Palya Bun / Stuffed Potato Bun

If you have ever been to an 'Iyengar's bakery' in karnataka, you know what I am talking about. The Stuffed Potato bun or 'Palya Bun' is quite famous. My memories of these buns are from my college days. We used to finish our late afternoon class and on the way to the bus station (bus stand), go to a bakery and have one of these buns with cold masala milk. To be honest, if I had used that money to take an auto riksha instead of walking, I would've reached home two hours early. But, I was ready to walk more than 2 miles and eat this instead. You see why I have a food blog now?

One of our friends is very fond of these buns. He always asks me when I would make these again. It was a potluck party at their place and I offered to make these buns. Here is the recipe for those who love Potato Bun / Palya Bun as much as we karnataka people do.

NOTE: Typically, these buns are stuffed with just potato palya or potato subzi. I add some vegetables.  You can either use just the potatoes, or add onions and vegetables. The amount of palya or stuffing it makes is usually more than what is required. Use your judgment.


Ingredients:
For the Masala:

• Potatoes - 3 large
• Mixed vegetables - carrots, beans, peas etc about 3 cups
• Oil - 3 TBSP
• Green chillies - chopped 14 or more depending on your taste
• Salt - to taste
• Cilantro / Kottambari soppu - chopped 3 TBSP
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few 

For the Bun dough:

• All purpose flour or Bread flour - 3 cups
• Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
• Dry yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
• Water - 1 cup luke warm
• Dry milk powder - 1/4 cup (If you don't have this, use milk in place of water)
• Butter - 4 TBSP melted
• Sugar - 2 TBSP

For Brushing the bun before baking:

• 1 TBSP of milk + 1 TBSP oil

Method:
Boil potatoes. Peel them and mash them coarsely. In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When the splutter, add green chillies and curry leaves. When they are done, add vegetables and saute them for couple of minutes. Add salt and when all the veggies are done, add the mashed potatoes. Garnish with cilantro and in a few minutes, turn off the heat. Let it come to room temperature.

In a large bowl, add warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Let it froth for about 5 minutes. Slowly add melted butter, dry milk powder if using and flour little by little to make a smooth dough. Knead it well for 10 minutes. Coat with a little bit oil all over the dough and cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes to an hour or till double in volume.
After the rise is done, punch down the dough really well. Divide into 12 balls (You can make more of smaller buns). Let it rest covered for 10 minutes. Meanwhile make 12 small orange sized balls of the palya/stuffing and set aside. Now take the ball on your left hand (if you are a right handed person) and pat it to get a circle of about 4 - 5 " diameter. It should be large enough so that you can place the palya ball and cover it all around. Keep the palya/stuffing ball in the center and pull all the sides up together to join in the center. Pinch the edges and roll it slightly in your palm to make it smooth. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet which is lined with parchment paper or lightly greased. Repeat with all the dough. Cover the baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel or greased aluminum foil and let it rise in a warm place for about 30 - 45 minutes.

Towards the end of rise period, preheat the oven to 350F. Brush the top of the buns with oil and milk mixture (If you are an egg eater, you can give it an egg wash to get better color). Bake the buns in the oven for 18 - 22 minutes. Keep an eye on the bun since the size of the bun decides the time in the oven. If you are using two baking sheets, rotate them half way through to get even baking. When done, remove from the oven and brush with butter if desired. These can be enjoyed warm and in fact should be enjoyed when warm. They taste great when cold too. The left overs can be warmed up in the oven and served warm.

I was in a hurry to get to my friend's place so the pictures hardly do any justice to these buns. But trust me, these are worth all the effort.

I am sending this bread to 'Yeast Spotting' hosted here. 
And to 'Breadbaking day - 28'.

Happy Baking!! Pin It