Methi Buttermilk Buns

Going to the Madiwala market is one of my favorite things to do on a sunday. Its chaotic, its filled with heaps and heaps of fresh fruits and vegetables, its colorful, its just beautiful. I want to take an armload of everything that I see. And this time I was tempted into buying a lot of greens, they were so fresh.

So I had loads of greens on my hands to finish up, spinach, mint and methi (Fenugreek). I needed some recipes to use them up. I made spinach soup, without the chicken. Let me tell you, it was the most delicious green soup I have ever tasted. If not for making coconut milk from scratch, I'd eat it every week. Spinach, check.

Mint leaves were ably used to make the Pani for Pani Puri and the remaining went into a pachchadi (Pickle so to say, but more like to be finished in a day or too).

Come to methi, I used up one bunch for my Methi Lobhia, a great simple recipe from 660 Curries. (Someday I will take a photograph of it cooked and will make a blog post of it). I had another bunch weighing on my mind and then I ran across this delicious photo of buns on JFI greens roundup.

I get a lot of inspiration from checking out Food Blogging Event Roundups. :) Most of my current favorites are usually trials from the recipes bookmarked during such fishing. And one of my favorite haunts is JFI. Especially the roundups. I am usually late to participate in them myself, mostly see them after they are done. I am going to rectify this situation by the end of this post.

Methi Malai Buns from Jugalbandi needed paneer and I had none at home, but I had a cupful of Buttermilk waiting to be used up. So I used that instead and made small minor changes as per my taste buds. And the result was very tasty. I'd tweak the recipe more to make it spicier like the Masala Buns that we get in Iyengar Bakeries here in Bangalore. Maybe some mint, some minced green chillies, more ajwain, definitely more methi. Hmm, looks like I will be making more variations of these.

Now I want to send them to Bread Baking Day #28: Buns. :)

Methi Buttermilk Buns
(Makes 8-10 Buns)

2 tbsp Water, slightly warm
1 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Honey
280g Whole Wheat Flour
140g All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Ajwain Seeds (Bishop's Weed) (Can use thyme in its place)
1 bunch Methi Leaves (approximately a cup), finely chopped
1 bunch Spring Onion Greens, finely chopped
1 Small Red Onion, grated/minced
1 Green Chilli, sliced finely/minced
125ml Buttermilk (1/2 Cup)
2 tbsp Olive Oil

• Dissolve the active dry yeast in the slightly warm water. Add the honey to the water. Stir to dissolve the honey.
  
• Mix the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, ajwain seeds and Baking Soda in a big bowl.
  
• Add the chopped methi greens, spring onion greens, onion, green chilli and mix well.
• Add the Olive oil and buttermilk to the flour mixture.
  
• Pour in the water. Gather together into a dough and knead it for 6-7 min till it is slightly springy or elastic.
  
• Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, turn to coat the other side in oil.
• Keep the bowl covered and let the dough rise till double, for 1 to 1 1/2 hr.
  
• Overturn the dough gently on to the counter, divide it into 8-10 parts. Gently roll them to make into small balls.
  
• Place them slightly apart on a baking sheet. Cover and let them rise till doubled. (30-40 min)
• Preheat the oven to 180C and bake them for 20-25 min.
• Cool them on a rack after taking out of the oven.