Stuffed Buns / Aloo Buns / Potato Buns

Bakeries seem to be something very unique to Bangalore, or perhaps to the states in the South of India. I don't mean the fancy ones with croissants, macarons, cheesecakes, etc...I am talking about the ones with khara biscuits, masala bread, puffs, egg rolls and buns with different stuffing !
Anyone from Bangalore would know exactly what I mean. The residential localities are dotted by such bakeries, dishing out these goodies at a really reasonable price, all through the day...



Here, in Gujarat, you get a lot of snacky food, made mainly of chickpea flour / besan like ghantiya, fafda, sev in various flavours, but I haven't come across any bakery that sells buns with filling, masala bread and those lovely puffs...
For me, the bakeries in Bangalore really rock !!



There is this 'Iyengar bakery' right down the road from my Ma's place..When I was working back in Bangalore, during the monsoons, I would go straight to the bakery and pick up these aloo buns / potato stuffed buns and then call Ma and tell her I am on my way and she would keep the tea ready. Savouring these buns with the hot chai and a nice conversation with my Ma was just the perfect thing to do on a rainy evening.
Its quite obvious that these buns mean so much more to me than just a snack, and I never miss a chance to go pick them up every time I visit Bangalore



I have been raving about these Iyengar bakery special aloo buns to my friend here for a while now. I've been wanting to try these from this recipe on Champa's blog, but have been postponing it. Finally got down to making these yesterday, when my friend was here. They turned out really well and I was pretty happy with the browning too, which has been a big challenge in my convection microwave oven.



I am leaving for Bangalore in a couple of hours, and will get to eat these there again, but for all of you who love the aloo buns of Bangalore, give this recipe a try, its almost like the real deal !

Sending this to Susan's weekly YeastSpotting

Aloo Buns
Recipe source - Champa's Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen

Here's my slightly modified one

What you need -

For the stuffing

3-4 medium size potatoes
6-7 green chillies
1" piece ginger
1 tbsp oil
a handful of chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of turmeric powder
salt to taste

For the dough

1 cup APF / maida
2 cups wheat flour (or use any other combination of flours to make 3 cups)
1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm milk
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted butter

What you do with it -

For the stuffing -
Boil the potatoes, peel and mash coarsely
In a pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, allow to splutter
Add the green chillies, chopped ginger and the turmeric powder
Add the mashed potatoes and sprinkle some water over it
Add salt and allow to cook for 3-4 mins
Add the chopped coriander leaves
Turn off the heat and keep it aside

For the dough

Add the salt and sugar to the warm milk
Stir in the flours, oil and yeast and knead well
If using dry yeast granules, add it to the warm milk with the sugar. Allow it to proof. Once the water gets bubbly, add the flours
After kneading for about 5 mins, add the melted butter and knead again for 3-4 mins
The dough turns a little springy at this stage
Cover with a damp cloth or a cling film and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 45 mins to an hour
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and knead for 2-3 mins
Then make equal size balls. I got about 14 such balls
Grease a pan with some oil
Flatten each ball and roll it out with your palm
Add a ball of the stuffing and then cover the dough from all sides and seal it
Repeat with all the dough and place the stuffed dough with the seam side down in the greased pan
Allow it to rise for another 30-45 mins
Keep the dough balls spaced apart, so that they don't stick to each other as they rise
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and place the pan in the oven
Before you pop them into the oven, brush the dough with some melted butter and milk
Bake for about 20 mins
Brush with butter again if you'd like and enjoy it with a hot cup of tea !

Batata Saung / Konkani style potatoes in a chilli tamarind sauce

Here's an all time favourite Konkani dish with potatoes - its called Batata(Potato) Song / Saung
Its a funny name for a dish and friends always wonder why its called a song ! The logic I once heard is that its so spicy, it will make you sing !!
Actually, it isn't that spicy. Its just the magic of the byadgi chillies, that gives it this beautiful bright red colour, with just the right amount of heat. Byadgi is named after a town in Karnataka, that's famous for these chillies

Its easy to make and adds the zing to a regular meal.
My favourite is dali saar and rice with batata song...

Give it a shot, its really good !



Batata Saung
Adapted from Rasachandrika, the Saraswat cookery book

What you need -

1/2 kgs potatoes / 5-6 medium potatoes
10-12 red chillies (byadgi chillies are the best for this)
3 medium onions
1 small ball of tamarind / 1 tsp ready tamarind paste
2 tbsp oil
1 - 1.5 tsp salt


What you do with it -

Chop the onions
Cook the potatoes, peel and chop into bite size pieces
Byadgi chillies are the best option for this. If you are using any other variety, you may want to reduce the number of chillies to about 7-8
Grind the red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste, using a little water
I usually soak the red chillies in hot water for 10 mins, before I grind it-makes it easier that way
In a pan, heat the oil and then add the onions and fry till it turns light brown in colour
Then add the ground masala, salt and potatoes and stir well
Add about 1/2 cup of water and allow it to simmer for about 10 mins
For an authentic Mangalorean taste, use coconut oil - I find it a bit overpowering though
Serve hot with rotis or a simple dal and rice

Undhiyu - Winter special dish from Gujarat

Uttarayan celebrated on January 14th in Gujarat, is a time for kite-flying in and gorging on some delicious undhiyu, poori, jalebi and til chikki
My neighbour makes some amazingly crisp chikki with peanuts and sesame and I always get my share during Uttarayan...



Ahmedabad is almost distinctly divided into the old city or the walled area and the new Satellite area. The old area has houses that go up vertically, literally with one room on a floor, landing up in an open terrace. The shops in this area are big enough to hold in the shopkeeper and 2 customers, maybe. The new area has plush bungalows, high rise apartments and huge shopping malls sprouting everywhere.
All traditional festivals are celebrated with great gusto in the old area, as compared to the new areas. I have managed to go into the old areas twice during Uttarayan. Its like a different world out there, everyone is up on their terrace, with music players, dhols (drums) and whistles, or more recently, the vuvuzela look alikes...
Everytime someone manages to cut somebody else's kite, the music and whistling gets louder and the victorious shouts of 'kaipo che', which means 'we cut the kite' echo around...
If you have seen the Salman Khan starrer 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', you know what I am talking about...
The mood is really upbeat and the radio channels have contests all thru the week that win you 100 kites !

Anyway, back to the favourite topic of any self-respecting Amdavadi - Food !!

Undhiyu is a delicious mix of vegetables, mainly root vegetables, some beans and muthias cooked in a green masala. The traditional ones are cooked in an earthen pot over firewood, the ones in restaurants float in a lot of oil and here's my version which I learnt from a Gujarati friend here...



Here's what went into my Undhiyu - sweet potatoes, purple yam / kand, banana, baby potatoes, small brinjals, papdi / stringed flat beans, tuver dana the green masala and of course, the muthias from this post

Most of these vegetables are seasonal, and many may not be available outside of Gujarat. I have mentioned alternate vegetables that are more easily available, which can be used instead. And there are a whole lot of vegetables used, so a little of each makes quite a bit of undhiyu !

Undhiyu / Undhiya

What you need -

1 cup stringed broad beans / surti papdi
1 purple yam / kand or use yam or raw banana instead
5 baby potatoes
5 small brinjals / eggplants
1 sweet potato
1/2 cup tuver dana / fresh pigeon peas or use peas instead
1/2 cup fresh broad bean seeds / Papdi dana / avarekai
1-2 ripe bananas (try not to leave this out, it adds a lovely taste)
8-10 methi muthia
5-6 tbsp oil
1 tsp ajwain / carom seeds
salt to taste

Green masala

1.5 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup cleaned and chopped coriander leaves
3-4 stalks of garlic chives / hara lasan (use garlic or can omit)
4-6 green chillies
1" piece ginger
1 tbsp dhania / coriander seed powder
1 tbsp jeera / cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

What you do with it -

For the green masala
Chop and clean the green chillies and ginger and pulse without water to make a coarse paste. If using garlic cloves, grind along with the green chillies and ginger
Chop the green garlic if using mix all the ingredients listed under green masala and keep aside

Peel the purple yam / raw bananas, sweet potato and the baby potatoes
Chop the yam and sweet potato into large chunks. Rinse well and keep aside
Note: If you are using the purple yam, please peel, wash in a colander, without touching the yam, drain and keep aside. Washing the yam with your hands can cause a lot of itching
Cut the ripe banana with the skin on, into thick slices
Rub the green masala on the purple yam and sweet potato and ripe bananas and allow it to sit in the masala for about 10 mins
Wash the brinjals and the make 2 cuts, like a criss-cross on one end of the brinjals and baby potatoes
Use the green masala and stuff the potatoes and brinjals and keep aside

Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a deep bottomed pan or a pressure pan / cooker. If you have the oil that you fried the muthias in, then that's the best to use here
Add the ajwain and then the papdi
Add the tuver dana / peas and avarekai sprinkle some green masala over this
Stir once or twice
Layer it with the yam and sweet potato
Then the stuffed potatoes and brinjals
Right on top, add the ripe bananas and methi muthias
Spread the remaining green masala, 1/2 tsp salt over this and then a tbsp or two of oil over it
If you are using a pressure cooker, then you layer it in this order, so the ones that need least cooking are right on top
In a pan, you may need to add each layer, cover and cook for about 5 mins before you add the next
Do not stir the vegetables at any point
Sprinkle a little water if needed at any point, but keep it to a minimum
I made this in a pressure pan and allowed it to cook for 1-2 whistles over a low flame
It could take over 20 mins in a deep pan
Once it done, spoon it out into a serving dish and serve hot with puris

You may land up with quite a bit of leftovers if its not too many of you eating this. To re-heat, I put mine in a pre-heated oven for about 5 mins. Tasted really good !

Dumbbells (Stuffed snakegourd)

I am not sure how this dish got its name, because this is a part of the Konkani cuisine, so cant imagine how this word crept its way in, but if you look real hard, you can see it resembles the little dumbbells from the gym, perhaps !



Snakegourd dishes aren't exactly the most inviting ones, but in this avatar, it sure is...
Dumbbells are basically potato patties encased in a snakegourd shell...

Simple recipe, looks nice, tastes great, that's reason enough to make it !!



What you need -

1 long snakegourd/padavalangai/paddul
4-5 potatoes
2 green chillies
3-4 pods of garlic
1 tsp cumin seed powder
2 tsps chopped coriander leaves
1 cup bread crumbs
salt to taste
oil to shallow fry

What you do with it -

Cook the potatoes, peel and keep aside
Scrape off the skin of the snake gourd with the edge of a knife
Don't use a peeler here, it takes away too much
Chop the snakegourd into about 1.5" pieces
Bring water to a boil in a large pot with a little salt
Once the water comes to a boil, drop in the pieces of snakegourd. Take the pot off the heat and cover with a lid. Leave aside for 5-6 mins
This helps the snakegourd pieces get steam cooked, but they are still firm and will take lesser oil while shallow fry
Grind the garlic and chillies with salt. Add the cumin seed powder and chopped coriander leaves
Mash the potatoes and add the ground paste and mix well
Fill this into the snakegourd pieces
Cover both sides of the snakegourd pieces with bread crumbs
Heat oil in a shallow pan and shallow fry the pieces on both sides

Lilva Bataka nu Shaak - Gujarati style spiced vegetables

This is a halfway Undhiyu - a famous Gujarati winter dish..
The spices used here are pretty much the same, but the undhiyu has a lot more vegetables added to it - kand (purple yam), sweet potatoes, bananas and of course, muthias...



This shaak (with some vegetables added or excluded) is a must in all the Gujarati thalis (special meal served in a huge round plate) and I love the taste of it...Described the dish to my friend here, who then gave me this recipe...
It turned out exactly like the one we have in the restaurants and is really yum with some hot rotlis (Gujarati mini phulkas)..Thank you A, for this recipe - it really works !!

What you need -

1 cup Surti lilva(avrekai) or tuvar lilva
1/2 cup papdi / flat beans
12-15 baby potatoes
1/2 tsp ajwain / carom seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dhania/ coriander seed powder
1 tsp jeera / cumin powder
1/2 - 1 tsp grated jaggery / sugar
salt to taste
2 tsp oil

To grind -

1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup coriander leaves
3-4 garlic pods
3 green chillies

What you do with it -

Grind all the ingredients listed under 'To grind' to a smooth paste
Peel the potatoes and cook along with papdi beans and lilva, with a little salt added
Heat oil in a pan and add the carom seeds and asafoetida
Add turmeric powder and the ground paste
Saute the masala till it changes colour
Add the dhania powder, jeera powder, chilli powder and then add the cooked vegetables
(You can add brinjals too - adds a lot to the taste)
Mix well so that the vegetables are coated with the masala
Add the jaggery and salt and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a slow boil
Serve with hot rotlis and a salad

Batatyachi Bhaji / Potatoes in a yoghurt-peanut gravy

My cousin dropped in as a surprise on my birthday a week back and it was really the most pleasant surprise I've had in a long time...
She brought me a bag full of gifts and I realised that I still am so excited about opening gifts...growing older hasn't changed that, not as yet !

There were bamboo steamer baskets, that I was enquiring on my last visit to Bombay and she thoughtfully went hunting all around for it...Also got a very nice book on Marathi cuisine and this totally cute chocolate SMS...



This book called 'The Essential Marathi Cookbook' by Kaumudi Marathe has simple, easy to make authentic recipes...What I like best about this cuisine is the use of peanuts in a lot of dishes, which gives it a nice crunchy feel and also helps in thickening the gravy.

The regular batatyachi bhaji is a simple one with just the seasoning and dash of lemon juice. The peanuts and yoghurt addition was mentioned as a variation. Since we were having this with rotis, I decided to go ahead with the variation...Simple, delicious flavours and a great accompaniment with rotis



Recipe Source: The Essential Marathi Cookbook by Kaumudi Marathe

What you need -

2 large potatoes
2 small onions finely chopped
1 tsp salt
a pinch of sugar
1 1/2 tbsp powdered roasted peanuts
1/4 - 1/2 cup buttermilk/ yoghurt

Seasoning

2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies, sliced
6-8 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Garnish

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

What you do with it -

Boil potatoes till well done. Peel and cut into cubes
Heat oil for seasoning. Add mustard seeds. Once they pop, add cumin, chillies and curry leaves. Stir in turmeric and asafoetida
Add the chopped onions and stir fry for 2-3 mins, till light brown
Mix in the peanut powder with the yoghurt and add along with the potatoes, to the seasoning
Reduce heat and let it simmer for 4-5 mins
Sprinkle salt and sugar and garnish with coriander leaves

Lasun Batata / Spicy Garlicky Baby Potatoes

One more of my Ma's special dishes..Knowing my love for potatoes, its a surprise I haven't made this in a really long time...

I had some friends over for lunch and decided to make this...It was a real hit, they even packed the remaining for their dinner !! If you like it with a little more gravy to have with rotis, you can add curd to the masala..My aunt makes it like that and its called 'jumping potatoes' !!



Peeling garlic isn't really one of my favourite things to do..I used to buy peeled garlic from the stores earlier, but ever since one of the vegetable vendors here told me that they rub kerosene on the garlic to make it easier to peel, I have stopped buying them...Do check with your stores before you pick up peeled garlic...
And let me also mention here that the 12 cloves of garlic I used in this dish are the regular Indian sized garlic cloves. I had to mention this since the garlic I've seen in the US is about 3-4 times the size of the ones here !!

You can make these as spicy as you like. I have used my stock of Byadgi chillies from Bangalore, which give a lovely red colour, but aren't that spicy..

What you need -

15-20 baby potatoes
10-12 cloves of peeled garlic
15-20 red chillies (use as per your preferred spice level)
small ball of tamarind / 2 tsp tamarind paste
salt to taste
3-4 tbsp oil

What you do with it -

Boil the baby potatoes in a pot of hot salted water
Peel and set aside
Grind the peeled garlic, tamarind and red chillies into a smooth paste, without adding water
Add salt and grind once more
Apply this paste on the potatoes and keep aside for 10-15 mins
Heat half the oil in a heavy bottom pan and then put the potatoes in it
Stir occasionally and fry on a low heat, adding the remaining oil, as required, for about 20 mins or till the ground paste has blended well with the potatoes and there is no raw smell
Serve hot with rotis or dal and rice

Aloo matar, aur bohot saare matar....

This is from an ad that used to screen when I was young (that was ages ago...)
I think it was an ad for some refined oil - the mother asks the little girl what she wants to eat and she says "Aloo matar, aur bohot saare matar, aur garam garam puriyan..."
I loved this line and everytime Ma made aloo matar I would say this line - I used to do silly things like that !!

A few years back, we were invited for lunch at one of S's colleague's place. They are Marwaris (who did not eat onions and garlic) and there was this huge spread with puris, aloo matar (I was so tempted to say that line, but had to stop myself), kadai paneer, gatte ki sabji, shrikhand, malpuas, rotis, dal, peas pulav, cant remember the rest.

I had never tasted aloo matar made this way. Mine was always the Punjabi Aloo Matar, dry one with onions and masalas. I took down the recipe from the lady there and have made it many times after that. Here's what it looks like...




What you need -

4 potatoes
2 cup shelled fresh / frozen green peas
1 tomato
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kalonji
1 tsp oil
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

What you do with it -

Peel and chop the potatoes into bite size pieces
Chop the tomato into tiny pieces
Heat oil in a pressure pan (the flat version of a cooker) or a deep pan
Add the asafoetida and cumin seeds and kalonji when the oil is hot
Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt
Add potatoes and peas and stir in with the oil and masalas
If using a pressure pan, add 1 cup of water and the chopped tomato and cook for one whistle and turn off
If using a pan, add 1.5 cups of water, cover and allow it to cook till the potatoes and peas are cooked. Stir in between and add water if required
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot
Goes really well with puris / rotis / parathas

Khatkhaten - Vegetables in a coconut base (Konkani style)

Making this is easier than trying to say the name of it !
You pronounce this as 'khat-khat-ein', where the 'ein' needs to be said with a real nasal twang, which we Konkanis are famous for !!
My dad's very close friend's family lives in Goa - they are like an extended family to us. On one of my visits, I happened to go to their place for a self-invited lunch on Monday. The lady of the house was so upset because Mondays are 'Shivraak', its the vegetarian day of the week and she could not make her famous prawn pulav or fish ambotik for me. My son was about a year old and I told her I wanted just simple home-cooked food.



There was Solkadi, dal, rice, chapatis and this khatkhaten - it was a lovely meal, though I was invited the next day again for the fishy spead !!
My son loved the khatkhaten, and its so packed with veggies, that I have started making it very often after that...

Khatkhaten (Mixed Vegetables in a coconut masala)

What you need -

2 cups cubed red pumpkin
1 cups cubed potatoes
1/2 cup beans
1 cup cut carrot
6 triphals / sichuan pepper
10 garlic cloves
1/2 cup grated coconut
3 red chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
small ball of tamarind
2 tbsp grated jaggery
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Steam the pumpkin, potaotes, beans and carrots
You could do this in a cooker, but keep it for just 1 whistle, or it could get overcooked
Add salt and jaggery to the steamed vegetables
Grind together the coconut, red chillies, 3-4 pods of garlic, coriander seeds and tamarind to make a smooth paste
Add the ground masala to the vegetables
Crush the teppals lightly in a spoon of water and add (Dont grind the teppals - they are too strong in taste)
Simmer on a low flame till it comes to a boil
Heat oil and add the remaining garlic pods and fry till they turn reddish-brown
Add the seasoning to the dish
The teppals can be discarded before you serve. Its used just for the aroma and taste it adds to the dish

This can be had with a simple dal and rice.
Teppal has a very sharp and strong flavour. It tastes great with the fish curries, but I love it in this dish too.

Chow Chow

My husband always tries to prove that I (Konkanis, in general) have some Chinese connection !! Konkani is spoken with a very nasal twang and lots of words sound very Chinese to a lay person.
Out of curiousity, I googled on this word "ChowChow" before I started writing this post. I googled more to find out if this was the way its spelt, because this recipe doesnt feature in any recipe books, not even Rasachandrika (The bible for Saraswat cooking) and guess what the first result was for a breed of dogs found in Mongolia and China !!


15/8/12 This pic is an updated one. I seem to have all photos that I uploaded directly into blogger :(

Chow chow is also the name of a vegetable in Kannada - I am not sure of the English equivalent, but its known as Bangalore Kathrikai in Tamil. This recipe has nothing to do with the dogs or this vegetable.

Its a medley of potaoes, beans, carrots and bell peppers in a spicy-tangy dry masala. This is a favourite at Ma's place.

What you need -

3 carrots
2 potatoes
2 green bell peppers
10 french beans (I didnt have these at home, so eliminated it)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 heaped teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon

What you do with it -

Cut the vegetables into bite size pieces
Roast the cut bell peppers.
Parboil the potatoes, carrots and beans
Roast the pepper corns, mustard and fenugreek seeds and powder it
In a kadai, heat 2 tsps of oil and add chilli powder, turmeric powder and the dry masala
Add the vegetables and mix well
Add salt and lemon juice

Ginger Potatoes

Potatoes are simply the easiest to cook with. I am a big fan of this tuber and can have it in any form. This was a staple in my cooking, but have started limiting it in the last couple of years.
Almost every cuisine has something made with potatoes. In Indian cuisine, every region has a different version of cooking with potatoes

My love affair with potatoes took a break when I got married and discovered that TH didn't like potatoes, It was beyond me to figure how a person did not like potatoes!
Thankfully, over the years, I have managed to convert him completely. He now longs for a simple potato sabji with his favourite rasam rice, when he's back from a long travel

This is the latest recipe from my Ma, which is simply superb.
Its got the sharp taste of ginger and the tangy flavour of the chaat masala


Aug '12: This is an updated picture, since I lost all my blogger pics

Ginger Potatoes

What you need -

15-20 baby potatoes
large piece of crushed ginger
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powser
1 tsp chaat masala / amchur powder (dried mango powder)
salt to taste

What you do with it -

Boil water with salt in a large vessel
Scrub the potatoes well and poke them with a toothpick
Immerse in the boiling water
Allow it to cook slightly, for about 10 mins or so
In a deep bottomed pan, heat 2 tsps of oil
Add crushed ginger, cumin, cumin powder, chilli powder and salt
Mix well and add potatoes to this
Saute for about 7-8 mins till the potatoes are done
Sprinkle chaat masala and toss
Serve as an appetizer or with rice and dal