Homemade bakery style Srilankan fish buns(Maalu paan).

It’s one way of having breakfast as you rush off to work.

These savory fish buns are a great snack when hunger pangs suddenly strike you, it’s a mildly spiced buns you will find almost in any of the local bakeries you visit here.

They are especially soft when they are fresh off the oven. Since the filling is made of fish it makes a good change from having the usual meats.

Some mornings when the kids are off to school and funny guy to work, I savor the silence and much-deserved solitude for a few hours with a frothy cup of Nescafe and these fish buns as a stress-free breakfast.

Writing about kids, you might have noticed my daily breakfast posts being late these days, it’s only because after sorting out home affairs I’m bogged down with prepping and keeping an eye on the two eldest ones with their studies, one is sitting for his o/levels and the other for her A/levels in three months, all I’ll can say is my mind is a scary place right now and this without my other three darlings in the picture.

Anyways, the bottom line is, I get to write my post only when everyone’s tucked into bed(ah..the sacrifices we moms make).

So now that you know the reasons for the delay on my breakfast-themed posts, I hope you’ll still keep a watch out for my very late breakfast recipes and use it to serve food that is wholesome and filling.

 Breakfast idea 8 – Homemade bakery style Srilankan fish buns( Maalu paan).

Making these buns happen in three stages, the filling and the dough we use, then comes the folding to shape the buns.

The bakers who make them are experts in getting the triangular shapes in seconds that I envy much because, the more I do recipes where I need to shape a bun, roti or a naan, the more I realize that I have a problem with shaping certain food items like these buns as they are supposed to look.

Time and time again you’ll see this happening, I think I get bored with whatever shape I’m molding and end up with different shaped buns and pastries.

One of the difficult recipes I want to tackle is croissants, and I dread thinking how each of the croissants will look like, well, we’ll just have to wait and see what shape these buttery pastries will take.

What do you think of these buns as a breakfast idea on Valentine’s day?

I think they look like hearts, well… maybe a bit misshaped but they definitely look like hearts to me, maybe you can make them on the 14th to that special person in your life.

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RECIPE DIFFICULTY -LITTLE CARE IS NEEDED

Homemade bakery style Srilankan fish buns( Maalu paan).

Please make sure to read the recipe instructions carefully to avoid mistakes.

Ingredients

Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

4 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of yeast(10 g)

1 and 1/2 teaspoon Sugar

2 tablespoons of butter

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1 cup of fresh milk

1 and a 1/2 cup of lukewarm water

For the filling

5-7 tablespoons of oil

1 large can of Tuna or Mackerel fish mashed

3 large Potatoes, boiled and coarsely crushed with a few large pieces still left out

3 large Onions

2 green chillies(optional)

2 pods of garlic mashed

Handful of curry leaves

1 and 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder

1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 and 1/2 teaspoon of Pepper

Whisk an egg vigorously with a tablespoon of milk

Method

First,  gather all the ingredients you need and separate them for the dough and fish filling to keep things organized. Have a flat, clean surface ready to make the buns.

Mix Yeast, Sugar, water in a cup and leave it for a few minutes until you see a frothy layer of yeast.

In a large bowl combine flour and salt then whisk the egg and pour it to the bowl, followed by butter and milk.

Once the yeast activates, gradually pour it into the flour, start mixing all the ingredients in the bowl. use a push and pull motion to knead the dough.

By the end of your kneading, the dough ball should be smooth and elastic. too much kneading can cause the exterior to become hard so keep the kneading just under 10 minutes

Shape the dough into a bowl and cover with cling film, leaving it to rise in a warm place until the dough rises.

Making the Filling

Place a pan on medium heat, pour in the oil and add

the Onions, green chillies, Garlic, Curry leaves, Pepper and curry powder, leave the ingredients in until they are soft and incorporated.

Once the Onions have become golden, add the coarsely mashed Potatoes, cook for a few minutes and mix in the mashed fish.

Incorporate all these ingredients and add salt to taste.

Once the filling is done, taste for salt and take the pan off the fire..

Making the fish buns.

Take the dough and punch it down, divide the dough into 6-7 balls, let them rise for a few minutes.

Use a flat surface with a bit of flour sprinkled to roll out the dough into flat, circular shapes.

Bring the filling close to the flat disk, place 1 and a 1/2 tablespoon filling in the center.

Once you place the filling, it’s time to fold it in a way to get the triangular shape.

Bring the left side of the dough disk at an angle to the center covering the mixture, do the same on the right side of the disk, folding it at an angle to cover the filling. then fold the bottom over the filling, Pinch the edges well to seal and you’ll end up with a triangular shape.

Repeat this action until all of the dough balls have been turned into triangular-shaped buns.

Line a baking sheet and sprinkle flour over it.

Place the dough with filling so the folded side is on the bottom of the tray.

Leave the dough buns to rise for 10-20 minutes.

Then brush egg wash over the buns

Preheat oven to 200C and bake the buns for 20-22 minutes or until they are golden brown.

If you find the bottom of the buns have not baked(this usually happens in convection ovens)turn them over, brush the egg wash and bake for another 5 minutes or until the bottom of the buns are cooked.

Leave it to cool before serving.

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