Its only befitting to follow the last post that was on Mother’s Day with a recipe from my mom’s repertoire. In my last post, I did not mention how great a cook she is. I did not forget, but for once I did not want it to be about her cooking. But there is no doubt that she is an amazing cook.
My mom never cooked before marriage, and all that she learnt was after marriage. With a foodie for a husband and a few trusted Indian Tarla Dala books, and a willingness to always experiment new dishes, she became famous for her cooking. As a result my dad grew a truck tyre for a stomach and her children became gourmands (or well more aptly gluttons).
I have in the past shared her famous date cake recipe. Believe me when I say, this is one recipe you should always have with you. My sister-in-law made it recently for her friends and she said out of all the things she made, the date cake was the star. And she and I both get that every time we make it.
My mom’s homemade chocolate balls that she sent to my hostel are the reason why I was always in the good books of my hostel seniors. It’s only half true when they say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I think it holds for everyone.
This recipe for stuffed mushroom homemade buns is also one that she made quite often when my brother and I were kids. It was actually handed to her by my father’s aunt who is a canadian and an amazing baker.
I am sharing the mushroom version of the stuffed buns but sometimes she would stuff the buns with keema (minced lamb meat). But mostly, mom would always stuff half with keema and half with mushrooms.
Mom always used fresh yeast and the long hours that the dough would sit, would lead to this really yeasty flavour in the dough. I still have a recollection of the first few times she made these buns. I have this picture in my mind of how our kitchen looked. Dad was posted at the Hindan Air Force Base which is about an hour’s drive from Delhi. The refrigerator was in this type of hallway that led to the kitchen, and to the right of the refrigerator was the pantry that always had nestle toll house chocolate chips, and mama’s nice pots and pans, which she never used, because she thought they will get spoilt. She had picked them up from US when Dad had come here for a course and since she did not know when we would get a chance to come back to US for new pots and pans, she did not want to spoil the ones she had. The only times those pots and pans came out were when Dad cooked spaghetti sauce. I should share the recipe for the spaghetti sauce some day. We still request him to make it when we go home.
It was fun making these buns at my own house, because each step took me back to those days. They were happy days, not that these present ones aren’t, but Hindan still tops my list of favorite places and one of the best times of my life.
I managed to take step by step photos of making the buns . Anyway, I really wanted to do a video, but making one working alone is kind of difficult. Maybe its time for V to get his hands dirty so that he can do the cooking and I can shoot him.
The only prob with these step by step photos is that I forgot to take the photos after the rise of the bread and the whole filling of the buns. I think I got too excited to make my mom’s recipe in my own kitchen. But since I had put in so much of effort for the rest of the pictures, I am posting half of the steps. The stuffing isn’t too difficult to do though. But make sure you stuff them well to get a good end result ratio of filling to bread in your bun (balls and buns are two words I can not NOT write and go on a tangent- does anybody else do this?).
You can also put cheese in the filling. Since I made these for just V and myself, I chose not to add cheese, but feel free to. I don’t see how that wouldn’t work!
My mom used to top the buns with sesame seeds. I chose to add a few hemp seeds as well, just for the little extra nutrition.
- 4 cups all purpose flour (can sub a part of it with whole wheat flour)
- 1 egg (or 2-3 tbsp yogurt for vegetarian version)
- 4½ tbsp oil
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 2 tsp yeast
- 4½ tbsp sugar, plus ¼ tsp sugar
- ½ glass milk ( I needed to add a little more)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic herb butter
- 4 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ginger made into a paste
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 227 grams pkt mushrooms, chopped
- Finely Mixed vegetables of your choice- my mom uses beans, capsicum (bell pepper)
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- salt and pepper, according to taste
- sesame seeds, to sprinkle on top of the bun
- egg white, to brush on top of the bun
- In lukewarm water, add the yeast and ¼ tsp sugar and leave it for 5-10 minutes till the yeast is frothy.
- In a large pan, add the flour and salt. Mix and make a well in between. In the well add the yeast, egg, oil, milk and sugar.
- Mix all together and knead. My mom slaps the dough in the air to knock the trapped air off. You can use your muscle strength to knead or do it in a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. You should get a soft smooth dough. Add a little more water if need be. Over the years I have learnt not to be afraid of adding a little extra water- it will feel tacky in the beginning but as you knead it generally the dough becomes smooth and supple.
- Keep the dough covered with a moist towel in a well oiled bowl for 1-2 hours or till double in size.
- While the dough rises make the filling.
- In a skillet, heat the butter, add the ginger garlic paste. Add the chopped onions, and saute till translucent. Add in the mushrooms and other chopped vegetables and cook till water dries off. Add in the sriracha and season to taste.
- Punch the dough down, once doubled in size.
- Divide dough into 12-18 pieces (depending on size), and stuff well with the filling. Let rest again covered for 1-2 hours tills double in size.
- Gently brush with white of egg (or milk), sprinkle sesame seeds and bake in a preheated 425 F (225 C) oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Is this a Punjabi dish, then?
Hahaha. Well, it was handed to my mom by my dad’s Canadian aunt. So yes, it is a Punjabi recipe! 🙂
Ah, the original multi-culture I take it 🙂
The buns look so soft. I will be trying it one of these days….
indugetscooking recently posted..Tandoori Chicken with Coriander Dip
Let me know if you do and how they turned out 🙂
Shumaila recently posted..Mom’s Homemade stuffed buns
Lovely recipe from your mom! And I love the vintage-y feel of the photos. Captured so beautifully 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com recently posted..Stir-fry Amaranth Greens with Roasted Garlic
Thanks Kiran. I was going for the vintage-y look so I am glad thats what came across 🙂
Shumaila…i think i write this everytime i am at your blog, you are so gifted with story telling !
coming to the mushroom buns..anything with mushrooms and i am in love !
sulagna recently posted..You Will Be The Wind Beneath My Wings
Coming from you, this is a big compliment!! Thanks 🙂
Shumi! this is such an amzing recipe! Am bookmarking this and will come to it when i am a moer skilful baker than i am at the moment!!
Its not so difficult. Just make sure the yeast gets activated and that you knead it into a smooth dough, and let it rise till double in size. if the yeast is activated, then you won’t have much trouble with the rise.
Stunning!!! my hubby is coming home and i was looking for a new snack for him his family is from the Punjab region as well so he will love these!! thank you from another Canadian 🙂
this is so delectable – i made something similar with chicken filling and i was in heaven!
dixya@food, pleasure, and health recently posted..For a Change. #mimm
Pingback: Dad’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe | The Novice Housewife
Love these!!! I have never made stuffed buns before but they look SO good!
Erika recently posted..Easiest Baked Eggs + A Doughnut Bar Brunch Recap