The other day I had butter chicken momos which are basically dumplings coated in butter chicken gravy. This sparked an idea in my head to combine butter chicken, soup dumplings, and Chinese pan fried buns. The idea is to make a simple butter chicken gravy, freeze it so that we can cut them into smaller portions. Then wrap each portion in seasoned ground chicken and wrap them with a bun. This way, when the filling is cooked, the butter chicken gravy will leak and imitate the “soup” dumplings.
Freezing the butter chicken gravy
Freezing the butter chicken gravy is extremely important, otherwise you will not be able to wrap it with ground chicken. Place the gravy in a 6×8 inch container so that the gravy will be about 3/4 inch in height. This is important because then we will be able to make perfect 3/4 inch cubes. I would set aside at least 5 hours for the gravy to completely freeze.
How to wrap butter chicken pan fried buns
- Step 1: Separate dough into 40g-45g pieces.
- Step 2: Roll into a circle while making sure the center is thicker than the edges.
- Step 3: Place filling onto the center of the dough.
- Step 4: Bring all sides towards the top and twist to seal.
How to cook the buns
This pan fried method of cooking can be separated into two sections. The first is to get a crispy bottom and the second is the steam the bun and cook the filling.
Step 1: Place 1 tbsp of oil on a medium heat pan. Add our buns onto the pan and cook until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. (3-5 minutes)
Step 2: Add 1/2 cup of water into our pan and cover with a lid to steam for 10-15 minutes. If all the water has evaporated before the buns are cooked through just add more water.
Butter Chicken Pan Fried Buns
Ingredients
Butter chicken gravy
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ yellow onion
- ½ tbsp minced garlic
- ½ tbsp minced ginger
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- ½ tbsp garam masala
- ½ tbsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 200 g crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tbsp sugar
- dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
Ground chicken
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- ½ tbsp garam masala
- ½ tbsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 stalk green onion
Dough
- 315 g AP flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tbsp instant yeast
- 220 g water
Instructions
Gravy
- In a pot over medium heat add oil, chopped onions, minced garlic, and minced ginger. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add our seasonings and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add crushed tomatoes, cook for 2 minutes.
- Blend until smooth then add back into the pot.
- Finish with butter, heavy cream, sugar, and salt.
- Place gravy into a container and freeze. It will take at least 5 hours to solidify.
Filling
- In a bowl mix together all of the ground chicken ingredients.
- After our butter chicken gravy has fully solidified, cut into ¾ inch cubes.
- Using about 2 tbsp of our ground chicken mixture, wrap our butter chicken gravy cubes and set aside. It should look like a meatball. If your dough is not ready yet, you can place these balls in the fridge.
Dough
- Place flour, sugar, salt, yeast and water into a bowl.
- Mix and knead for 5-10 minutes until a smooth doughball has formed. Let it rest covered at room temperature for 1.5 hours.
- After 1.5 hours, separate the dough into 40-45 gram pieces.
- Roll it out into a circle while making sure the middle of the circle is thicker than the edges.
- Place our ball of filling into the center of the dough.
- Bring all of the edges towards the top and pinch to seal.
Cooking
- Into a medium heat pan, add 1 tbsp of oil.
- Place our buns on the surface and cook 3-5 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.
- Add ½ cup of water and cover with a lid to steam cook 10-15 minutes.
- If at any point the water has all evaporated, just add more water.
- Garnish with more butter chicken gravy and dried fenugreek leaves.
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