Cumin and Onion Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

My savory fascination continues......so much for me being a slave to my sweet tooth. Hubby has an interesting theory about it..he says my case is now like the "halwai"...after a year of sweet bakes , I have developed an immunity against them !!! If what he says is correct, I fervently pray and hope it remains that way...would be so much better for my waistline !!!

Back to savory...it all started with the chana pulao ..well at least on the blog...which was followed by the festive tortilla rollups ...me ditching sweets on Christmas day must be indicative of some big change..right !My appetite for savory wasn't at all satiated....had to go for a non-sweet bake too ..what better than dinner rolls ? The only trouble ..I'm not a bread person so was avoiding baking one ..but it is the holidays and kids are home and mom has to be creative and try new things ...so how about spicing up the dinner rolls by adding cumin and onions?

I admit that dinner rolls take time...they are a fermented product..you need to double proof the yeast but the end result is so worth it. The magic of pulling apart fresh from the oven butter smeared rolls and plopping them in your mouth is hard to describe...borders close on heavenly though . If I have tempted you enough , give them a try...just a few precautions though....make sure the water is not hot ....hot water will kill the yeast ..similarly cold water  will not "wake" it up. Also, make sure to make sure that you see bubbles forming when you add yeast and sugar before adding the other ingredients.

Ingredients-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp room temperature butter
1 tbsp milk powder
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil

Method -
Fry the onion and cumin mixture in 1 tbsp of olive oil and keep aside to cool.
Meanwhile, for the dough, take a bowl and add the sieved flour.
Now , make a well in the center and  to it , add 1/2 cup warm water , yeast and sugar.
The yeast needs to the sugar to grow...in a minute or two , you will see bubbles rise to the surface.
Add the butter, salt , milk powder and mix well.
To it, add warm water to form dough.
The dough needs to be kneaded for 6-7 minutes (for the gluten to form...gluten prevents the bread from falling apart ).
Now, add the onion mixture , mix well and cover with cling wrap.
Keep it in a warm place for 30 minutes or till the dough doubles in size..( proofing the yeast )

Now , knead the dough again for a minute. Form small balls and keep them on a well greased pan making sure that they have room to expand.
Cover the pan again and keep in a warm place for 30 minutes or till the balls double in size.(double proofing )

Bake them in a pre heated oven at 350 deg Fahrenheit for 20 -25 minutes .
Remove from the pan and smear them with butter before serving.

We had ours with carrot ginger soup ...you guys are welcome to have them with anything that pleases you !