Khara Bun (Spicy Bread)

My aunt was visiting us for the weekend and we ended up talking about our Bangalore days. The Bangalore Iyengar bakeries have dominated our senses for a long time. The aroma of vegetable puffs and buns are something to live for. Close to my grandparents's house was Kagi's Bakery. We loved just about every item made there. The more we talked about it, the more I started craving for this spicy bun. I took the recipe help from Rak's Kitchen. Her presentation is bang on, but I decided to tow the rustic route and experimented with a few different sizes. The transformation of the dough into hot delicious buns is so delightful and heartwarming. I loved the entire journey and plan to make another batch in muffin moulds. How about a plate of hot khara muffins with a slab of butter?

Ingredients

Maida 1/2 cup

Milk 1/4 cup

Active dry yeast 1 1/2 tsp

Milk 1/4 cup

Sugar 1 1/2 tsp

Chopped onions 1 cup

Green chillies a few pieces

Chilli paste (sambal olekh) 2 tsp

Chopped coriander 1 cup

Butter for glazing

Salt to taste

Method

1. In a wok, combine warm milk, sugar and water. Allow the sugar to dissolve.

2. Add active dry yeast to this warm mixture and let the yeast dissolve. Set it aside for 10-15 minutes, until the yeast reacts and gives a frothy finish.

3. In a wok, heat cooking oil and saute the onions, chillies, coriander along with the chilli paste. Add salt to taste. 

4. In a wide bottomed vessel, sieve the maida along with the salt; make a depression in the centre. Once the onions brown, add the mixture to the maida.

5. Slowly add the milk-yeast mixture and keep turning the dough until it forms a dough of a good consistency. If it is too sticky, you can add some more maida to stiffen it. 

Note: If you use your hands to mix the dough, grease your palm with a little oil so that the dough does not stick.

6. Cover the dough with a damp muslin cloth or cover it air tight and set the dough for an hour. The dough will rise due to the yeast.

7. After an hour, mix the dough again and make small balls of the dough. Set it on a greased tray (grease using butter or use a butter sheet) for 10 minutes.

8. Preheat the Bajaj oven for 10 minutes at 200C.

9. Glaze the top of the bun with milk or butter.

10. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the top turns a lovely golden color.

Enjoy hot spicy buns with cream cheese dip.