Mangalore buns always take me back to breakfast in Mangaluru. An early morning temple darshan, followed by a tiffin stop with family, hot buns and strong filter kaapi. I am a morning person, and breakfast dates with family and friends are one of my favourite things to fit into a visit home.
We try to go breakfast hopping almost every day when we are there, especially on mornings that begin at the temple. Buns are my little ode to that devastana-and-brekky time with the fam jam. Spongy, gently sweet banana puris, with a soft, bread-like centre that makes their name feel quite fitting once you tear one open.
They also give those last overripe bananas a very good home. In the batch I photographed in 2020, two bananas were left after making banana bread the previous day. They became breakfast instead. That is a lovely thing about this recipe: a little planning the night before, and something familiar and delicious to look forward to in the morning.
At home, we use half atta and half maida. The dough needs its rest, and the puris need to be rolled thick. Serve them hot with coconut chutney and a cup of kaapi, and breakfast is sorted.
Mangalore Buns / Banana Puris
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 2 large overripe bananas
- 1 tablespoon sugar or jaggery, optional; adjust to taste
- ¼ cup plain yoghurt
- 1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
- 1 cup maida (plain/all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- A pinch of baking soda
- Salt, to taste
- A little oil, for coating the dough and rolling if needed
- Oil, enough for deep frying
Instructions
Method
- Mash the bananas. Mash them thoroughly in a mixing bowl, then add the yoghurt, cumin seeds, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar or jaggery if using. Whisk everything together well.
- Begin adding flour. Add ½ cup atta and ½ cup maida first. Mix until the ingredients come together.
- Knead a soft dough. Add the remaining flour gradually, alternating between atta and maida as you knead. Aim for a soft dough that you can handle. The moisture in the bananas and yoghurt will decide how much flour you need, so you may use a little less or need a little more than the listed amount. Avoid making it stiff.
- Let it rest. Place the dough in a bowl, lightly brush the surface with oil and cover. Rest for 7–8 hours. Plan this step the night before if making buns for breakfast.
- Roll thick puris. Divide into portions and roll into small, thick rounds. Use very little flour to keep them from sticking, or lightly oil the rolling surface. Do not roll them thin like regular puris.
- Fry one at a time. Heat the frying oil over medium heat. Slide in one puri and gently press the top with a slotted spoon to help it puff. Turn carefully and fry both sides until a deep golden-brown shade. If the outside browns too quickly, lower the heat so the centre has time to cook.
- Serve hot. Drain on kitchen paper or a rack and serve with coconut chutney. A cup of strong filter kaapi is a lovely accompaniment.
Notes
- Ripe bananas matter. Use soft, overripe bananas that mash easily. Their sweetness determines how much sugar or jaggery you want to add. We usually add at least a tablespoon, but you can leave it out if the bananas are very sweet.
- Our flour mix is half and half. We use equal amounts of atta and maida at home. For the restaurant-style version described in my reel, use maida in place of the atta too, adding it gradually to reach the same soft dough texture.
- Let the dough rest. That 7–8-hour rest is an important part of getting the soft, bread-like texture inside.
- Keep the puris thick. Thick rounds and steady frying heat help the buns puff and cook through.
- The usual chutney pairing. I generally serve buns with a coarsely ground coconut chutney without tempering. The photograph has a tempered chutney alongside, so serve them with the chutney you enjoy.
Find the homestyle and Darshini-style green chutneys in their own recipe post.
