Hello! How have you been doing? Have things gotten better where you live? We’ve fallen into somewhat of a routine now, and the last week has been especially pleasant because we’ve had the most gorgeous rainy evenings here in Bangalore.
Anyway, I’m here to share a recipe that has been a family favourite for a very long time — stuffed buns. It’s one of those dishes that every household in the family makes, with their own twist to it. My cousin Shabreen makes her with buns that have tutti frutti in it because she loves the pop of sweet; my aunt Nasreen makes these with a mushroom and cheese filling. Mum makes them with a prawn filling and it’s what I’ve grown up eating. I always assumed they were complicated to make, but I made them for iftaar this year and it was so easy and delicious, we wondered why we hadn’t shared the recipe here before.
You can use any buns you like, but I’m partial to pav, because that’s the way mum makes hers. The best thing about the buns is that it really is quite hard to mess it up. I mean, buns stuffed with prawns, soaked coconut milk and then fried till it’s crisp and golden? You can muck it up every step of the way, and it’s still going to taste great. The stuffing is a spicy filling that you can use to stir through pasta, or even just eat on toast if you’re feeling super lazy.
Feel free to swap the prawn filling to whatever else you fancy. Mutton keema, mushrooms, tuna — they’d all work great here.
Recipe: Prawn Buns
Ingredients
Prawn filling
250 g prawn (cut prawns into 2 or 3 pieces if they’re big) shelled, cleaned, and deveined
1 large onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped finely
1/2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
Pinch of cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
Small handful of coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
To assemble
10 pav or any other kind of small bun
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp milk
pinch of salt
Butter + oil for frying
Method
To make the filling
Heat oil in a pan.
Sauté onions until lightly brown, and add the green chilli and ginger.
Sauté for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Next, add the tomatoes followed by chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder and salt. Cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes soften.
Add the prawns and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the prawn is cooked through, and the filling is mostly dry.
Lastly, add coriander leaves, stir and turn off the heat.
To assemble (watch the video above!)
In a small bowl, mix the coconut milk, milk and salt.
Carefully cut out a round from the underside of a bun.
Pour in 2 tsp of coconut milk.
Add two tsp of the prawn filling.
Fit the cut-out round back into the bun.
In a large pan, heat enough butter and oil to coat the pan generously.
Fry the buns until crisp and golden.
Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Serve hot.