Masala Bun/Bun Nirachathu

Today's recipe is stuffed bun with a spicy chicken masala filling. It is inspired from the Malabar snack bun nirachathu. In this recipe I used regular yeast bread dough and stuffed with the filling and baked like regular bun. You can also make an easy version of this recipe by using store brought bun. I will add the recipe below. You can be creative with the filling, it can be either sweet or spicy filling.Kids will love this stuffed bun and it is a yummy and filling snack.

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 3 cups
Instant Yeast – 7gm/1 pkt
Milk – 1 ¼ cup (lukewarm)
Butter – 3 tbsp
Sugar – 4 tbsp

Egg-1

Cardamom powder– a pinch
Salt – 1 tsp

For the chicken Masala
Chicken( minced or finely chopped) 250 grams
Onion- 1 medium
Chopped cashew nuts- 6-7
Chopped ginger and garlic- 3 tbs
Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp
Coriander powder- 1/3 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/3 tsp
(or according to your taste)
Garam masala-1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves- a little
lemon juice- 1 tsp
salt to taste
Oil

To make the filling
Wash and mince meat, chop into small chunks. Finely chop onions,ginger and garlic and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add minced,ginger, garlic and saute.Add onions, cashew nuts and salt and fry till golden brown. Next add the coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilly powder and saute till oil separates. Add the minced/chopped meat and stir fry for a minute minutes. Sprinkle two to three tbs of water, cover and cook for 5 minute or till all the liquid is absorbed and the meat masala is dry. Finally add garam masala, chopped coriander leaves and one tsp lemon juice. Allow this to cool.

To make the dough
Mix milk,sugar and yeast till it is blended. Using a stand mixer combine yeast mixture,egg,salt and flour and mix until a sticky dough begins to form. Mix in butter and using a dough hook,knead the dough for 10 minutes on low speed. The dough will be sticky and loose.Knead the dough, adding little flour to the work surface,for around 5 minutes. The dough should be soft to touch and should not be sticky or stiff.
Grease the bowl with oil and also brush the dough with oil.Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.
Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with little flour and put the dough on the flour. Gently punch down the air and slightly flatten it. But do not work much with your dough at this stage.
Divide into small balls. Flatten into discs, place the filing, Shape dough like a pouch and seal the edges. Shape into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Brush the top with milk and let it sit in a warm place for half an hour for second rising. After half a hour bake in 350 degree f for 15 minutes, or till the top turn golden brown. Allow this to cool down completely before serving.Serve with tea

Easy version of bun nirachathu.
Take store brought bun and make a hole in the bottom part. Stuff in the filling (you can the the chicken masala filling above). Beat one egg and dip the bottom part of the bun into it and place on a hot griddle/tawa and toast/fry it. This will help seal the bottom part. Serve as a tea time snack