Being a south indian , chutney is a breakfast staple in our home and leftover chutney is a staple in our refrigerator. While some of it finds its way into sandwichess and wraps , and some invariably gets dumped .
One fine afternoon when I didnt have much to do ( which fortunately or unfortunately doesnt happen very often these days!) , i was in the mood of baking some bread . I actually made the dough and left it to rise without a solid plan on what I would do with it post rise. That is when I opened my fridge and happened to see that poor bowl of chutney. And I thought ” why not !”
Some hits and misses with rolling and twisting , and a trip into the oven later , we had some interesting looking rolls that smelled heavenly and tasted so much better !
The first time I made this, I used a green coconut chutney but have since figured a coriander chutney may be a better fit. I have shared a recipe for coriander chutney but this will work with any chutney or pesto ( homemade or readymade ). You can shape and roll these breads as you wish. To see how I did it , you can check out the video at the bottom
You can also roll out the entire dough , spread the chutney , re roll into a log and place into a loaf pan to bake as a loaf. Alternately, you could slice the log into 8 to 10 pieces and place into a square or round pan to bake as rolls ( like cinnamon rolls ) . You can even make some star bread if feeling particularly fancy !
But I quite liked the look of these individual bread knots – and gotta say , less fussy to serve . Although quite a few were wolved down as they sat on the cooling rack !
Chutney bread or chutney buns
Ingredients
For the bread dough :
- 250 grams or 2 cups all purpose flour or maida
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon active dried yeast
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 80 ml or 1/3 cup water
- 80 ml or 1/3 cup milk
For the coriander chutney :
- 50 grams or 1 cup coriander or cilantro leaves and stems
- 2 green chillies
- 1 inch ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons water
For finishing the rolls :
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 -2 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
To make the dough :
- Heat the water and milk together to lukewarm .It should not be so hot that you cant put your finger in , but it should be hot enough that you cant keep your finger in for long. A food thermometer should show 105 to 110 degrees F .
- Take off heat and mix in the sugar. Add the yeast and let it rest for 5 to 15 minutes. It will get frothy. This is called proving the yeast.
- In a large bowl , whisk together the flour and salt.
- Add the yeast mixture and the melted butter.
- Mix until it comes together in a sticky , shaggy dough.
- Transfer to a floured surface and knead for few minutes until smooth and soft. Add more flour if dough is too wet or sticky , add a little water if it feels too hard.
- When you press the dough with a finger , the indentation left will fill up quickly by the dough rising. This is how you know the dough is ready .
- Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and keep in a warm place for about an hour or doubled in size. This is the first rise.
To make the coriander chutney :
- In a mixer or food processor , grind together all ingredients ( except the water)
- Add the water little by little while grinding to get a smooth but thick paste like consistency.
- Taste and add salt as needed.
To make the rolls / knots :
- After the dough has risen , punch out the air . Divide the dough into 4 portions
- On a well floured surface , roll out each portion of dough into a rectangle approximately 4 x 3 inches in size.
- Using a spoon or spatula , spread the chutney all over the rectangle
- Roll up the dough along the longer end and then using a knife or a pizza cutter , cut this log lengthwise into two ( from top to bottom).
- Pick up each piece with the chutney filling facing upward and tie into a knot . You can keep the ends free or tuck the ends underneath like I did .
- Place all the knots on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet spacing them well.
- Cover and let rest for about 30 minutes . This is second proofing.
- Preheat your oven to 200 C or 400 F .
- Before baking , brush the mixture of milk and sugar on top of the knots .
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and brush with melted butter .
- Serve warm !
Notes
These bread rolls would make a great teatime snack , particularly if you have company or even a mealtime accompaniment . The bread to chutney ratio is just right and so is the spice level !
Is this something you would try ?
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