Monday, December 12, 2011

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

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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!!!!


84 comments:

Swathi said...

savory buns looks delicious.

Asiya @ Chocolate & Chillies said...

Buns look so soft and yummy! The peanuts is an interesting addition!

Kalyani said...

ooh... these are godsend to me, dear! Yummy looking buns. truly reminds me of the VB bakery stuff, esp the Congress Kadale stuffed ones :-) I dont seem to get that brownish crust on the buns at all, although I follow a similar process. Wil try your process again ! thanks for posting !

Radhika said...

After the rolls this was the thing I made yesterday and we all loved it. I love the serving suggestion. Peanuts and buns. It must be awesome. Will try it the next time I bake....

Recipe world said...

Wow, buns look soft n delicious!! bookmarking this recipe :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

I love this a lot and it was in my to do list for looooong time :) This looks good and wish I can have one now.. Peanut stuffing is interesting.

Mélange said...

My God,that's awesome.I think the satisfaction you had after baking this will be immense.Superbly baked.Nice buns..Yummo.Cheers!

Sudha Sabarish said...

I also once had this in a bakery here and just loved it.Its was yummy and you are tempting me a lot.

Gayathri NG said...

Wow one of fav bakery item u perfectly done it feel like having some...serving with peanut is really interesting!!

Chitra said...

Looks delicious. loved the last pic very much.i crave for these buns..Never got a chance to have this here :(

Kaveri Venkatesh said...

Mmmmm....brought back lot of fond memories of living in B'lore...am crazy of the stuffs sold in the Iyengar Bakeries and these buns and nippatu are my favorites...
Perfectly baked buns Prathiba..they look too goo.

Sensible Vegetarian said...

Yummy looking buns, looks fantastic.

Tina said...

Perfect and mouthwatering..

Unknown said...

wow bookmarked it dear...luv it! will surely try this...


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Hamaree Rasoi said...

Wonderful looking buns..I won't wait till evening tea time for these delicious buns ;-) Can have these anytime of the day. I also brush my bun's top with milk.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Sandhya Hariharan said...

OMG,... these resemble the ones from the bakery.. i want them now...

Priya Suresh said...

Cant take my eyes from that peanuts stuffed savoury buns,irresistible.

Faseela said...

Buns have cum out so perfectly..............awesome dear

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

loved these khara buns of Bangalore but that peanut sandwiches are quite new to me. looks delicious.

Raks said...

Wow soft buns, looks appetizing and loved ur serving suggestion! Making me hungry now..

Rachana said...

That last click is tempting me a lot. A great recipe and very beautifully presented.

Indian Khana said...

Perfect and tempting ...thoda yehi parcel kar deti? Nice pics

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Looks soft khara buns ..lovely yaar..

Kavya said...

They look exactly like the ones we get in bakery! :) Awesome recipe...thanks for sharing!

http://surekha-myrecipescollection.blogspot.com/ said...

Wow!!! These look amazingly delish !! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

Unknown said...

Very nicely baked Buns.. am new to Iyenger Bakery.
Bful puffs :)

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Sobha Shyam said...

perfect and delicious buns, so soft n yummy..

Rajee Mani said...

Mouthwatering savory buns. They look so yummy.

Ramya said...

That looks soo fluffy!! Cant take my eye off those little cute buns!

Sumi said...

Absolutely stunning buns. Great pictures:)

Sum said...

Awesome!

Shri said...

This is a first for me and they look delicious!

hotpotcooking said...

Bookmarked it. Looks awesome

Savi-Ruchi said...

I want them now, period.

anthony stemke said...

These buns look wonderful, and the ingredients make it delicious for sure.
Thank You.

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

these home-made kara buns looks super yummy and tasty..perfect for dipping in hot tea:)

Sangeetha M said...

Wow...perfectly baked khara buns...looks more tempting...loved your pictures!!

Sanjeeta kk said...

The buns look soft and lovely!

VM said...

Gr8 buns with perfect texture..well made..

Only Fish Recipes said...

wow....so yummy buns....loved it absolutely...bookmarking it :-)

Treat and Trick said...

Looks so tasty, love the spices you'd used!

Plateful said...

I'm totally into baking these days and now I feel like doing savory buns.. tempting!

Unknown said...

Savory buns look like sponge. Can't wait to try it out. Will reply back with reciperesult.

Santosh Bangar said...

cute looking buns are delicious

Suma Gandlur said...

Drooling here. You made me nostalgic mentioning all those delicacies available at the bakeries.

sangeeta said...

I love savory herbed buns but make them with whole wheat.Loved this version with masala peanuts. My husband is gonna love this..

Sushma Mallya said...

I love to have this....SO tempting with that congress kadalekai...beautifully baked buns!

Lakshmi Canteen @ Koppa said...

waah..the buns look so good. Feel like eating it right now..Want to try it soon:-)

Christy Gerald said...

Super Good Buns Dear.Real softy, spongy and a splendid bake.Luv it

Mahi said...

Buns look yummmm! And the peanut stuffing is interesting! :P

cookbookjaleela said...

nice click ,Well explanation, with having with peanuts its really yummy

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

wow, looks like the authentic iyengar buns. great recipe...and beautiful pics, its got me craving for some hot khara buns now! :)

Cham said...

I saw the khara bread at Laksmi's place, your recipe is perfect measurement to kick start. Bun with kadale totally nutty and beautiful!

Archana said...

Hii... blindly followed your recipe.. n tadahhh THE perfect khara buns were ready :) :) .It came out reallly well . We loved it. And I must admit that spearding a generous dollop of butter enhanced the flavor . Thanks a lot for the wonderful recipe :) .

One request - could you please share the recipe to prepare congress kadale at home ??

Thanks .

chef and her kitchen said...

@Archana...I am glad that they turned out nice...sure Archana would try to put up the recipe congress kadalebeeja in my space soon..but I used the store bought ones in the recipe.

Anju said...

Could you please explain how you shaped up those buns? they look very professional. :)

Thanks,
Anju

chef and her kitchen said...

@Anju..I just made small rounds and slightly flattened and left it 2 rise which automatically took that shape..I hope this helps

Corporate to Kitchen said...

Waw this looks tempting.. I feel like having a bite now

Anonymous said...

Hi
I just tried your receipe today and the taste of it was super. However, turned out to be quiet (actually a lot) harder :( what cld be the reason ? Think smthn went wrong while baking...had placed the tray in the middle and the mode was...heat passing thru top n bottom..is this the right way of baking /preheating it ?
Pls help, i have been racking my brains :(

Prakruthi said...

I love those khara buns from V B Bakery!! Have grown up eating them!! Thanks for posting this recipe. =)

Ashwini said...

Hi,
I made these buns few days back an i must say it tasted v.good,though a bit dense. I was wondering if they can be made healthier by substituting half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour?would it turn out harder then?

chef and her kitchen said...

@Ashwini..Baking Breads need practice and one needs to knead the dough nicely to get that soft n fluffy interiors..You can use half wheat flour in the recipe..I have implemented in another recipe of garlic bread rolls and I m successful with the results..chk it here..
http://thechefandherkitchen.blogspot.in/2010/11/wheat-garlic-rollshealthier-version.html

Anonymous said...

This recipe is very good.My kids loved it.But, there are alot of spellling errors!

-Anonymous

Such Vaski said...

Hi Prathy, thanks heaps for this wonderful recipe. Made this last week (making another big batch today) for its a big hit at home. We live in brisbane, but born and brought up in bangalore. I couldnt tell u how much we missed these iyengar bakery buns :) thanks again.
Suchi

chef and her kitchen said...

@Suchi...Thanks for the feedback..I am really glad that ur family liked them..I can say that ur comment really made my day

Shivin said...

Yummy looking buns!Iyengar bakery buns are a hot fav at my place too!Will try it soon!
Thanks,
Shivin

SAKSHI said...

Hi
I tried your recipe blindly...it tasted Great but was came Out a Little Hard...Wat Could be the reason?
The Dough had risen beautifully
Kneaded as you mentioned
Did i Oberbake it.

SAKSHI said...

Hi again

I am waiting for your reply. I was so happy till they were baked and turned out a little hard on the outside...though the interiors were soft..

chef and her kitchen said...

@Sakshi...sorry for a delay in replying..Oven temperatures and oven differ from model to model..I think it would have over baked and thats the reason for the crust to become hard..try to bake at less temperature like 160 degrees and also keep an eye after 13-14 mins...I hope this helps..

SAKSHI said...

Thank you so much dear.Ill keep this is mind the next time I make these buns

I have tried many if your other recipes too, like maddur vada..your measurements are precise and easy to follow. Thanks a ton. Do continue to post interesting recipes.

chef and her kitchen said...

@sakshi...its nice to hear goo comments from genuine readers like you.You can share the pics of the recipes which u tried from my blog so that they can be featured on my fb pan page...

Unknown said...

wow i love your recepie... i tried and came out great.. can you please give me any sugesstion for ingredients for sweet bun like vv bakery

Anonymous said...

Hi Prathibha,

Love your recipes. Which brand of yeast do you suggest? I bought yeast from a store and when i put it in water to dissolve it, the smell was terrible and I had to throw it all.

Is there any substitute for the yeast?

Sekhar said...

Hi...thank you for sharing this recipe. I know we don't get the same flavours if we use the 100% wheat flour... But wish me luck I am going to try now.

Unknown said...

Hi... I tried out these buns from whole wheat... Amazing I must say, me and my husband ate up all the buns in just a day. Great.. I am going to try it again. Kavitha Sekhar. I want to send you picture of this..not sure how I can do that.

chef and her kitchen said...

@kavitha .... Thanks for the feedback. You can send it to thechefandherkitchen@gmail.com

api said...

Hi , lovely recipe , reminded me of Bangalore days and I instantly wanted to try it . But I almost killed. This is what I did differently from yours, instead of completely using APF , I used one cup maida and half cup atta. Used saf instant yeast. The bun came out soft but was not fluffy, the yeast smelled terrible. Any idea what mistake I would ve done ? I should confess here that this is my second attempt in my baking exp after butter biscuit.

Aruna said...

Awesome recipe. I tried out the buns.. tasted awesome but i had troube determing the size of the dough to get the bun shape. I put small balls and they turned out like biscuits :D.. and i followed to the fullstop your recipe, but 180 degrees seem less and the top remained white!! then i increased the temperature to 250deg C & baked for 30 mins or so for the second batch, then the top was brown.... What could I have done wrong :( ???

Springbird said...

Bumped into your site when looking for Iyengar bakery recipes. Tried it and came out perfect, txs for the recipe.

Unknown said...

Awesome recipe.I tried out with the same measurements u gave . I came out very soft. But the top was white. I don't know where I went wrong. Mine is convection model with maximum 200 degree only. Please reply

Unknown said...

Your recipe for Khara Buns has been plagiarized on YouTube. It shows up as 'Masala Bread Rolls' by Anvitha. Her ingredients/instructions were off compared to her presentation and I started researching the recipe some more until I bumped into your original recipe. I think its sad and pathetic to rip you off like this. I hope you look into this.

Anonymous said...

Can v use instant yeast instead of dry yeast and if so will it b the same procedure plz reply

Anonymous said...

Hi. Just made these. They came out perfect and very tasty. Very light soft and airy buns. 😊

Anonymous said...

can I use a mixer with atta attachment to knead the dough?

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