Whole wheat masala buns

Somewhere during the end of the week, I get bored of making the same kind of food for dinner every day. But the weather in Chennai has been a bit too harsh in the last few days. Surprisingly we got some rains last evening and infact I got fully wet when I went out to buy veggies. So it was decided by me n Neha, that lets make some soup and dinner rolls instead of chapati and subzi. So here are some amazingly soft and flavourful mini masala buns made with wheat flour.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour 300 gm
• Salt to taste
• Sugar 2 tsp
• Instant yeast 3/4-1 tsp
• Milk 120 ml or 1/2 cup
• Water ~ 120 ml or 1/2 cup
• Onion 1
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Sesame seeds 2 tsp
• Green chilies 2-3
• Ginger 1 inch piece
• Garlic cloves 3-4
• Curry leaves 2-3 sprigs
• Coriander leaves 2-3 sprigs
• Olive oil 2 tbsp

Method:

• Chop the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and the coriander leaves finely.
• Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadhai and add the cumin seeds.
• When they splutter, add the sesame seeds and the chopped veggies.

• Add salt and saute for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.
• Take the wheat flour in a big mixing bowl.
• Add sugar and yeast and mix well.

• Now add the sauteed mixture and more salt if required and mix well.

• Now add the milk and start mixing the ingredients. You can knead the dough on a clean kitchen counter.
• Slowly add the water (you might require more or less water than described here depending upon your flour and the weather conditions) slowly and knead into a soft and smooth dough.
• Knead for atleast 10-12 minutes till you feel that the dough is sufficiently soft and pliable. Sprinkle oil while kneading and use a bench scrapper when the dough sticks to the counter. Do not be tempted to add more dry flour.
• Oil a big bowl and transfer the dough into this bowl.
• Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel or muslin cloth. You can apply some milk or oil on the surface of the dough to avoid formation of skin or drying out of the dough.
• Allow the dough to rise to double of its volume. This may take around 45 minutes to 1 hour or slightly more depending on the temperature of your place and the quality of your yeast and the mood of the yeast. Your dough is ready to be shaped when you poke two fingers in the dough and the indentation remains.

• Once the dough is doubled in size, punch out the gases and knead again for a minute or two.
• Meanwhile grease a cake tin if you want to make pull apart buns or line baking tray with parchment paper if you plan to bake individual buns. I have used a 10 inch round cake tin.
• With the above measurements, I got around 720-730 grams of dough.
• Divide the dough into equal sized balls and shape it into right rolls by cupping the dough in your palm and circling it on the counter.
• Place these buns on the greased tin and brush the top with water or milk.

• Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.
• Cover the tin with the muslin cloth and allow to proof for around 20-25 minutes or till the buns look puffy and fill up the gaps in the tin.

• Meanwhile preheat the oven at 180-200 degree Celsius for atleast 10 minutes.
• Place the tin in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or till it looks done and golden in colour.
• Remove the tin from the oven and brush the top with ghee/butter or oil and sprinkle some finely chopped coriander leaves.
• Allow the buns to cool in the tin for 2-3 minutes and then loosen the sides with a spatula and invert it onto a plate. Do not keep the buns in the tin for a long time. The base or bottom will get soggy.

• Serve it warm with chutney or sauce or any soup of your choice.

Notes:

• Please do not follow the liquid measurements and the proofing time in the recipe blindly. It varies with the weather, temperature of your kitchen, quality and type of your flour and the potency of your yeast. In addition to this, some days the yeast can act a bit crazy and refuse to rise soon. So please follow your instincts. Practice and experience will make you perfect.
• My each ball weighed around 20-25 grams. You can make individual buns with dough weighing around 50-60 gram and bake it in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. You will get around 12 good sized buns.
• The choice of herbs and spices is entirely yours. You can even add some stuffing. Or even add 1 or 2 boiled and mashed potato to the dough whole kneading.
• Knead well and allow the dough to proof well.