles are popular, deep-fried street food options in Trinidad and Tobago. While they have similar East Indian origins, they also have composition, texture and flavor differences.

An aloo pie is a long, narrow pie stuffed with potato (or aloo) that has been seasoned with cumin (geera), culantro (chadon beni), garlic, and pepper. After the pie is deep fried until golden brown, it is cut along its length to form a pocket. This pocket can be filled with seasoned chickpeas or sauces like tamarind and mango.

Doubles consists of two yellow, round, fried dough called bara. The bara is topped with the same seasoned chickpeas and sauces like tamarind, mango, pepper and culantro (or chadon beni). Additional toppings like shredded cucumber and coconut chutney can also be added.

An aloo pie is thicker and has more of a pillow soft texture, thanks to the dough and potato. The cumin dominates the taste, alongside the flavors of the chickpeas and sauces. A doubles is much thinner with the bara having a melt-in-your-mouth feel. The same flavors of the chickpeas and sauces also dominate the doubles.

Both are amazing! Toppings are requested on the spot at the street vendor so you can customize each order.

Aloo pie recipe