The basic dough for these buns is similar to that of my Sicilian buns I posted a while ago.
For the first batch I drew inspiration from a kind of Filipino bread rolls called malunggay pandesal. These are delicious buns kneaded with moringa (drumstick leaves, malunggay in Tagalog) and then rolled in crispy breadcrumbs before baking. (If you swipe you'll see a video of the first batch)
I then made a second batch adding spices and fried onions - liberally taking inspiration from the Indian khara buns (savoury masala buns).
The result was GOOD…in fact, so good that we ate them on their own, as they didn't need anything else.
If you can’t get your hands on moringa leaves, feel free to replace with herbs - fresh coriander leaves, parsley or basil.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Ingredients
(for 6 buns)
00 Flour (you can replace with all purpose flour) - 300g
Fresh yeast - 12g (or 4g of active dry yeast)
Morning leaves (stems removed) - 1 cup, steamed
Vegan butter - 4 tbsp
Plant milk - 200g
Brown sugar - 2tsp
Salt - a pinch
Bread crumbs - 100g
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, chopped finely and fried in olive oil
Method:
Dissolve both yeast and sugar in milk. Add flour in batches, the butter and the salt halfway through. Knead until all the flour is incorporated.
Add the moringa leaves, cumin, both chillies, turmeric and the fried onion. Knead everything to a smooth and sticky dough. Rest for 10 minutes, then knead again. Cover and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in volume and airy.
Divide into 6 equal pieces and knead each, on a floured surface, to a smooth ball. Roll each bun in breadcrumbs and place on a lined baking tray. Allow to rise for another 1 hour, then bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 20 minutes.
