An eternal favorite snack at every Irani cafe in Mumbai…
A cuisine that has intrigued me for quite some time and I have been really wanting to try has been that of the Parsis. Parsis are a very small community in India that are known to have their ancestors from Persia, are primarily settled in Gujrat and some parts of Maharashtra and follow a religion called Zoroastrianism. Their cuisine has a heavy influence of Persian cooking with Indian styles and is heavily centered on non-vegetarian delights. I have already posted a couple of Parsi recipes – the Marghi na Farcha and the Akuri – on the blog and wanted to try more recipes. So when Valli did her announcement post for the Blogging Marathon #139 with a theme “Select one cuisine and cook three dishes” and the list had Parsi cuisine, I jumped at the opportunity to try at least a few easy ones that I can try.
One very iconic breakfast or snack that is a product of the Parsis but is extremely popular in Mumbai in the Irani cafes is the Bun Maska. The dish is very straight forward – bun slathered with some “maska”, which is a mixture of butter and cream. A couple of months ago, I happened to watch a movie called Maska on Netflix, about a son who is pressurized by the mother to carry on his father’s dream of becoming a “maskawala”. The scenes where they show the actor throwing in the flour and then kneading the dough for the buns is a thrill to watch, especially for someone who loves to bake, but hasn’t been doing much due to a lot of reasons and excuses. Hehe…
Since I took some pains in doing the set-up, I thought – why not make a reel with a trending audio, was so apt to this dish! 😉
While I tried reading up about this iconic recipe, it lead me to some beautiful articles like this one that captures the essence of this simple dish. It is usually served with a cup of strong Irani Chai and enjoyed by dunking into it. The bun used can be your regular pav, however the general consensus seems to be to use a slightly sweetened bun that is studded with some tutti frutti. I couldn’t track down sweetened buns and hence settled in with regular pav.
All you need to do is to cut through the pav, toast them for a little time – optional but highly recommended, slather a blob of butter on one side of the hot bun – the heat will melt the butter and make it spreadable – and equal amount of fresh cream on the other. Then bring them together and enjoy it warm with your tea – dunking or no dunking is your choice. I am the latter. 😉 Despite being an extremely simple dish, it tastes phenomenal. I have always had toast with just butter or just cream, so combining both of them together is genius. Some do say that you can try sprinkling some sugar in it or add a little jam too, but let’s keep it simple. 🙂 Try it out for yourself while you enjoy your next cup of tea… The only thing you need to ensure is that the buns are fairly fresh for the best taste.
Bun Maska
Ingredients
- 1 pav or tutti frutti bun fresh
- 10 gm butter softened
- 1 tbsp cream use more if you like
Instructions
- Slit the pav or bun and toast on a hot pan just till done - this step is optional but highly recommended.
- Take out, slather the butter on one side and the cream on the other bun.
- Attach together and enjoy with a cup of chai!
We used to get something similar in our local bakeries when growing up. Plain bun with cream and butter and sugar. I see there is no sugar here, which makes it great for a teatime treat. Love this simple recipe, perfect partner for tea!
Love reading about your journey exploring Parsi cuisine and loved that reel too 🙂 Pefect one for tea time parties. We can make mini bites and make it for parties too. Will be huge hit among kids.