Oats Jeeraka Kanji

Oats Jeeraka Kanji

A tasty and nutritious kanji ( porridge), made of oats, jeera – coconut – onion paste. Popular in Kerala cuisine and also a divine dish during the Malayalam month Karkadakam (16 th July – 30 th August).

Serves: 2

Ingredients

6 tablespoon oats

450 ml water / 2 ¼ cup (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Extra 50 ml water

For the coconut paste:

5 tablespoon grated coconut

¾ teaspoon jeera powder

6 shallots (chuvannulli / sambar onion), chopped

1 pinch turmeric powder

1 tablespoon water

Make a fine paste of above ingredients in a small mixer bowl with 1 tablespoon water.

Method

In a bowl, mix oats and 2 ½ cups (450 ml) water and boil on a low heat for 8 – 10 minutes or until well cooked.

Add coconut paste, salt to taste and extra 50 ml / ¼ cup water. Mix all the ingredients well and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes or until well combined / slightly thickens. Serve hot.

For seasoning (optional):

2 teaspoon oil

5 shallots (chuvannuli / small onion), finely sliced

Heat oil in a small pan. Add sliced onions and fry till golden color and crisp on a medium heat. Pour the seasoning over oats jeeraka kanji and serve hot.

Cabbage Onion Sanna Polo / Dosa

Cabbage – Onion Sanna Polo / Dosa

A tasty, spicy and nutritious dosa in Konkani cuisine !!

Makes: 13 - 15 dosas

Ingredients

Ingredients may differ from region to region (Mangalore region and Cochin GSB's)

Boiled Rice ( Idli rice / ukkada chawal ) – 1 1 /2 cups (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

Raw rice (soorai orovu / pachari ) - 1 cup (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

Grated coconut – 1 ½ cup

Tamarind juice – ½ cup or tamarind paste - 1 tablespoon

Red chilly powder – 2 teaspoon (or 2 to 2 ½ teaspoon for more spicy)

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Asafoetida / hing – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt – 1 ¼ - 1 1/2 teaspoon ( or to taste )

Onion finely chopped – 1 big size

Finely shredded Cabbage – 250 g ( pick tender leaves and remove thick nerves )

Cooking oil- 3 teaspoon

Method

Wash and soak boiled rice and raw rice for 5 - 6 hours ( or overnight ). Grind with grated coconut, tamarind juice, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. ( if you add tamarind juice while grinding, then no need to add extra water ). Grind until the batter is fine consistency in a mixer in batches.

Transfer this batter to another container / bowl and mix with asafoetida / hing and finely shredded cabbage and onion. Add extra water and salt if required and batter should be just like '' dosa batter and pouring consistency. No need to ferment this batter. We can prepare it immediately or after 1 – 2 hours.

Heat Frying pan / dosa tawa. Apply little oil. Pour 1 ladleful of batter and spread it in a circle. Cover with a lid cook for 5 -8 minutes on medium flame. Turn other side and cook till golden color. Color of cabbage polo should be in golden color with golden brown onions. Repeat for remaining batter. Instead of cabbage you can add Drumstick leaves also. Cabbage is rich in fibre and drumstick contains iron. Serve hot with chutney / tomato sauce / coconut oil.

Banana Halwa (with steamed Nenthrampazham / Ripe Plantain / Nenthrambale)

Banana Halwa (with steamed Nenthrampazham / Ripe Plantain)

A delicious sweet, made of steamed bananas, jaggery, 1 tablespoon ghee and cardamom powder !!!

Serves: 6 – 8

Ingredients

5 well ripe nenthrampazham (Ripe plantain / Nenthrambale)

1 tablespoon ghee

5 tablespoon thick melted and sieved jaggery

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon extra ghee (to grease steel thali)

Method

Steam bananas in a steamer / normal cooking method or in a pressure cooker (without weight) for 15 minutes until tender. Keep aside to cool for 10 minutes. Peel off the skin and mash well.

Heat ghee in a wide non stick pan. Add melted and sieved thick jaggery. Stir on a low heat for 8 – 10 minutes until smooth / well combined with ghee.

Now add mashed bananas and stir well. Do not cover with a lid. Stir continuously on a medium to low heat for 30 – 35 minutes or until the water dries up / thickens / well combined with all the ingredients / leaves from the sides of the pan / forms a soft ball. Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.

Grease a small steel thali with ½ teaspoon ghee. Pour the thick banana mixture in it. Sprinkle remaining ½ teaspoon ghee over it. Gently spread it with a flat spatula. Keep aside to cool for 2 hours and cut into desired shape and size or serve in dessert cups.

Kakkambi / Ponsa Gharayi / Jackfruit Kheer

Kakkambi / Ponsa Gharai / Gharayi / Jackfruit kheer / Pradhaman

A delicious dessert in Konkani cuisine, made of ripe jackfruit bulbs, thick and thin coconut milk, rice flour and jaggery !!

Color of the kheer may varies from the color of the jagger (yellow / dark yellow and brown).

Serves: 6 dessert cups

Ingredients

350 ml thin coconut milk (reserve 50 ml)

80 g rice flour

10 ripe jackfruit bulbs (8 big size or 10 small size), cut into ¼ - inch cubes

¾ cup / 175 ml jaggery (Please measure in Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity)

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

50 ml thick coconut milk

Method

In a wide non stick bowl, boil first add 300 ml thin coconut milk and boil on a low heat. When it starts boiling, pour rice flour evenly with one hand and simultaneously stir with a spatula with the other hand. Mixing of rice flour in boiling coconut milk is very important while making kheer / kakkambi. It should be mixed evenly - else it may form lumps. Cook rice flour in thin coconut milk on a low heat for 10 minutes / until slightly thickens / well combined.

Add cubed ripe jackfruit and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes or until well cooked. Add extra 50 ml thin coconut milk if required. Rice flour should not be thick in consistency.

At this stage, add melted and sieved jaggery 150 – 175 ml (or to taste). Mix well thoroughly until smooth. Cover again and cook on a low heat for 10 – 12 minutes until well combined with jackfruit, coconut milk and rice flour. Switch off the heat.

Finally add 50 ml thick coconut milk (3 tablespoon) and stir well gently. Sprinkle cardamom powder and serve warm.

Mixed Bell Pepper Subzi with Kasoori Methi

Mixed Bell Pepper Subzi with Kasoori Methi

A tasty and colourful North Indian style subzi (dry curry). Best with rotis !!!

Tip: Adding paneer (cottage cheese) and tomato cubes along with bell pepper is also a good option !!

Serves: 3

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, cut into 1/2 - inch cubes (separate each layers)

1 small size red bell pepper , remove seeds and cut into ½ - inch cubes

1 small size yellow bell pepper, remove seeds and cut into ½ - inch cubes

1 small size green bell pepper (capsicum), remove seeds and cut into ½ - inch cubes

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

For kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves):

Heat a small pan. Add kasoori methi and dry roast for 3 - 5 minutes until crisp. Remove from the heat and crush it into a fine powder.

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add cubed onion and fry till light pink in color on a medium to low heat.

Add cubed bell peppers and stir for 1 minute.

Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover with a tight lid and cook on a low heat for 8 – 10 minutes or until done / well cooked. Do not add water when cooking. Sprinkle dry roasted kasoori methi powder and serve as a side dish with rotis.

Flaky Dinner Rolls

Flaky Dinner Rolls (eggless too !!)

Delicious and flaky dinner rolls. Recipe from myrecipes.com and recipe girl !!!

Makes: 12 dinner rolls

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sugar

1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 cup warm fat-free milk (100° to 110°)

3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces), divided

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, softened

Cooking spray

Directions:

Tip: It’s best to bake these in a muffin tin, which will help them keep their shape. They’ll flatten out more if baked on a baking sheet.

Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 3/4 cups flour and salt to yeast mixture; stir until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth (about 5 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky). Cover dough with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a lightly floured baking sheet. Gently spread butter over dough. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 12 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet (sprinkle on a little more flour, if needed), into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle. Working with a long side, fold up bottom third of dough. Fold top third of dough over the first fold to form a 12 x 3-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap; place in freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from freezer; remove plastic wrap. Roll dough, still on baking sheet, into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 12 equal slices.

Place slices, cut sides up, in muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat tops of dough slices with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375° or 180 * C.

Bake dough at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan, and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve rolls warm with soup / fruit juice ...

Chemmeen Ada (Prawns Ada)

Chemmeen Ada (Prawns Ada)

Chemmeen ada ia a popular dish in Malabar Muslim cuisine !!!

Makes : 6 - 7

Serves : 3

Ingredients

Please use same measuring cup to measure rice flour and water.

For the dough:

1 cup / 200 g (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) raw rice flour (ari podi) - preferably fresh

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon ghee

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)

2 teaspoon extra oil

1 banana leaf ( washed and cleaned ) ( Cut banana leaves into 15 cm x 15 cm square pieces). One can make approximately 8 pieces from a banana leaf of normal size.

Method

Boil water in a thick bottomed vessel / saucepan. Add salt, jeera and ghee. When water (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups - not more than 1 3/4 cups) starts boiling add rice flour and mix well. Rice flour should be well mixed with water. Stir continuously. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon oil to the rice dough and knead well. Divide into 6 - 7 lemon sized portions.

For the filling:

You can use leftover thick prawns curry

or

Easy Prawns Curry

An easy & tasty prawns curry, made of Indian spices and also without coconut paste and coconut milk !!!

Ingredients

For prawns:

500 g prawns (225 net weight after cleaning and deveining)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Wash, clean and devein the prawns. Drain out water completely. In a wide bowl, mix prawns with turmeric powder and salt. Cover and keep aside for half an hour.

Other ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, finely sliced

6 curry leaves

6 garlic cloves, chopped

½ teaspoon red chilli powder (or to taste / ¾ teaspoon for more spicy)

½ teaspoon pepper powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon water

½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Marinated prawns

Method

Dilute red chilli powder, pepper powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder in 1 tablespoon water and keep it ready (spice mix).

Heat oil in a pan. Add finely sliced onion and fry till golden color on a medium to low heat.

Add curry leaves and fry well.

Add chopped garlic and fry well until light golden color.

Add diluted spice mix and stir well on a low heat for 2 – 3 minutes until thickens / water dries up / raw smell goes.

At this stage, add marinated prawns, cover again (do not add water) and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes or until done and prawns tender (light pink in color). Overcooking will make the prawns hard in texture. Switch off the heat and stir well nicely.

Final preparation:

Clean banana leaf. Smoke this leaf on flame for a few seconds so that it becomes flexible and easy to fold.

Cut banana leaf into 7 - inch square pieces.

Take a piece of banana leaf. Keep a lemon sized rice dough portion over it. Keep another piece of banana leaf smeared with oil (with oiled portion facing down) the dough. Press evenly to form a thin circle of rice dough of approximately 10 - 12 cm diameter. Carefully remove the leaf on top.

Now one will see a thin circle of rice dough. Keep 4 teaspoons prawns curry mixture in it length wise along its centre. Fold into semi circle and seal the edges tightly - such that the outer covering is the banana leaf which was placed initially.

Repeat this process for the remaining dough / filling.

Arrange these raw prawns adas in a flat steel bowl and steam in a pressure cooker ( without weight) or or in a steamer for 15 - 20 minutes on a low to medium heat or till done. One can notice a color change in banana leaf.

Serve hot. Once the banana leaf is peeled, one will get a nice aroma of prawns curry.

Garlic Pull - apart Rolls

Garlic Pull – apart rolls

Makes: 8

Please use standard measuring cups and spoons. Fresh ingredients for best results.

Ingredients

For yeast:

A piece of advice at the start itself (this is the lesson learnt from my many disasters) – If the yeast is not fermenting as described – never go any further. The flour won’t rise. Get a new pack of yeast and start all over again.

5 tablespoons warm water (75 ml)

3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) sugar

1 teaspoon active dry yeast (please use fresh packet)

Method

For yeast:

Dilute 1 teaspoon active dry yeast with 5 tablespoons warm water and 3 teaspoons sugar. Gently stir well. Let it stand for 15 minutes, until it fermented / well risen and doubles in quantity.

For the dough:

400 g / 2 cups (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) all purpose flour (maida)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon butter + 50 ml milk

Extra 3 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon extra butter (to grease baking tray)

1 st stage:

For the dough:

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in 50 ml medium hot milk and keep aside.

Place 2 cups of flour in a large bow l(or first add 1 1/2 cups of flour and later adjust with remaining 1/2 cup flour), and stir in salt. Make a well in the centre, and pour milk – butter mix and fermented yeast mixture. Knead into a dough. Sprinkle 1 - 3 tablespoons of reserved milk if required until you have a soft moist dough that can be handled well and soft. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for at least 10 minutes (make an extra soft dough – softer than a soft toy). Return to the bowl, cover with a wet towel (wet towel and dough should not touch each other) and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

For the garlic paste:

2 tablespoon garlic paste

2 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoon finely chopped mint and coriander leaves

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients and keep it ready.

2 nd stage

Punch the dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

3 rd stage:

Sprinkle some dry flour and roll dough into a sheet of 25 cm in length and 20 cm in width. Spread garlic – butter – herb paste evenly from top to end. Roll from one end to another (see those photos above and below).

Now the roll is cylindrical in shape (gently make a perfect cylindrical shape)and cut into 8 pieces.

4 th stage:

Grease a baking dish with 1 teaspoon butter.

Arrange the prepared rolls in a greased baking dish. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, for about 30 - 45 minutes. Leave 1 - inch gap between each roll.

Preheat oven (OTG) at 375 * F or 190 * C.

Apply little milk; brush over rolls. Bake at 375° *F or 190 *C for 18 - 22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve with any accompaniment of your choice.

Padavalanga Parippu Curry

Padavalanga Parippu Curry

A tasty curry (ozhichu koottan) with rice in Kerala cuisine !!!

Serves: 3 - 4

Ingredients

For parippu:

1/2 cup / 100 g (Indian standard measuring cuo of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity) chana dal (Bengal gram)

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Wash and clean dal. Soak in a pressure cooker for half an hour with turmeric powder and 1 1/2 cups water and cook for 15 minutes or till done ( reduce the heat to medium after 3rd whistle (3 quick whistles) and cook for 10 minutes until done / soft. Allow the cooker to cool naturally. Reserve chana dal stock.

For coconut paste:

5 tablespoon (50 – 60 g) grated coconut

5 shallots (chuvannulli / sambar onion / small onion), chopped

½ teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoon water

Make a fine paste of above ingredients in a small mixer bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoon water when making the paste.

Other ingredients

200 – 250 padavalanga / poddele / snake gourd (medium size), gently peel off the outer skin, remove seeds , wash and cut into ½ - inch cubes

1 green chilli, slit lengthwise

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Method

In a wide bowl , mix boiled dal (along with the stock / dal water), snake gourd pieces, salt to taste and 1 slit green chilli. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover with a lid and cook on low to medium heat for 15 minutes or until 3/4 done and padavalanga pieces softens.

Add coconut paste, adjust the consistency of the gravy with extra ¼ cup (50 ml) water if required. Mix well and cook on a low heat for 8 - 10 minutes

For seasoning:

2 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)

6 curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add jeera and curry leaves and fry till crisp. Pour the seasoning over curry. Serve with rice.

Ulli Thoran

Ulli Thoran (or Piyyava sukke in Konkani cuisine) !!

A tasty side dish with rice in Kerala cuisine !!

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For coconut mixture ( thenga thirummiyathu ):

3 tablespoons grated coconut

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and keep aside. Do not add water.

For seasoning:

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds ( jeera )

1/2 teaspoon urad dal

20 nos chuvannulli (shallot / small onion / sambar onion), peel off the outer skin, wash and finely sliced

3/4 teaspoon salt ( or to taste )

Grated coconut mixture

Method

Heat oil in a non - stick kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they start splutter add urad dal, jeera and saute on a low heat for 1minute or until they turn light brown.

Add sliced onion and fry till pink color on a low heat.

Add grated coconut mix and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients .Do not add water. Cover with a tight lid and cook on a medium to low heat for 10 minutes until done and water dries up. Open the lid and stir well for 1 minute. Serve as a side dish with rice.

Kozhukkatta

Kozhukkatta

A very delicious steamed sweet dish in South Indian cuisine, made of rice flour and coconut – jaggery mixture !!

Makes : 5 - 6

Serves : 3

Ingredients

For the dough:

Tip – Please use same measuring cup to measure rice flour and water.

1 cup / 200 g (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz) raw rice flour (ari podi) - preferably fresh and dry roasted

1 ½ cups water (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup)

1/2 teaspoon ghee

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon extra oil

Method

Boil water in a thick bottomed vessel / saucepan. Add salt and ghee. When water (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup) starts boiling add rice flour and mix well. Rice flour should be well mixed with water. Stir continuously. Finally, add 1 teaspoon oil and mix well. Keep aside for 15 minutes and knead well to a soft dough when it is moderately warm. Divide into 5 – 6 lemon sized portions.

For Coconut Filling:

1 teaspoon ghee

6 tablespoon grated coconut

6 tablespoon melted jaggery

1 pinch cardamom powder

Method

For Coconut filling:

In a frying pan, heat ghee. Add melted jaggery and fry for 5 minutes on a low heat till fragrant.

Add grated coconut and mix it well. Do not cover with lid. Stir continuously and fry for 10 - 12 minutes on a low heat till the coconut - jaggery mixture thickens / water dries up. Add cardamom powder and keep aside. Sweet filling should be dry in consistency.

Divide rice dough into 5 - 6 portions and make round balls. Apply little oil on your palm. Flatten each round ball to form a cup shape ( see the photo above ). Place 2 - 3 teaspoon coconut - jaggery filling – (do not fill too much of the filling) close and again make a perfect ball.

In a flat bowl, grease 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange kozhukkattas carefully and steam in a steamer / pedavan / pressure cooker (without weight ) for 15 minutes on medium heat or until done and soft. Serve warm.

Khandvi (Microwave Method)

Khandvi (Microwave method)

A very popular Gujarati snack, goes well with green chutney. Recipe from Tarla Dalal !!

Tip for final stage:You can spread small amount of batter and see if you can roll it easily, if it sticks and doesn't roll properly cook the batter for  2 more minutes in the microwave.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Makes : 10 - 12 pieces

Serves: 2 - 3

Ingredients

Please use same measuring cup to measure besan, curd and water.

1 cup / 100 ml (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity) besan (gram flour / kadala maav / chonepitti), sieve besan

3 cups buttermilk (or 1 cup curd + 2 cups water)

Salt to taste (or ¼ teaspoon)

a pinch of turmeric powder (haldi)

For Tempering:

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (til) or ½ teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)

2 to 3 green chillies , thinly sliced

1 tablespoon grated coconut for garnishing

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander (dhania) for garnishing

Method

Grease back of a big sized steel thali with 1 teaspoon oil and keep it ready.

Combine the besan, buttermilk, salt and turmeric powder in a microwave safe bowl and whisk well so that no lumps remain.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes (750 W).

Remove, mix well and microwave on high (750 W) for 3 more minutes (or first microwave on high (750 W) for 5 minutes and if it is not cooked properly keep again for 1 minute. Cooking depending upon the quality of the besan and buttermilk).

Spread the cooked batter over a aluminium foil or back of a greased thali to a very thin circle, while its still hot (or in a very clean kitchen platform - grease kitchen platform with 2 teaspoon oil and spread khandvi mixture evenly and spread very thin in thickness).

Cool and cut into strips of 3" wide and 9-10" long and roll them neatly.

For seasoning:

Heat the oil in small pan and add the mustard seeds.

When seeds crackle, add the sesame seeds and green chillies and saute for 10 seconds.

Spread them over the khandvi and garnish with coconut and coriander.

Serve with green chutney.

Stuffed Bun

Stuffed Buns

This is a basic recipe for bun, braided roll, dinner roll ..

Makes: 8

Please use standard measuring cups and spoons. Fresh ingredients for best results.

Ingredients

For yeast:

A piece of advice at the start itself (this is the lesson learnt from my many disasters) – If the yeast is not fermenting as described / also shown in the picture – never go any further. The flour won’t rise. Get a new pack of yeast and start all over again.

5 tablespoons warm water (75 ml)

3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) sugar

1 teaspoon active dry yeast (please use fresh packet)

Method

For yeast:

Dilute 1 teaspoon active dry yeast with 5 tablespoons warm water and 3 teaspoons sugar. Gently stir well. Let it stand for 15 minutes, until it fermented / well risen and doubled in quantity (see the photo).

For the dough:

400 g / 2 cups (Indian standard measuring cup of 200 ml / 8 oz capacity) all purpose flour (maida)

2 teaspoon butter

50 ml milk + extra 3 teaspoon milk

1 egg, beat well

1 teaspoon extra butter (to grease baking tray)

1 small egg (for final stage of baking)

1 teaspoon milk

1 st stage:

For the dough:

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in 50 ml medium hot milk and keep aside.

Beat 1 small egg with 1 teaspoon milk and keep aside for final stage of baking (egg wash ).

Place 2 cups of flour in a large bowl (or first add 1 1/2 cups of flour and later adjust with remaining 1/2 cup flour), and stir in salt. Make a well in the centre, and pour 50 ml milk – butter mix , fermented yeast mixture and beaten egg. Knead into a dough. Sprinkle extra 1 - 3 teaspoons of reserved milk if required until you have a soft moist dough that can be handled well and soft. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for at least 10 minutes (make an extra soft dough – softer than a soft toy). Return to the bowl, cover with a wet towel (wet towel and dough should not touch each other) and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

For the filling:

Any filling of your choice (vegetable / egg / meat / paneer / spicy potato)

Or

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, finely chopped (or 4 spring onion, finely chopped)

(or 1/2 cup / 80 g minced chicken meat instead of vegetables or 3 boiled egg, cut into cubes)

6 French beans, very finely chopped

3 carrots, very finely chopped

2 tablespoon very finely shredded cabbage

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and fry until golden brown. Add finely chopped vegetables (or minced meat). Stir fry for5 minutes on a low heat. Add soy sauce and mix well. Cover with a tight lid and cook on a medium to low heat for 10 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Keep aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2 nd stage:

Punch the dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

3 rd stage:

Divide dough into 8 parts. Shape each into a round bun / ball. Repeat with remaining dough.

Make cup shape of each bun (fill like aloo paratha) and carefully stuff 1 – 2 tablespoon filling – do not fill too much of the filling and again make a perfect ball and place it over the greased baking sheets. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, for about 30 minutes. Leave 1 - inch gap between each bun.

Preheat oven (OTG) at 375 * F or 190 * C.

Beat egg with 1 teaspoon milk; brush over rolls. Bake at 375° *F or 190 *C for 18 - 22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve with any accompaniment of your choice