Pastel de choclo is what Chileans eat when winter starts. A clay-baked casserole of slow-cooked pino (the same hand-diced beef and onion mixture that fills empanadas), topped with a thick lid of pureed corn that has been cooked with milk, butter, and fresh basil, then baked until the top crust caramelises into something between a custard and a souffle. The corn is the star: in Chile they use choclo — a specific large-kernelled field corn with a starchy, less-sweet character than American sweetcorn. In Dubai, you cannot buy choclo. But you can fake it convincingly with frozen sweetcorn from Spinneys and a small adjustment to the technique. This guide explains the dish, names the one place in Dubai you can order it, and gives you a working home recipe that feeds six people for under AED 90 in ingredient cost.
The dish is sometimes called the Chilean shepherd's pie, but the comparison undersells it. Shepherd's pie has mashed potato on top; pastel de choclo has a corn-and-basil custard. The pino underneath is not browned ground meat — it is cubed beef chuck cooked low and slow with caramelised onions, cumin, paprika, oregano, then topped with a piece of chicken thigh, a hard-boiled egg, an olive, and a few raisins (the same architecture as the empanada de pino). The whole thing goes into a traditional fired-clay bowl called a paila and bakes in a hot oven until the top is bronzed.
Where to Eat Pastel de Choclo in Dubai
As of May 2026, only one venue serves a proper pastel de choclo on a regular menu: Sabores del Sur in Al Quoz. It is on the weekend menu (Thursday through Saturday lunch only) and costs AED 78 per individual paila. They use frozen sweetcorn supplemented with crème fraîche to mimic the starchy choclo texture, and the pino underneath is excellent — same recipe as their empanadas. Order with a Carménère and the empanada de pino as a starter.
Coya occasionally features pastel de choclo as a special during Chilean Independence Week (mid-September). La Mar does not serve it; pastel de choclo is decidedly Chilean, not Peruvian. The Latin American Cultural Centre at Mall of the Emirates hosts a Chilean ladies' lunch club that cooks pastel de choclo in family-sized pailas once a month — you have to know someone or DM their Instagram. We have eaten three of them.
The Working Home Recipe
Yield: 6 individual pailas (or one 30cm baking dish). Active time: 1 hour. Total: 2.5 hours.
Pino (filling)
- 600g beef chuck, 1cm dice (not minced — this is non-negotiable)
- 4 large brown onions, finely diced
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano, salt, pepper
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 150ml beef stock
- 6 chicken thighs, boneless skinless, salt + pepper
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
- 12 black olives, pitted
- 30g raisins, soaked in warm water
Corn topping (the masa)
- 1kg frozen sweetcorn kernels, defrosted
- 200ml whole milk
- 80g butter
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche (this fakes the choclo starch character)
- 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
- 1 tsp salt, white pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar (for the caramel crust)
Method
- Cook the pino: oil in heavy pan, sweat onions 20 minutes until very soft and translucent. Add beef and spices, brown 5 minutes. Add vinegar and stock, simmer uncovered 25 minutes. Season. Cool 30 minutes (the resting helps the flavour).
- Pan-fry the chicken thighs 4 minutes per side in a separate pan, season well. Slice into thick strips. Reserve.
- Make the corn masa: blend defrosted corn (reserve 200g whole kernels) with milk until you have a coarse puree. Melt butter in a saucepan, add the corn puree, basil leaves chopped fine, crème fraîche, salt, and white pepper. Cook 12 minutes stirring constantly until thickened to a sloppy mashed potato consistency. Fold in the reserved whole kernels for texture.
- Assemble: spoon pino into each clay paila (or a single 30cm dish). Top each with chicken slices, half a hard-boiled egg, 2 olives, a few raisins. Spread corn masa over the top, 1.5cm thick. Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar over each.
- Bake at 200°C for 25 minutes. Then grill on high for 4 minutes to caramelise the corn topping to a deep bronze.
- Rest 5 minutes. Serve directly in the paila with Carménère.
Dubai-specific tips
- Choclo substitute: 1kg frozen sweetcorn + 3 tbsp crème fraîche gets you 90% of the way. Adding 2 tbsp instant polenta to the masa makes it 95%.
- Pailas (clay bowls): Spinneys Carrefour sometimes stocks them at the home-goods aisle. Otherwise use 15cm ovenproof ramekins. Cast-iron mini-cocottes work brilliantly.
- Beef chuck: ask the butcher at Spinneys for "boneless beef chuck for stewing" and ask them NOT to mince it. Specify 1cm dice. Brazilian beef works better than Australian for this.
- Wine pairing: Carménère from MMI (Errazuriz Max Reserva AED 110, Montes Alpha AED 175). A robust Malbec works as a substitute.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between pastel de choclo and shepherd's pie?
Shepherd's pie has mashed potato on top of minced or shredded lamb. Pastel de choclo has a corn-and-basil custard on top of hand-diced beef chuck, with a piece of chicken thigh, a hard-boiled egg, an olive, and a raisin tucked inside. The corn topping is sweetened slightly with a sprinkle of sugar before baking so the top caramelises. It is structurally a richer, more complex dish.
Can I use canned corn instead of frozen?
Frozen is better. Canned sweetcorn has been boiled in salt water and the kernels are softer and waterlogged — your masa will be too wet. If you must use canned, drain very thoroughly and reduce the milk in the recipe by 50ml. Frozen sweetcorn from Spinneys is closer to the starchy texture of Chilean choclo.
What is a paila and do I need one?
A paila is a wide, shallow clay or terracotta bowl about 15cm in diameter — the traditional vessel for serving pastel de choclo. The clay retains heat and lets the corn topping caramelise unevenly. It is not essential. Cast-iron mini-cocottes work very well. Ceramic ramekins (15cm) work fine. A single 30cm enamelled cast-iron baking dish for the family-size version is what most home cooks in Chile actually use.
Can I make pastel de choclo ahead?
Yes. Cook the pino up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. The corn masa can be made same-day but loses some texture if held overnight. Best approach: assemble the dish the morning of, refrigerate, and bake fresh in the evening. Pre-baked pastel de choclo reheats reasonably well at 180 degrees C for 15 minutes covered, then 5 minutes uncovered — but it will never quite match a freshly baked one.
