Khara Buns | Savory Buns..Iyengar Bakery Style!!

One more thing I love about Bangalore is those Iyengar bakeries which are widely spread across the city though few of them are pretty famous and are serving from few decades.Though there are so many stuffs to try in those bakeries,one should not miss to taste khara bun,palya bun,khara bread,plain cake,benne biscuit,khara biscuit,coconut cookies and baking nipattu as I am really fond of all these varieties.V.B bakery in V.V.puram is one of those oldest bakeries in Bangalore which sells few amazing bakery stuff and is also very famous in that area.

There are lots of variations for savory buns in Blogosphere,the version I am posting today looks and tastes similar to what we get in those Iyengar's bakeries and hence to avoid the confusion I named it as Iyengar bakery style and please note that this is not an authentic recipe from Iyengar bakery.I just like to eat those spicy soft buns as my evening snack with a cup of tea.

Khara Buns | Savory Buns Recipe:
(yields 7-8 buns)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour/Maida + 2-3 tbsp extra flour approx while kneading if necessary
1 1/2 tsp active dried Yeast
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Water
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Salt

for masala:
3/4 cup finely chopped Onions
5-6 Green chillies,coarsely ground
a sprig of Curry leaves,finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped Coriander
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Salt to taste
1 tsp Oil

Other ingredients:
1 tbsp Butter,to brush the buns
1 tbsp Milk,to brush the buns
1 tsp Sesame seeds(optional),to sprinkle over the buns

Method:

• Microwave water and milk together for 30 seconds until it is luke warm to touch.Pour this into a wide bottomed bowl.It should be luke warm to touch otherwise the yeast will not proof.
  
• Dissolve in the sugar and yeast in it and mix thoroughly until dissolved.Leave this aside for 10-15 mins until the yeast mixture becomes frothy.This is the important step in proceeding further to the recipe.If the yeast does not proof throw it and start the process again from the scratch.
• Meanwhile heat olive oil or regular oil in a pan and crackle cumin seeds over low flame and add very finely chopped onion and fry until it is translucent,add a pinch of salt in between to ease the process.Add coarsely ground chilli paste and stir fry for a minute.Add enough salt to it and do remember that we add salt even to the dough.Keep it aside until the mixture is cooled.
• Add finely chopped coriander to it and mix well.
  
• Stir in the melted butter and salt to the frothy yeast mixture and slowly add one cup of flour into it and mix well,I used a wire whisk for this purpose.Add the remaining flour slowly and mix until you get a lump of smooth dough.
• Now put some flour on the broad white board or feel free to use the well cleaned and wiped kitchen platform(like I did) and take the lump in both hands and knead the bread towards you.
• Follow the same method and knead it properly for 10 mins roughly until you get a non-sticky but still smooth dough.Add flour in between when the dough is sticky.
• Now slightly press the dough with your hands to flatten it and keep the masala(fried onion mixture) in the centre and fold it from all the sides like how we do for stuffed paratha's.
• Slowly start kneading again for 12-15 mins until the mixture is very well incorporated in the dough.The dough might become sticky because of the onions,so please feel free to add the flour when required while kneading the dough.
• Cover this place of platform or the board with some cloth or paper as we need to use this place again for kneading.
• Now grease your hands and a empty big bowl with oil and coat the dough with oil slightly and place it in the greased bowl.Cover with a clean kitchen towel and keep it in warm place until the dough doubles almost.It takes almost one to one-and-half hours depending the climatic conditions.I preheated my microwave for 20 seconds and kept the bowl in it.
• After the first rise the dough would have doubled in size,knead the dough again gently for 7-8 mins,this process is important as it assures of removing air bubbles formed in the dough.
• Divide the dough into 7-8 portions and shape them into buns and place them on a baking tray with space in between.You can line your baking tray with parchment paper.
  
• Keep them again in the warm place for 45 mins - 1 hour for the final rise.Mean while preheat the oven at 220 degrees for 10 mins when you are about to finish the rising time of bread.
• Brush the top of buns with milk very gently over the nicely risen buns and keep it in preheated oven and bake them at 180 degrees C for 15-18 mins until the top portion of the buns turn slightly golden and the buns should sound hollow when tapped the crust with hand.
• Brush the top of buns with butter immediately after removing them from oven.This helps in giving the shine to the crust and also makes the crust softer and also makes the buns smell better.

Slice the bun into two halves and apply generously a dollop of fresh butter on it and enjoy them with a cup of tea/coffee.

Notes:

1. You can add the finely chopped onions directly to the dough,but I recommend you to saute the onions before adding to the dough as I read somewhere that the raw onions might kill the yeast.
2. You can add finely chopped dill leaves while sauteing the onions for different flavor.
   

Another interesting serving suggestion:

In VB bakery,Bangalore they serve these buns which are cut and slathered with LOTS of fresh butter and a layer of congress kadale(spiced up peanuts) which is called 'Bun-Butter-Congress' which is an absolute favorite to me and hubby.Go easy on butter and apply a nice thick coat of butter to enjoy those spicy buttery nutty buns...its damn tasty!!!!