A Sri Lankan street food sensation.
I can't imagine a Sri Lanka visit without these delicious curry buns.
They consist of a soft, fluffy and slightly sweet yeast dough and are filled to your heart's delight or with just available ingredients. Say, there are no limits to your imagination here. The main thing is that it is a kind of curry : -) otherwise it would probably not be a curry bun.
The dough is also vegan and depending on the filling it is then also your Curry Bun.
I present today two variants. One vegan, with an eggplant - tamarind filling and one with tuna (the classic). But it is also best suited any kind of potato, sweet potato, or pumpkin curry.
Dough ingredients for 8 buns:
- 450 g flour
- yeast cubes fresh, or 9 g dry yeast
- pinch of salt
- 4 tsp sugar
- 45 g vegan butter
- 80 ml coconut milk
- 200 ml warm water
Ingredients for the eggplant filling:
- 2 smaller eggplants cut into narrow strips 3cm long.
- 1 leek, finely chopped
- 30 g raisins
- 3 cm fresh ginger bulb, grated
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 1/2 tsp hot paprika powder (or chili powder or something else to spice it up)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp ground palm sugar, or raw cane sugar
- 2-3 tbsp frying oil
- salt to taste
To spread:
- 2 tbsp oat or soy cream
- 1 tsp coconut flower syrup
- Pinch of turmeric for color
Ingredients for the tuna filling:
- 2 cans tuna in its own juices, drained
- 1 medium onion cut into fine rings
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1-2 tsp curry powder
- handful of fresh curry leaves
- pinch of chili powder
- salt and a pinch of sugar
- 2 tbsp oil for frying
To coat:
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp milk
Preparation of the dough:
Heat the coconut milk and melt the butter in it. Let it cool down to room temperature. Now mix the flour with the sugar and salt.
Put the fresh yeast in a smaller bowl, crumble it a bit and mix it with 1 tbsp of the flour mixture and about 50 ml of warm water until smooth. Cover the bowl with the so-called pre-dough tightly with cling film and let it rise for about 15 min in a warm place.
When the pre-dough has risen enough, put the flour in a food processor and with the dough hook add the pre-dough, the coconut milk-butter mixture and slowly the remaining 150 ml of water. Let the dough knead until it becomes silky smooth. It should be soft enough to just not stick to your fingers.
Add a little more flour if necessary.
Now let the dough rise for 2 h in a warm place. Alternatively, you can cover it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Note that the cold dough should return to room temperature for about 1 hour.
Preparation of the eggplant filling:
Heat the oven to 190 degrees convection. In an ovenproof dish, mix the eggplant strips with all the ingredients and mix well. Add 100 ml of water to the mixture and put it in the oven. Stir from time to time. After about 30-40 min the eggplants are soft and the vegetables have become a creamy mixture.
Remove the eggplants from the oven, season with salt and spice if necessary and let cool.
Preparation of the tuna filling:
In a skillet, heat the oil.
Fry the onions and curry leaves in it until they start to brown. Now add the mustard seeds and a pinch of sugar. Then stir in the tuna and the curry powder. Deglaze with about 50 ml of water and bring to the boil briefly.
The mixture should be moist but not wet. Finally, season the tuna with salt and pepper and, if necessary, spice it up with chili.
Remove the tuna mixture from the heat and let it cool down as well.
Preparation of the Curry Buns:
Heat the oven to 180 degrees convection. Line a baking tray with baking paper and divide the dough into eight equal pieces. You should flatten the dough as little as possible. It is best to oil the palms of your hands to shape the dough. Now pull a piece of dough with your fingers to a square of about 8 x 8 cm and fill each with 1 tbsp of filling. The filled dough lies in one of the palms and is now carefully closed (pressed together) with the fingers of the second hand. Place the round bun with the seam side on the baking tray.
When all the buns are filled, brush them with the egg glaze or vegan spread mixture. Now pop them in the oven. Let the curry buns bake for about 20-25 min until golden brown.
A good chutney (date or mango) goes very well with the Curry Buns.
They also suit well as a side dish with rice and vegetables.