Raise your hand if you had a lot of hope for 2021 and thought the worst was behind us? 🙋

I notice that I turn to cooking or baking when my mind is troubled. I did a lot of it during the 3 months of lockdown last year. These days, India is constantly on my mind. With the second wave of the pandemic ravaging my beloved home country, it is often difficult to stay positive and upbeat. I know this dreadful time will pass and things will eventually get better but concern for the health and well-being of my family and friends simmers just below the surface. 

The recent spike in community cases in Singapore has also been some cause for concern. We have been riding out the pandemic with relative ease since July last year and I don't think many of us have been worried about a second wave. Should we be now? I don't know. Only time will tell. 

Anyway, back to the topic that gives me comfort - FOOD. You know, for as much cooking as I do and the amount of passion I have for it, I can't really call myself a creative or inventive cook. I tend to follow recipes with tweaks and substitutions here and there but it is quite a rare event when I come up with a Recipe all by myself. 

I happened to have extra basil, some mini portobello mushrooms (that I had no plan for) and a whole lot of cherry tomatoes. One good habit I have gradually developed over the past few years is not to waste food/ ingredients. I did not want to go the pasta or pizza route since we had already made those in the past two days. I did not have any puff pastry at home and I was in no mood to go shopping (and end up with a bunch of other things I don't need!). So I just decided to make a variation of Stuffed Buns with the ingredients I had with me. 

I have made a few different kinds of stuffed Buns over the years. You can check out recipes for Potato Bun, Pizza Bun and Paneer Masala Bun. I have had a lot of positive feedback from many readers who have tried these buns. For my latest variation, I first made a yeast-based dough, a filling of onions, garlic, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and lastly whipped up a basil pesto. Then I put everything together, threw it in the oven and voila! - a unique recipe sprang to life 😄

These buns turned out pretty good. I served them for breakfast along with eggs sunny side up, extra dollops of basil pesto and a fruit bowl. My kids polished them off (always a good sign!). This recipe is highly customizable so feel free to make tweaks or substitutions based on the ingredients you have on hand. 

Eat well, mask up and stay safe!