Mangalore Banana Buns

By Pavani @napavani
For this month's 'Indian Cooking Challenge', we are trying out a sweet & savory banana buns from Mangalore (in Karnataka). But these are not the typical yeast based banana buns or rolls, instead they are deep fried pooris made with a banana base dough.
The dough is quite sticky compared to regular poori dough and then dough is set aside to rest for at least 3~4 hours or even overnight. I was initially skeptical how these pooris would taste with the banana in it. I thought they would have a very sweet banana flavor, but I was wrong. The banana flavor is very mild and with the addition of cumin seeds, they taste more savory than sweet. Banana makes the pooris soft and fluffy.
These buns are typically served for breakfast with a spicy chutney, curry or tomato ketchup. I made these last weekend for breakfast and we enjoyed them a lot. Only one thing I wasn't really happy about is that my pooris didn't puff up as much as I wanted them to, which is why the ones in the picture look a little flat. But my husband fried up a few at the end and they puffed up beautifully -- I couldn't take those pictures because I had to leave to do some errands. I want to try them again some time and then will update the pics with puffed up Mangalore banana buns :-)

Recipe adapted from here & here. Ingredients: Wholewheat Flour/ Atta - 1cup All purpose flour - ½cups (or use 1½cups of all purpose flour)  Sugar - 2tbsp (add more if you want a sweeter buns/ pooris)
Cumin seeds - ¾tsp
Baking Soda - ⅛tsp
Salt - 1tsp (or to taste)
Ripe Banana - 1 medium
Yogurt - 3tbsp
Oil - for deep frying
Method:
  • Blend the banana to a smooth paste. Set aside until ready to use.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, sugar and salt. Mix well along with cumin seeds.
  • Add the banana puree, yogurt and starting kneading to form a soft, sticky dough by adding a little water at a time. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky and not dry. Smear oil all over the dough, cover and rest for at least 3 hours. If you plan on making the buns in the morning, then make the dough and refrigerate at night. Take it out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 1~2 hours before making the buns.
  • Heat oil for deep frying. 
  • Divide the dough into small lemon size balls. Roll them out into slightly thick disks. I use my poori press for this operation :-)
  • When the oil is hot (test by dropping a small piece of dough and if the dough floats to the surface, then the oil is ready to fry.
  • Gently drop the poori into the hot oil and press it on the top with a slotted spoon to puff up. Fry till the poori puffs up and is golden brown. Flip and fry the other side until golden brown. 
  • Remove onto a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the remaining dough.
  • Serve hot with a spicy chutney, curry or tomato ketchup.