Low Fat Aloo (Potato) Buns

Bangalore. On a typical rainy monsoon day. Iyengar bakery. What do all these remind you of? Yes, Iyengar bakery special...Aloo Bun!! Every Saturday my parents would go to buy vegetables for the week and on their way back home was an Iyengar bakery. They would get an Aloo bun and a honey cake for me from there. Oh, how I miss those days! My mouth is watering and I am a little teary eyed at the same time thinking of it.

I learnt this recipe from various sources including a friend who runs a bakery! I love the fact that it needs so little oil, no eggs, no butter at all. So here it is for you to try.

Ingredients:

For the bun crust -

• All purpose flour (APF)/maida - 3 cups
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Salt -  3/4 tsp
• Yeast - 2 & 1/2 tbsp (I used active dry type)
• Milk - 1/4 cup + 1tbsp (for brushing on top)
• Vegetable/Olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Water - as needed

For the potato filling/aloo palya -

• Potatoes - 3 medium sized
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Green chillies - 3, chopped
• Curry leaves - a few
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida/Heeng - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Vegetable/Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Cilantro - to garnish

Procedure:

• Heat up the milk to lukewarm temperature. If the milk is too hot, the yeast will be killed.
• Add the sugar, salt and yeast to the milk and mix well.
• Take the flour in a mixing bowl. Add oil, above mixture and water to the flour and knead well. This dough will not be like chapati/roti dough. It might be a little sticky and it's ok that way.
• Cover the dough with food wrap for an hour.
• In the meantime, prepare the potato filling using the recipe here.
• Let the filling cool down, then divide it into 8 equal parts.
• In an hour, the dough should have raised well and doubled in size (almost).
• Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
• Knead the dough softly again and make 8 equal sized balls.
• Take each ball in hand, press slightly. Place a part of the potato filling in it and fold in the dough from all sides.
• Place each bun (with the folded side facing down) on a well greased baking tray.
• Mix 1 tbsp of milk with little oil. Brush each bun with this mixture.
• Keep the baking tray in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins (approximately).
• The buns are ready when you see the crust turning golden brown.
• Enjoy the hot aloo/potato buns with your evening tea.