Khara Buns

Khara Buns 

Total time: 3h 30min

Prep        15min

Working   3hr 15min

Level:   Easy

Yield:   8 big buns

Ingredients

1-½ cups all-purpose flour +more for kneading

1 ½ tsp. active dried yeast

¼ cup+1 tablespoon milk

½  cup water

1 ½ tsp. sugar

3 tsp.  butter

1 tsp. salt

¾  cup finely chopped onions

5-6 Thai green chilies, minced

½ cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp.  cumin seeds

1 tsp. oil

Instructions

1. Microwave water and milk for 30 seconds, it should be warm to touch. This is important for yeast to proof.

2. Add sugar and yeast and mix well. Let it sit for 15minutes. The yeast mixture should be frothy at the end of 15minutes. If not, start the process again.

3. In the meantime, add oil in a pan and when it’s hot add cumin seeds, let it pop. Add finely chopped onions, green chilies and a pinch of salt, cook till onions turn soft. Turn off heat, add cilantro leaves, mix well and set aside. Cooking onions is important to not kill the yeast.

4. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add it to the yeast along with salt and mix well.

5. Add flour, one cup at a time to the yeast mixture and whisk until you get smooth dough.

6. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it into smooth, non-sticky dough. Add more flour if required and knead well for at least 10 minutes.

7. Flatten the kneaded dough with your hands and place the onion-chili stuffing in the center. Fold the corners and seal it well.

8. Knead again for 15minutes, till the stuffing is well incorporated in the dough. The dough might turn sticky due to the onions, so add more flour and knead well.

9. Grease a big bowl with little oil and place the kneaded dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and keep in a warm place till the dough almost doubles. This took me about 1.5hours.

10. After the first rise, knead again for 7-8 minutes to remove any air bubbles in the dough.

11. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and shape into buns. Place them on a parchment sheet lined baking tray.

12. Cover and place the baking tray in a warm place for about 45minutes.

13. At the end of 45minutes, preheat oven to 425F.

14. Brush tops of well-risen dough with milk and place them in the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350F. Bake for 20-25minutes until the top is slightly brown and the buns sound hollow when tapped on top. This took me about 28minutes, since oven temperatures vary, I recommend checking after 20minutes and increasing the baking time in increments of 3minutes to get the perfect buns.

15. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and brush tops of baked buns for a nice shine.