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Bun maska
बन मस्का (bun maska): a soft sweet bun split and thickly buttered, dunked into milky Irani-café chai
Bun maska belongs to Mumbai's old Irani cafés, the bentwood-chair rooms such as Kyani & Co near Dhobi Talao, where office workers and students start the day with a split, generously buttered sweet bun and a glass of strong milky chai. The bun is pillowy and faintly sweet, the salted butter is spread so thick you see teeth marks, and the whole point is to dip it into the hot tea. Children love it as a weekend breakfast. Chef's tip: let the butter soften at room temperature; cold butter tears the delicate crumb.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the buns
- 2 ⅞ oz salted buttersoftened
- 2 tsp caster sugar (optional)
For the chai
- 1 cup water
- 2 green cardamom pods (optional)lightly crushed
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: For the chai, bring 1 cup water to the boil with 2 tbsp strong loose black tea (Assam) and 2 green cardamom pods and boil for 2 minutes until very dark.
3 minStep 2: Add 1 cup whole milk and 2 tbsp sugar and simmer for 2–3 minutes, letting it rise twice, until it is a deep tan colour. Strain into glasses.
3 minStep 3: Meanwhile split each of the 4 soft sweet bread buns in half horizontally with a serrated knife.
Step 4: Spread the cut sides thickly with 2 ⅞ oz salted butter, right to the edges, and sprinkle with 2 tsp caster sugar if you like. Common mistake: spreading thin; in an Irani café the butter is the main event. Sandwich back together and cut in half.
Step 5: Serve straight away with the hot chai for dunking.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bun maska take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of salted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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