With a soft and fluffy texture, these sweet buns can be an excellent way to enjoy some family time. Mangalore Buns or just Buns, in short, is a common streetside snack that you can enjoy in any season of the year. What makes them special is that it can be a breakfast option too. With the right pairing, these fried favorites can be a dynamic breakfast option. Coconut chutney or sambar are some of the popular sides that go well with Mangalore buns as a breakfast option. My preference is to enjoy it as a tea time snack to keep it light and enjoyable. Although the name Mangalore buns do not say much about the taste itself, these delicacies taste nothing like the puri’s that they resemble or buns. Unlike crispy puris, Mangalore Buns or banana puri have a soft, fluffy interior with a sweet note from bananas. They also use a fermented dough, unlike puris. The authentic version from Udupi (Mangalore) uses Yogurt or buttermilk to prepare the dough and I have made a slight variation to make it vegan. I did this by substituting the yogurt with almond milk and lemon juice. There was barely any noticeable difference with this change. Try this when you are entertaining guests or during a family game night. Before you start planning it out, keep in mind that there is a little bit of prep work required for this recipe. The dough needs to rest 5-6 hours before you fry them. So it is important that you prep it overnight if you are planning this as a breakfast option. Nevertheless, these soft and sweet puris are perfect for any occasion. A little planning on your part will fetch delicious results!
Vegan Mangalore Buns Recipe
To get started with the Banana Buns or puri, mix plain flour along with bananas, sour buttermilk, ghee and let the mix rest for 6 hours to give us a super soft fermented dough. My vegan version was as tasty as the original recipe without the saturated fat from dairy sources. If you are not vegan you can still follow my recipe just by adding ghee and buttermilk in place of almond milk, lemon juice, and oil.
Serving suggestions for Mangalore Buns
Serve these yummy, soft, fluffy buns as a snack or paired with coconut chutney, or sambar. They also taste great with potato masala or kurma. The other aspect I love about Mangalore Buns is that they taste great while they are both hot or cold. You can set them aside for a day and they still taste great.
Tips to make the perfect Mangalore Buns
Riper the bananas are, the better the results will be. Adjust the amount of sugar you add to suit your taste and preference. The more sugar you add, the darker your buns will turn out to be after deep frying. I love them subtly but not too sweet. So here I added 2 teaspoon of sugar. You can add 1 tablespoon of cumin to the dough, to enhance the taste of buns. Cumin gives a nice taste and flavor to buns. Make a nutritious choice by using wheat flour instead of the usual plain flour. I used half and half mix of wheat flour and all-purpose flour. The more you knead the dough, the fluffier the buns become on deep frying. The longer the dough rests, the fluffier and softer the buns become on deep frying.
How to make Mangalore Buns
To prepare the dough, peel the bananas and the 2 teaspoons of sugar. Mash them with a fork into a fine paste.
To the same bowl, add all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking soda, oil and cumin seeds. Mix well to get an even mix. Now, add almond milk and lemon juice and mix well.
Knead it with your hands or a food processor to bring it to a dough consistency. Add in more flour if needed to bring to a wet but soft, sticky and slightly rubbery consistency.
Cover the dough completely with a damp cloth or plastic food wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 6- 7 hours. Once the dough has rested for a minimum of 5-6 hours, it is ready to be made into buns.
Making buns
Lightly knead the dough before you make buns. Make tiny lemon sized balls of the dough, roll it out a little using a rolling pin and a little flour, oil to dust. Don’t flatten the balls too much, keep them thick. A 4-5” piece of puri makes a perfect puri.
Dust excess flour off the rolled puris and fry them one by one on medium flame. As soon as you drop the puris into the oil they puff up beautifully, flip them over, keep them pressed under the oil for a few seconds and that helps the puri puff up even more.
Once they are cooked on both sides and are golden brown, remove the puri from the hot oil and place it in a bowl lined with a paper towel. That’s it! Mangalore Buns are ready to serve with coconut chutney and coffee. If you like to make more snack recipes check out these recipes… Matar chaat Beets Cutlets Bread Vada Urad dal Vada Here are the recipe details….
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