Bun Maska

Bun Maska, this used to be our school recess snack or evening snack after coming back from school!!

A small joint very close to our house would sell pav, bun, khari biscuit, butter biscuits, nankhatai cookies, and all bakery products. Ramdas, the owner of that little joint eventually knew us well since we would buy all bakery products from him. They were fresh and delicious :) Bun maska was a treat. We were not allowed to have this everyday. (Indian mom's do not allow outside food and bread based food a lot :) ) But, there were few days when mom would just ask us to buy bun maska as our recess snack. Some days this would be our evening snack after coming back from school. My sister and I would quickly go an bring 2 bun maskas for us. Ramdas would slit the bun into half, lathered with a cube of Amul butter, cut into pieces, and back into a small paper bag.

Although this is my sister's favorite snack, she does not like tiny, sweet, tutti frutti in it. As a child she would pick out every bit of it and give it to me...Super happy me!!! I just love them. After I got married, I discovered how my husband was so similar to my sister. Their eating habits, their talks, things that they like, their choice of food, everything was so similar. And to my surprise when I made these buns I recently discovered that my husband loves the buns but not the tutti frutti in it :) I cannot describe my reaction. I was happy because he picked out all the tutti frutti and handed it to me, but I was really amazed at see how two individuals born and brought up in two different families are so alike. WOW!!

So based on my knowledge of baking and my recipe of pav that I slightly tweaked, I came up with this buttery, sweet buns with little bits of tutti frutti in them.
 
Ingredients:
1+1/4 cup water (microwaved for 30 seconds to make it warm)
1 sachet (2+1/4 tsp) yeast
1 cup milk powder (you could also use milk instead of water and milk powder)

5 tbsp. butter
6 tbsps. Sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups of all-purpose flour + more to knead the dough
1/2 cup colorful tutti frutti 
2 tbsp. milk to brush on top of the bun
1 tbsp. butter to brush after buns are baked

• Mix sugar, warm water, and yeast together and leave it aside for 5-7 minutes.
• Add milk powder, salt, butter, and flour to make a soft dough.
• Remove the dough on a clean surface. Use dry flour and knead the dough well for 8-10 minutes.
• Keep in a bowl in a warm place for an hour to proof the dough.
• Remove the dough on a clean surface and knead the dough again for 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-4 minutes in a dough mixer.
• Mix in the tutti frutti while kneading it.
• Divide into 16 parts.
• Roll into small balls and arrange into a greased tray 2-3 inch apart. You do not want the buns to touch each other after proofing.
• Cover and let the balls rest for and hour. You can let it proof for slightly more time than an hour.
• Lightly brush some milk over the buns.
• Preheat the oven to 450F and bake the buns for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown.
• Remove the buns and lightly brush with some butter for shine.
• Cool them on a rack and serve with delicious butter.
• Bun Maska with hot chai tea is just perfect!!

Here is step-by-step recipe:

Mix sugar, warm water, and yeast together and leave it aside for 5-7 minutes.

Add milk powder, salt, butter, and flour to make a soft dough.

Remove the dough on a clean surface. Use dry flour and knead the dough well for 8-10 minutes.

Keep in a bowl in a warm place for an hour to proof the dough.

Remove the dough on a clean surface and knead the dough again for 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-4 minutes in a dough mixer.

Mix in the tutti frutti while kneading it.

Divide into 16 parts.

Roll into small balls and arrange into a greased tray 2-3 inch apart. You do not want the buns to touch each other after proofing.

Cover and let the balls rest for and hour. You can let it proof for slightly more time than an hour.

Lightly brush some milk over the buns.

Preheat the oven to 450F and bake the buns for 8-10 minutes or till golden brown.

Remove the buns and lightly brush with some butter for shine.

Cool them on a rack and serve with delicious butter.

Enjoy Bun Maska with hot Chai!

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Spicy Masala Chai

With the new backyard I am really enjoying stepping out into beautiful cold morning wrapped up in my blanket. Birds chirping and squirrel on my walnut tree, it is indeed beautiful, relaxing, and serene. For Mumbaites like us, we call this Hill station climate where we could just spend few days of our vacation on the beautiful hills away from concrete jungle of Mumbai. 

Cold and chill mornings also remind me of our trip to Nathdwara, Rajasthan. It is a small village on top of the hills and our holy place of worship. Not just to worship, but the place is very popular for the Rajasthani food and great shopping from clothes, sarees, jewellery to artifacts and home decor. We just enjoy few days of stay there. Lord Shrinathji resides in Nathdwara, and while we go there to worship Him, we also enjoy delicious street food. From poha, khaman dhokla, and jalebi fafda breakfast early in the morning to delicious spicy samosas and kachoris in the evening and thandai, masala milk, sikanji after dinner, every meal is a feast for us. Morning tea is a spicy masala and ginger chai made on a small charcoal or gobar gas stove. I remember the small, dark, tea restaurant filled with a crowd of people enjoying hot, delicious chai in little claypot kulhads. The taste of the chai would get even better when served traditional way in the claypots. And because I love claypot and terracotta, I have plenty of these to cook and serve in. The rustic aroma of chai when poured in these pots is just heavenly and takes me back to Nathdwara.

Ingredients to make 2 cups Masala Chai
1 cup water
1+1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. tea (I use Red Lable tea)
2 tsp. sugar (or to taste)

For Spicy Masala:
1/2 inch fresh ginger
3-4 whole cardamom
3-4 whole pepper corns

• Grind all ingredients for masala in a mortar and pestle and keep it aside. You could add 2-3 cloves and tiny piece of cinnamon if you like the flavor in your tea.
• In a tea pot boil water, tea, sugar, and ground ginger masala and simmer for 3-4 minutes. 
• Add milk and bring it to boil.
• Strain in the cups or clay kulhad and enjoy!

**You could reduce the number of peppercorns if you do not enjoy the spice.
**Add 1-2 tulsi/holy basil or pudina/mint leaves or few chopped lemongrass to give added flavor and increase the medicinal value of tea. This tea is great to improve the immune system and fights against infection.

 Rustic copper tea kettle and claypot Kulhads.

Ginger, peppercorns, cardamom.

Ground ginger masala

Enjoy this winter with Spicy Masala Chai!

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Toasty Sandwich

It is finally raining in California....yipeeeee!!! Yes I have been so happy and excited, and every drop of rain and smell of moist soil has been reminding me of my hometown, Mumbai. Although these rains are no where close to what it rains in Mumbai, atleast something is better than nothing. With the drought situation in California, this bit of rain moistens the soil for my trees and plants. And just the thought of that is making me happy :)

The climate is also getting cold and chilli. For my parents (who are visiting us from Mumbai), it is super cold. They have been sitting at home all bundled up. We went for a walk yesterday in cold, drizzling climate. I had to explain them that just a sweater is not enough in this climate. They should have layers of fabric on them and a warm jacket to protect from the cold winds. Yes, this climate is very new to them and I am sure they will like it in few days. We have planned to make hot and spicy Pav Bhaji over the weekend. That way we can enjoy the climate as well as the hot food sitting in the backyard.

Rains remind me of Mumbai and street food of Mumbai. And although I love the yellow masala toast sandwich a lot, yesterday what came to my mind was Toasty Sandwich. Rambharose Sandwich stall was very popular where I grow up in the town area of Mumbai, Fort close to CST station (formerly known as VT station). This small roadside booth was famous amongst commuters. If you know Pancham Puriwala restaurant (famous for puri bhaji), Rambharose is just close to it. A quick parcel of freshly prepared toast sandwich would be nutritious and satisfying and very affordable for people. What made his sandwich different and special was the potato filling with the secret ingredient Kidney beans/boiled Rajma. I have never had any sandwich in Mumbai with Rajma in it and this was indeed special. A basic potato filling with few boiled kidney beans and peas would provide texture and taste to this sandwich. With my parents being with me, It was indeed a nostalgic moment for all of us while we enjoyed Rambharose style toasty sandwich.

Ckick here for the recipe of Masala Toast Sandwich

Ingredients to make 6 Toasty Sandwiches:
12 slices of sandwich bread
Salted butter
Spicy cilantro chutney
2 ripe tomatoes

For the filling:
2 large or 3 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1/2 cup rajma/kidney beans (soaked and boiled)
1/4 cup green peas (blanched)
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lime
Ginger and green chilli paste (to taste)
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. Garam Masala powder (or to taste)

To make the filling:

• Mix all the ingredients well. Give a taste test to add spice or salt to suit your taste.
• Divide potato filling into 6 parts and keep it aside to make sandwiches.

To Assemble:

• Apply butter and chutney on every bread slice.
• Place 1 part of potato filling on each slice.
• Place thinly sliced tomatoes and sprinkle some salt over it.
• Place another slice of bread over the filling.
• Toast the sandwich in your favorite sandwich press.
• Cut into pieces and serve with ketchup and chutney.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Rajma, pea, and potato filling.

Can you guess the place in this mug?

Enjoy the Rains!

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