Baked whole wheat apple pie pockets

These are as the title says baked whole wheat pie pockets. I had to come up with a recipe of my own because none of the posts I found on the Internet used whole wheat. Also the recipe draws inspiration from Indian sweet dishes so is a fusion so to say.

Because no fine white flour or baking powder is used the pie pockets don't become very crispy. When shared with friends at work the next day I got a comment saying the stuffing was worth trying out but in deep-fried pockets. You can add 1/2 the proportion of fine white flour to get crispiness and still bake it. The baking duration might be 5-7 minutes lesser depending upon the oven if fine white flour is used.

Took me about an hour for preparation. Baking time was 45-50 minutes.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

4-5 medium-sized red apples
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dry fig, cashewnuts and dates
1 1/2 tbsp poppy seed
1/4 cup or less of sugar
1-2 tsps cardamom or nutmeg powder

For the cover:

2-2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
Salt
Milk
Cooking oil
Butter for shallow-frying

To do:

Warm the milk just a bit and mix in the vanilla essence.
Add some salt to the flour for taste and mix it well. This is optional.
Mix in the milk with the flour gradually as you knead it into a dough. The dough shouldn't be too moist but soft enough that it gets moulded into shape without getting cracks.
Shape into lemon-sized balls and set aside covered with a moist cotton cloth.

For the stuffing:

Chop the apples into small pieces. I didn't peel them.

Add about half a tbsp butter to a pan. Heat it and before it reaches smoking point shallow fry the poppy seeds first and then the chopped cashewnuts separately. Set aside to cool.

Tip the apples in the pan and let cook until the juices are released. Add sugar if you are going to use any sugar. Let cook until apples are tender and most of the juice evaporates. But not for longer than ten minutes after the sugar is added.

Take down pan off heat, mix in all the dry fruit and poppy seeds. Add cardamom/nutmeg powder and mix well.

Take some milk in a small bowl before beginning with the pie pockets.

Roll out the dough into discs or squares about two inches in diameter. Lay out the stuffing flattening it gently at the center of each disc. For semi-circle shaped pockets lay out the stuffing at the center of the lower half of the disc.

I shaped them semi-roundish:

Pre-heat oven at 180 C for 15 minutes.

With your fingertips or a teaspoon line the sides of the disc with a few drops of milk. Close the pockets to wrap into square-shaped envelopes or semi-rounds. Use a drop of milk as glue at places where any open ends need sealing in.

Brush cooking oil on all sides of the wraps and lay them out on a mesh. Put in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Get them out and flip over.

You'll know if the temperature is too high or the other side needs to be baked longer than 25 minutes. Brush oil on the surface again if needed.

Let bake for another 20-25 minutes and let the pockets be in the oven for another 5 minutes before they are taken out.

The pockets taste better when warm or just give a quick round of re-heating before serving.