Indian Stuffed Yeast Breads

I ran across some recipe for yeast bread stuffed with curried veggies about a decade ago and over the years the recipe has morphed into my own.  My friends LOVE these, and it’s a great introduction to Indian food for those who are nervous about it.  These are individual rounds of crusty yeast bread stuffed with a fragrant, spicy mix of cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and greens.  They are pretty easy to make, and quick by normal yeast bread standards.  The filling can be made a day in advance, if you want, and kept in the fridge.  Leftover filling makes a GREAT stuffing for omelets!

DOUGH:

1 package active dry yeast (or Rapid Rise)

1 1/4 cups warm water (around 105F)

1 tsp sugar

Stir together in a large measuring cup and let it sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes until it begins to foam.  Then combine with:

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt (or 1 tsp non-iodized table salt or sea salt)

3 cups bread flour

Stir until you have a smooth batter.  Continue adding flour until you have a soft dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or knead in your stand mixer for 6 minutes.  Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.  If it’s cold in your house, place it in your oven with the oven light turned on, which should hold the temp around 90 degrees.  (This will result in a rapid rise, probably only an hour.)  While the dough is rising, make the filling if it’s not already made:

FILLING:

1 onion, diced

6 cloves of garlic, diced

Saute onion and garlic in some olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.  Raise the heat to high and add:

2 cups cauliflower, chopped

1 medium potato, skin on, washed and diced into 1/2″ cubes

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp kosher salt (or 1 tsp table salt)

20 grinds black pepper

Add an extra few glugs of olive oil and saute on high heat for 5 minutes.  Then add:

1 bunch pot greens (collards, mustard, turnip, kale, spinach)

1/2 cup vinegar (any kind)

Cover the pot until the greens are wilted.  Stir, add:

1/2 cup water

Cook over medium heat, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  If the mixture starts to get dry, you may need to add a little more water every now and then.  Eventually you want a fairly dry mixture for your stuffing, but you don’t want the veggies to burn while they are cooking.  As the potatoes begin to soften, stop adding liquid and keep stirring, cooking off most of the liquid until the mixture is fairly dry.  Remove from the heat.  If the mixture is still fairly wet, pour out onto several layers of paper towels, which will help absorb extra moisture.

MAKING THE LOAVES:

Roll the dough out to a disc about as large as your palm.When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it a few strokes to work out most of the air bubbles.  Then divide the dough into 6-8 pieces.  Take one piece of dough and roll it out into a circle about 4 inches in diameter.

Leaving the center of the disc thick, roll out edges out very thin.Then roll the edges of the circle out even thinner.  The center of the circle should be thicker than the outside edges of the circle.

 

Place a spoon of filling in the center, then gather up the edges of the circle and press them together to seal.  Then flatten the whole thing into a disk in your hand and place it on a greased baking sheet.  Spritz the top of the disk with olive oil.  Repeat until all the loaves are formed.

Bake on the center rack of a preheated 450F oven for 10-15 minutes until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.  Let cool fully before eating.