The rasavalli kizhangu kali (pudding), close cousin to ube halaya, both of which I’d posted about some time ago–I had some left over, which I’d stored frozen and was looking for a creative way to use it all up. I could well have just gone a puran poli or obattu stuffed-unleavened bread route, and maybe I will still. But the purple yam’s vivid purple is so striking, baozi felt a more fun option–so here they are. Baozi, wowzi, really!
Baozi: the term used in the Song Dynasty (CE 960-1279) to refer specifically to filled buns, sometimes distinguished from “mantou” which is an even older word used to describe both filled and unfilled buns. Are the buns of this present post filled or unfilled? The question arises because really the purple yam filling here is itself a dough, yam mixed with flours and yeasts to become a dough—as opposed to a red bean paste filling, for example, which remains wholly distinct inside. But then while these yam-inside versions may be texturally homogenous, they are visually very distinct—they look like filled buns. So, baozi.
Not momos, because we think of those as dumplings; not kozhakattais or pithas because the encasings of those are rice flour-based. Do we have a native Indian equivalent for things filled-and-steamed using wheat-based doughs? Turns out, we do, but only a small number. There are atte ke fara from eastern UP and Bihar [but these are savory and boiled, not steamed], Himachali siddhu [also savory but steamed], and really the closest to baozi, Maharashtrian dinda, which is a steamed version of the deep-fried kadbu [the name “dinda” derives from a customary way of encasing bundles of clothes in a cloth, which is how the circular rolled dough is folded over a sweet puran poli-like filling].
Most baozi or mantou recipes out there will call for the use of purple sweet potato, which is fine of course. But the repurposing of halaya or kali allows you to work with something you may already have and turn it into something new. You can even roughly puree this ricotta carrot halva and make striking orange-filled baozis.
These steamed buns are pretty simple to make, but there’s a bit of planning and waiting in between steps, which make the process seem long. It’s a bread, after all!
Step 1: Make the halaya or the kali
- The recipe for ube halaya or rasavalli kali is in another post, so head there to make it first, if you’ve not already. You can do this days or weeks ahead of preparing the steamed buns: halaya will keep well, refrigerated or frozen, for several months.
You will need about 1-1.5 cups of this halaya for the steamed buns. Bring that to room temperature and set aside.
Step 2: Prepare the purple dough
- Use 1-1.5 cups of ube halaya or rasavalli kali. If your “jam” is softer and more pudding-like, use less. If it’s more halva-like, use more.
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, proofed in 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon sugar. Once the yeast is nice and foamy, it’s good to go. Add it to the halaya.
- Up to 1 cup of all purpose white flour–again, use your judgement on this. Add the flour in stages and knead until you get a soft dough that holds together as a ball. A little tacky is ok, but you need to be able to pinch-off lime-sized balls.
- So basically you’re combining, halaya, proofed yeast, and flour in this step.
- Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to rest while you prepare the white dough.
Step 3: Prepare the white dough
Combine all the above ingredients and knead well until you have a soft, pliable dough. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, proofed in 1/4 cup of lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon sugar. Once the yeast is nice and foamy, it’s good to go.
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
Step 4: Assemble & score the buns
Pinch off large lime or smallish lemon-sized balls of both white and purple dough. You can roll the dough into a log and cut into pieces to make sure you get the same number of each.
On a well-floured surface, roll out the white dough into small, thick disks, about the size of your palm.
Place a ball of the purple dough in the center, gather the edges around and cover the purple dough with white, as in the images below. Flip the dough colors, if you like, to have the purple on the ouside–but remember the halaya/kali makes the purple dough a bit softer than the white. The idea is to have a bit of a custardy feel to the filling, so if you flip colors you’ll need to incorporate more flour while rolling.
Once the filling has been encased, seal the opening by pressing the dough edges together. Use a little water, if needed. Place these on a plate or board, sealed side down.
Repeat the process for all the dough balls. Cover with a tea cloth or a large lid (not touching the buns) while you’re working so they don’t dry out.
Now, using a sharp knife, score each bun deeply in a cross.
Place each of the scored baozis on a small cut piece of edible leaf of your choice: banana, pandan, jackfruit, banyan, mandarai [Hong Kong Orchid/Bauhinia], or whatever is available. Banana is most available, but pandan is my favorite for this: it adds so much by way of flavor. This will make them much easier to transfer to the steamer and later also to remove and serve. Place these back on the plate or board you’re using, and allow them to proof for 20-30 minutes or until they’re “blooming” and risen.
Here’s the whole process in visuals below:
Step 5: Steam the buns
Line the base of a bamboo steamer also with edible leaves. Bring water to boil in a large pan or the steamer base, and set the steamer basket on top.
Depending on the size of your steamer basket, you may want to work in batches. The baozis will expand further on steaming, so leave sufficient room between them. Mine in the image above are already a little crowded!
Steam the buns for about 15 minutes. Remove the steamer basket from the stove, wait for another 5 minutes, and then transfer the buns to a serving plate or other dish where they can be kept warm.
Repeat the process until you are done steaming all the buns.
Step 6: Serve/ store
I like my baozis warm, so I leave them in the steamer baskets and re-heat gently when I want them. Alternatively you can store for a few days (refrigerated) but bring to room temperature and/or steam again to resuscitate when you are ready to serve.
Depending on the sweetness of your halaya, you may need only a little butter or a slathering of more halaya or nothing at all to accompany these baozis. They should be warm with a bready crumb, but slightly softer, creamier and more custardy in their purple-hearted interiors.
Really rather wowzi, wouldn’t you agree?
Alternatives: play with shapes!
My idea for shaping these into blooming flower buns came from Angie Liew’s post on Huang Kitchen. But the sky is the limit, really. You can skip the scoring and just steam the buns, you can swap the layers (purple outside, white within–remember to use a bit more flour while rolling to counteract the softness of the halaya/kali). Or you can roll each dough into a sheet, layer the purple over the white, roll up again (like a jelly-roll) and slice with a sharp knife.
Then allow the pieces to rest as at the end of step 4 above, and steam.
Enjoy!
