Bring On The Chef In You, wishes all our readers a blessed and spiritual season of Lent. On the suggestion of our readers, we will abstain from posting any meat dishes during the Lent period. We may throw in some dishes with fish though.
Lent is the Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence.
I was pleasantly surprised when my little niece, Sonal, (who is little no longer 
); decided not to log on to Facebook for a full forty days during Lent. Now is’nt that something. Sonal, we are proud of you.
These Special Buns are stuffed with the goodness of vegetables. You dont have to follow the recipe for stuffing – do your own as per your liking. How about a mushroom stuffing…should taste awesome too.
For the Dough:
Flour (maida) 1-1/2 cups, milk ¼ cup, water ¼ cup +/-, yeast ¾ tablespoon, sugar 1 tablespoon, salt ¾ teaspoon, olive oil 3 tablespoons.
Take flour in a bowl, add salt and olive oil and mix. Take ¼ cup warm milk, add ¼ cup water and then add yeast and sugar and mix. Leave aside for 10 minutes till it bubbles. {If it does not bubble then the yeast is no good and you may have to try again or get a fresh batch of yeast}. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and form a soft dough; softer than chappati dough; else dip your hands in water and knead the dough. The dough should be soft and smooth to have soft and fluffy buns. Knead well, cover with cling wrap and leave aside to rise for half an hour to an hour till it has doubled in size.
When it rises, punch it and form balls 6-7, brush with a little olive oil and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
In the meanwhile, prepare the filling. You can use any filling of your choice. I used mixed vegetables for the stuffing.
For Stuffing:
Potato 2 Nos. boiled and grated, carrots/beans/peas – half cup- steamed and mashed, medium onion 1, jeera ½ teaspoon, ajwain ½ teaspoon, garam masala powder ¼ teaspoon, chillie powder ½ teaspoon, turmeric powder ¼ teaspoon, coriander leaves –few, lemon juice and salt and oil as needed.
In a pan add little oil and add jeera and ajwain, then onions and sauté for a minute or two. Add chillie powder, garam masala, turmeric and salt and stir. Then add the cooked vegetables and mix with fork. Add salt, coriander leaves and lemon juice and keep aside.
Take one of the balls of dough and press to make a small hollow and put a tablespoon of stuffing into it. Pinch the edges and seal. Then lay the balls, seam side down on a baking tray. Complete all the other balls this way, brush with olive oil and leave enough gap between the buns. Keep aside for another 20 -30 minutes to rise some more.
Preheat oven to 190 deg C. By this time the balls would have doubled in size (almost). Bake for 17-20 minutes till the crust turns golden. Each oven is different, so keep a check after 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and immediately brush with butter. These are so fluffy, soft and good and are best eaten warm, fresh out of the oven. Enjoy !!!!!
