Butter Bun Recipe (Madurai Style)
Madurai Butter Bun is a simple tea stall snack from Madurai made with soft sweet buns, butter, sugar and milk toasted together on a hot pan. The buns are slathered with butter and sugar, then cooked slowly with more butter and some milk until crisp outside and soft inside. These butter buns taste buttery, lightly sweet and comforting, making them a good snack with tea or coffee.
About Madurai Butter Bun
Butter bun is a popular street-style snack sold in tea shops and bakeries in Tamil Nadu. It is especially associated with Madurai where it is often made fresh on large tawas and served hot.
Madurai is a historic city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and is especially known for the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple. Along with its rich temple culture, the city is also popular for its lively tea stalls and street food.
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Snacks and dishes like butter bun, bun parotta, Jigarthanda, kari dosa, kothu parotta and chilli parotta are commonly enjoyed there, often served hot at small roadside eateries and tea shops with tea or coffee.
I have been to Madurai once and really enjoyed both the food culture and the beautiful temples there.
The butter bun recipe uses very basic ingredients like sweet buns, butter, milk and sugar. But the cooking method gives the buns their distinct taste and texture.
Unlike Bun Maska, this recipe does not use whipped butter or cream filling. Here the buns are toasted directly on a tawa with butter and milk.
While cooking, sugar melts slightly and caramelizes in spots. This gives light crisp edges and a pleasant toasted flavor.
Milk is another important ingredient. The milk poured on the pan and over the buns creates steam, helping the crumb turn soft, moist and slightly creamy while the sugar lightly caramelizes.
I also add a little cardamom powder to the milk. It gives a light aroma without overpowering the buttery flavor. You can also flavor the milk with vanilla or a few drops of rose water.
Sweet buns work best for this recipe. Tutti frutti buns are also good and taste very similar to bakery-style butter buns sold in South India.
If you do not have sweet buns, use burger buns or Pav. Since these are less sweet, you may need to add a little extra sugar.
These butter buns are easy to make and come together quickly. Kids usually enjoy them as much as adults.
The taste and texture of butter bun is somewhat similar to a soft Bread and Butter Pudding, with a buttery, lightly caramelized outside and a soft, moist inside.
You can also make a jam version by spreading a little jam inside before toasting. Mixed fruit jam and strawberry jam both work well.
If you enjoy easy tea-time snacks, you can also check my recipes of French Toast, Chilli Cheese Toast, Rava Toast, Bread Upma, Garlic Bread.
How to Make Madurai Butter Bun (Stepwise)
1. Take ½ cup milk in a small bowl and add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder. Mix well and keep aside.
2. Slice 4 soft sweet buns horizontally into halves.
Tip: You can also use pav or burger buns, but then you will need to add more sugar.
3. Spread butter generously on both inner sides of each bun. You will need about 8 tablespoons butter in total.
You can use white butter or yellow butter. I have used here homemade White Butter.
4. Sprinkle about 1 to 1½ teaspoons finely granulated sugar on only one side of each bun. I used raw sugar.
You can add more sugar if you prefer.
5. Close the buns with the plain buttered side facing down on the sugar side.
6. Heat a heavy tawa or frying pan on low or medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and let it melt gently.
Tip: Do not keep the heat high as the butter can brown too fast.
7. Place the prepared buns on the tawa or frying pan.
8. Spread a little butter on the outer top side of the buns and optionally you can sprinkle a little sugar on top if you like.
9. Toast for about 1 minute on a low to medium-low heat. Flip the buns carefully and cook the second side for another minute until lightly crisp and golden.
Gently press with a spatula so the buns cook evenly.
10. Pour some of the prepared milk around the buns and a little on top of the buns. Press gently with the spatula so the milk gets absorbed into the bread.
11. Flip again and add the remaining milk little by little. Cook for another minute or until the buns are lightly crisp and caramelized outside while staying soft inside.
Turn gently once or twice if needed as the buns become delicate after absorbing milk.
12. Remove the buns from the pan. Spread a little more butter on top and sprinkle some sugar if you like.
13. Serve Madurai style butter buns hot or warm.
Jam Variation
Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons jam on one inner side after applying butter. Sprinkle sugar and close the buns before toasting.
You can also spread some jam on top while serving. I like to use my favorite Pineapple Jam or Strawberry Jam in these buns.
Serving Suggestions & Storage
Serve Madurai butter buns hot with Masala Chai, Filter Coffee or hot milk.
These also taste good warm or at room temperature.
For a café-style serving, drizzle a little condensed milk or spread extra white butter on top before serving.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for a day. Reheat gently on a tawa with a little butter before serving.
Helpful Tips
- Use soft buns: Sweet bakery buns work best as they stay soft after toasting. Slightly stale buns can turn chewy. You can also use tutti frutti buns.
- Cook on low heat: Keep the heat low or medium-low so the butter or milk does not burn and the buns toast evenly.
- Do not add too much milk at once: Add milk little by little. Excess milk can make the buns soggy.
- Use a thick pan: A heavy tawa or frying pan helps the buns toast evenly without burning.
- Be gentle while flipping: After adding milk, the buns become softer and can break if handled roughly.
- White butter tip: Fresh white butter gives a richer taste but browns faster. You can use homemade white butter for filling and regular packaged butter for toasting.
- Sugar choice: Finely granulated sugar melts and caramelizes better. Brown sugar, coconut sugar or palm sugar can also be used.
Recipe Q&A
Can I make this recipe vegan?
Yes. Use plant-based butter and any plant milk like oat milk or almond milk.
Why is milk added while cooking?
Milk creates steam and softens the crumb while the outside gets toasted in butter and sugar. The sugar lightly caramelizes, giving the buns crisp edges and a soft, buttery inside.
Can I use salted butter for this recipe?
Yes, you can use salted butter if that is what you have. Since salted butter already has salt, the buns will have a slightly sweet-salty taste which also tastes good. You can reduce the sugar a little if preferred.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Madurai Butter Bun
Ingredients
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 4 sweet buns or tutti frutti buns
- 8 tablespoons butter or as needed
- 2 tablespoons sugar or add according to taste
- 2 to 4 teaspoons jam of choice – optional, for making butter jam buns
Instructions
- Mix cardamom powder into milk and keep aside.
- Slice the buns horizontally into halves.
- Spread butter generously on the inner sides of the buns.
- Sprinkle sugar on one side and close the buns.
- Spread some butter and optionally sugar on the outer top side.
- Heat butter on a tawa or frying pan over low heat.
- Place the buns on the pan and toast gently while pressing slightly.
- Toast for a minute and then flip.
- Toast the second side also for a minute or until lightly crisp.
- Pour some of the prepared milk around and slightly over the buns so it absorbs into the bread.
- Flip again and add the remaining milk gradually.
- Toast for another minute or until the buns are crisp outside and soft inside, turning gently once or twice as needed since the buns soften after absorbing the milk.
- Remove and serve hot or warm with some butter spread on top and add a bit of sugar if preferred.
- For Bun Butter Jam, spread some jam on one inner side of the bun after applying butter. Sprinkle sugar, close the bun and toast as mentioned in the recipe.You can also spread jam on top of the buns after toasting.
Dassana’s Notes
- Use soft sweet buns for best texture.
- Keep heat low to prevent butter from burning.
- Add milk gradually in batches of two or three and not all at once.
- Flip gently after adding milk as the buns soften.
- A thick heavy tawa or frying pan works best for even toasting.
- White butter gives a richer bakery-style taste.
