Vegetable Puffs

Iyengar Bakeries – the wonder, the splendor…..

Bakeries dot every street of our town i.e. Bangalore, more specifically Iyengar bakeries. Sometimes I really wonder how this orthodox sect got into the making of all the English stuff using eggs etc.
Almost every corner in southern Bangalore has an Iyengar bakery.
Bakery’s specialties are the yummy potato bun, the spicy khara bun, really sweet benne biscuit (butter cookies), artistically arranged dilkhush and dilpasand, tasty veg pups (what they call for puffs) and to end with all this a cup of yellow colored badam milk :)! (Wow am drooling writing all these :-p).
I would like to mention that 1 of my buddy is closely associated with these famous Iyengar Bakeries, hence anything newly introduced in the bakery we would be the tasters ;). I was lucky to see few of the bakery’s daily activities – Got to know that earlier on the bakers used to do most of their jobs manually but now a days machines have taken over them.
As a college student I enjoyed these bakeries as our adda ;). The best time to eat bakery stuff was in the afternoons, when the eatables came hot out of the Iyengar ovens.
Iyengar Bakeries no doubt offers a variety of items but each one of them are carb feast, so better watch out. That’s why the Bangaloreans are spoilt/pampered with all the comforts of toast, puffs, alu bun, nippattu… along with the supporting weather.

Well…even after statying away from Bangalore for the last 7yrs, I get nostalgic thinking about the varieties of options that we have back home. I never bothered to try even knowing what flour was used to bake or make, courtesy darshinis & bakeries – seriously they are God’s Gift for the working couples I feel. But today, the urge to eat those delicacies has forced me to learn all those professionally made dishes, which seem to be so easy and interesting. Best part is you find all the required ingredients here in their best quality, which yield the best result when followed according to the instructions – something similar to the Iyengars :)! One such trail was Vegetable Puffs, which becaಮೇ a hit!( Thanks to 1 of my blogger frnds V)

Here is a peek for the dish –

Ingredients:
Puff pastry sheets (the one that you get in super markets in frozen section)
Boiled potatoes – 11/2 cup
Boiled veggies like finely chopped carrot, beans, and green peas – 11/2 cup (make sure all the moisture is removed from the vegetables using a cloth or a tissue)
Finely chopped onions – ¾ cup
Finely chopped cilantro – ½ cup
Finely chopped green chilly – 3 to 4
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds powder/ Jeera powder – 1 teaspoon
Red chilly powder – 1teaspoon
Black Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala – 1teaspoon
Chaat Masala – ½ teaspoon
Sauf – ½ teaspoon
Oil – 1 to 2 Tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
To make the masala :

• Heat oil in a pan and add sauf, let it splutter and then add onions and fry till golden brown.
• To this add the boiled vegetables, mix well and fry for about 2min.
• Lastly add all the masalas, salt and cilantro. Mix well and take off the heat.

To make the Puff :

• Keep the puff pastry sheet out from the refrigerator for about 1hour till it is thawed completely. (Or just follow the instructions as mentioned on the box becos it might vary from brand to brand)
• Unroll the pastry sheet carefully; cut the sheet into rectangular pieces.
• Keep the above-prepared masala on one side of this rectangle; apply a little bit of water on all the four edges of the sheet and pull and cover the other side of the rectangle over the masala and seal it well on all the sides.

• Bake on an aluminium sheet over 350 – 450 F for 30min.

Hot hot vegetable puff is ready to be attacked

Enjoy the aroma of the Bakeries at the comfort of your home over the weekend and ciao you all again next week!!!