Moong Dal with Mushrooms & Spinach (Green Gram Lentils)

Doc and I are at the point in our lives where it seems like every week brings a new happy announcement from friends.  Babies, marriages, vacations, new houses, graduations, engagements, promotions.  It's been a giddy time.  

Last week one of my college buddies posted about some aversions she was having during her pregnancy, in particular how she was struggling with meats and dairy.  I offered up some of the dal/bean recipes I've posted.  As I went through them I realized that I had a few more I wanted to add, including this one for mung/moong dal (also called green gram).  So her happy news is good for all of us because it means a new post.

(I won't Piro-rant you with excuses about infrequent posts this spring.  The long and short of it is that I've been enjoying salads and fresh veggies more often than not.  I feel silly posting salad recipes and I don't delude myself that anyone is anxious for the next installment, so I've been waiting for recipes that I felt were worth sharing.)

Moong Dal with Mushrooms & Spinach

Total Time:  2 hours soaking (can be done while at work / overnight) + apx. 1 hour cooking the beans and ~30 minutes making the flavorings.  The process can be sped up by cooking the beans and flavorings at the same time or using a pressure cooker for the beans. 

Weirdest Spice:  Fenugreek leaves.  Can be substituted (fenugreek powder, celery seeds, celery salt, lemon leaves) or omitted.  

Credits:  I can't say I have a base or inspiration recipe for this one.  It bears a resemblance to my basic tadka dal, if that counts.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup green gram (moong / mung dal)
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 tsp oil or ghee
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 0.5 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1.5 tsp chili powder or paprika (optional, adjust to taste)
• 2 cups pureed tomato
• 2 tsp fenugreek leaves
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1 tablespoon cream or coconut milk (optional, adjust to taste)
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse lentils thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve under warm water until the water runs clear.
2. Pour the boiling water over the lentils in a heat-proof bowl.  Set aside to soak for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Transfer the lentils and water to a large nonstick saucepan and heat on the stove on medium-high.  When the water boils, turn the heat down to low and simmer approximately 1 hour or until lentils are soft.  Stir occasionally, adding more water if needed in order to keep the lentils covered with a small amount of water (see pictures below for an example).
4. While the lentils are booking, heat a second saucepan on medium heat.  When the pan is hot, add the oil.  When oil is shimmering, add the cumin seeds.  Allow to cook for 10-30 seconds or until fragrant.
5. Add diced onions and a dash of salt.  Saute 5-10 minutes or until translucent.
6. Add ginger & garlic pastes, saute 2 minutes.
7. Add the mushrooms, saute 5 minutes.
8. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, and chili powder.  Cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring constantly.  Add a small splash of water if needed to keep spices from burning.
9. Add tomato puree and stir until onion paste and tomato puree are well-mixed.  Turn heat down to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until tomato darkens and loses its raw flavor.
10. Add fenugreek leaves, garam masala, and spinach.  For maximum flavor, use palms to crush the fenugreek leaves before adding.  Cook 5-10 minutes or until spinach is wilted and flavors are incorporated. 
11. When both the lentils and the tomato sauce are cooked, stir them together over low heat.  Salt to taste.
12. Optional:  add cilantro and cream or coconut milk.
13. Serve hot over rice or with flatbread.

What I like best about this lentil recipe is that it's as decadent or as simple as you want to make it.  The difference is the addition of cream or coconut milk at the end.  No cream makes it almost rustic, whereas adding it in makes it restaurant-style in richness.  Or you can shoot for somewhere in the middle, as I usually do.

The first step is to wash and soak your beans.  You can quick-soak in 2 hours by using boiling water, or do it overnight / while you're at work.  

Use 3:1 water to lentils to ensure that they're well-covered and have room to expand.  When you're done soaking you can either use the soaking water or rinse them again and use vegetable stock to cook them instead.  Up to you.

Place the lentils and the cooking water in a large saucepan and dial it up to medium-high.  Ignore the urge to add salt here as that will only increase the cooking time.  

It should take about an hour for the lentils to get soft and for most of the liquid to cook off.  Stir every 5-10 minutes.  Keep an eye so that the lentils don't get dry.  At the end you want a little water/stock in with them but not a huge amount.  Like so:

See how they're soupy but not drowning?  That's the goal at the end.  Add in more liquid as needed if they get much drier than that as they're cooking.  Depending on how dry/old your lentils are it might take more or less than an hour.  It's hard to predict because every bag of lentils is different.  For me it took about an hour and fifteen.

While the lentils are simmering, get the flavoring put together.  

It starts with a second saucepan on medium heat.  When the pan is hot, add the oil, and when the oil is hot, add your cumin seeds.  Ghee is also an okay choice if you're not going for a vegan dish.

The cumin seeds only need about 10-30 seconds in the oil before you'll smell them.  Immediately add in your sliced onions and stir so that the cumin seeds don't burn.

After about 5-10 minutes you'll find the onions have softened up and gotten a bit translucent.  That's the time to add the ginger and garlic pastes.  For some reason, I missed getting a picture of that.  Sorry guys.

Cook the ginger and garlic, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes.  Then add in the mushroom slices.

About 5 minutes is what it should take for the mushrooms to soften up.  When they are soft add in the spices.  Also toss in a splash of water or stock if the mixture is looking dry in order to keep the spices from burning.

Stir the mushroom-onion-spice mix about 1-2 minutes to cook the spices.

Next up is the tomato puree.  You could use canned or fresh, whatever makes you happiest.

Stir the onion mix and the tomatoes together until they're well incorporated.

Turn the heat down to low to keep the tomatoes from scorching.  Stir from time to time as well.

It'll take about 20 minutes or so for the tomatoes to cook through and lose their raw taste.  They'll also darken up a bit, as you can see here:

The spices in the above photo are fenugreek leaves and garam masala.  Fenugreek leaves get a big boost in flavor from crushing them between your palms just as you add them in.  If you don't have any, go ahead leave them out.  You could potentially replace it with makrut leaves or celery salt for a similar flavor, but it's not necessary.

This is also when you'll want to add in the spinach, which until it wilts will probably seem like an absurd amount.

It'll take about 5-10 minutes for the spinach to wilt and mix into the tomato sauce.  After that it's time to pour the tomato sauce into the cooked lentils.

Stir it well so that the tomato sauce is completely incorporated into the lentils.  Add salt to taste.

If you're a fan of cilantro you can add in a little at this point.

And if you want a richer, creamier flavor you can add in either heavy cream or coconut milk (according to your tastes).  I only go with a small splash.  Start small, is my recommendation, and taste as you go if you think you want a lot of cream.

Stir it all up and you're good to go!


I have a preference for rice rather than rotis, but mung dal go equally well with either.

I served them up with some fresh cucumbers for crunch and some masala eggplant for kick.

Lamb Sliders with Date Sauce

Hey there.  Been a while!

The weeks leading up to the unofficial start of summer were hot 'round these parts.  I couldn't shake a desire for salad almost every day, meaning you folks didn't get as many posts.  Sorry 'bout that.

This one, though.  This one was worth the wait.  I'm very excited to share it with you.

Doc loves lamb.  Me, I could take it but I prefer to leave it.  Something about lamb is too greasy and strong for my tastes.  Burgers in general aren't my favorite, so when I made a second batch a few days later I made mine with falafel while using up the remaining lamb mix on his.  Either way, the sweet, barbecue-esque date sauce is the clincher, especially when paired with a few shakes of feta and some crisp, cool cucumber slices.  Alongside a glass of mint tea it was perfection.

What is it about tiny food, anyway?  Bite-sized is always better.

Lamb Sliders 

with Date Sauce

Total Time:  45-60 minutes to make the sauce (including cooling time), 20 to make the sliders, 5 to assemble.  Figure on 1.5 hours.

Weirdest Spice:  baharat.  Yes, it's substitutable.

Credit:  Spotted this one in Bon Appetit's May 2014 issue on page 20, in the RSVP section (where readers write in to ask for copycat recipes).  The original is found at Abigail Street in Cincinnati.  I've never been, but judging by their middle eastern menu and fabulous drinks list, I'm thinking there's no way I'll miss out on trying the Real Deal in person if the chance ever arises.

The Date Sauce
NOTE:  The recipe for this sauce as-is makes 3 times more than you're going to need for the sliders themselves.  So the first time you make this, please consider cutting the recipe in half or a third unless you think you're going to have a use for three cups of date sauce.  We've been using it on sandwiches at lunch time, but even so I'm going to end up freezing at least 2 cups' worth.  Just a word of warning for you.

Sauce Ingredients (full recipe makes apx. 3 cups of sauce):

• small splash olive oil
• 1/2 minced red onion 
• Tip:  mince the whole onion to save time, the other half will be used in the burger
• 1 cup tomato ketchup
• 1 cup pitted and chopped medjool dates
• Note:  this is equivalent to approximately 15-18 whole dates
• 1/2 cup pale lager, plus more for thinning the sauce (max one 12 oz. bottle)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauce Directions:

1. Heat a saucepan on medium heat.  When pan is hot, add a splash of olive oil.  When oil is shimmering, add the onions and a dash of salt.  Saute 5-8 minutes, until beginning to brown.
2. Add ketchup, chopped dates, and 1/2 cup of beer.  Mix.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20-25 minutes.  As needed, add small splashes of beer to prevent the sauce from thickening too much.  Aim to maintain a consistency like ketchup or just slightly thicker.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Add vinegar, stir, and set aside 10 minutes to cool.  
5. Place the sauce in a blender and puree until smooth.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Allow to cool in the fridge while assembling and cooking sliders.

The Sliders

Slider Ingredients (makes apx. 12 miniature burgers / serves 3-4 adults)

• 1/2 minced red onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves or 1.5 tsp garlic paste
• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• Note:  try 2 cups of prepared, unseasoned/uncooked falafel mix in place of the meats for a vegetarian version
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon baharat or other spice blend of your choice
• Note: see detailed instructions, below, for discussion and a how-to for making your own baharat
• salt and pepper to taste
• 12 slider buns or 6 pita bread rounds
• fresh spinach, feta cheese, thin cucumber slices, and other toppings of your choice for burger assembly
• other suggestions include asiago cheese, caramelized onions, and tomatoes

Slider Directions:

1. Mix the onion, meats, garlic, parsley, and spices together in a bowl until a cohesive ball is formed.
2. While a skillet is heating on medium-high, scoop out scant 1/4 cup portions of the lamb mixture to form small patties.  
3. Place patties on the hot skillet and turn the heat down to medium.
4. Cook 3-5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness / temperature is achieved
5. Can be served on toasted slider buns or warmed pita with a generous dollop of date sauce and your preferred toppings. 

I apologise for the weird, color saturated, poorly-lit picture above.  Would you believe I only got one photo of these when I did the first batch?  We had them on proper slider buns (hard to find, I spotted them by chance at Wegman's), but Doc just about stared a hole in them while I was setting up the shot so needless to say they didn't sit for long.  That was the Friday before Memorial Day.  The next morning we left early to go spend the weekend with my in-laws, who were regaled with stories of the sliders.  It wasn't until I made a second batch this week that I got some solid pictures, but by then we were out of slider buns and ended up using pita.  Which turned out even better, in my opinion.

Anyway, while these can seem time-consuming, the only part that's out of the ordinary is making your own date ketchup.  It's not hard, just takes a while for it to cook down.  You can do it ahead, the recipe says, by as much as 5 days.  So if you're whipping these up for a party or what have you, that'd probably be the way to go.

Let's get started!

The first step is to make the date sauce.  As I mention above, the recipe as-is makes more than 3 cups of sauce.  For 4 people's worth of sliders.  Either the cooks at Bon Appetit drown their burgers, or they just figured we'd all love the sauce so much that we'd want to use it on everything.  If you're not convinced you want to go that route, please do consider cutting the sauce recipe in half or in thirds.

You're going to need a 12 oz. bottle of plain light lager (any will do, though I'd avoid anything fruity).  I used Blue Moon's summer ale and found it perfect, as would be pretty much any other summer ale or pale ale.  Ketchup, pitted & chopped dates, minced red onion, and cider vinegar also make an appearance.

Be sure to clear out any pits completely or you're gonna be sad later when you flip the blender on.

First is to heat up a saucepan on medium heat.  When it's hot, add a splash of olive oil, followed by the minced onion.

Add a dash of salt (helps it cook faster) and stir it occasionally for 5-8 minutes, until it starts to brown up.

To that add your ketchup, 1/2 cup of the beer, and the dates.

Stir it all together and turn the heat down to low.

Let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You may also find that you want to add an additional splash of beer now and then to keep the consistency close-ish to that of ketchup.  In the end I didn't use the whole bottle, but it was definitely closer to empty than not.  Also, be sure not to answer the door at this point: if visitors see you with onion tears and an open bottle of beer in the middle of day they're bound to have questions.

(While the sauce cooked I took the meats out of the fridge to let them come up to room temp.  It's a little trick to help them cook more evenly.)

When the sauce is cooked and the dates are softened, add the cider vinegar and stir it in.

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes or so.  Then put it in the blender and puree until smooth.

When that's done, cover the sauce put it in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

To make the sliders (and really, there's no reason you can't do full-sized burgers if that's more your style, just FYI, though you'll have to adjust the cooking time), first assemble your ingredients:

Two things of note here.  As I mentioned in the quickie directions above, I think falafel mix is every bit as good as the meat (if not better because healthier).

The other thing is the spice.  The recipe calls for one tablespoon of baharat, which is a middle eastern all-purpose spice blend that differs from house to house.  If you don't have any on hand, you can either:
(1)   make a cup of it and store what you don't use for this recipe in an airtight container*;
(2)  eyeball it by using a generous pinch (1/16th of a teaspoon) each of ground coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, plus a generous dash (1/8th teaspoon) each of ground black pepper, cumin, nutmeg, and paprika; or,
(3)  use a similar spice mix of your choice, such as ras el hanout, tikka masala, tandoori masala, harissa blend, berber spice, cajun spice, or whatever spice blend you prefer with lamb.  Just watch out for added salt.

* I went with the first option, but I doubt too many folks have a spice grinder or the patience.  Go with what works best for you.  As I always say, we don't judge here.  The point of cooking isn't to show off how hard you work, it's to enjoy something you've created.

Okay, so get your meats, garlic, chopped parsley, onion, and spice together in a bowl:

Mix thoroughly until everything is incorporated.  I find using my hands works best.

Measure out 1/4 cup of the lamb mixture and form it into a patty.  I myself only measure the first one and then eyeball the rest, but it's up to you.  The original recipe claims you'll end up with 12 patties in the end.  I had 16, so clearly eyeballing wasn't completely accurate.

Heat up your skillet to medium-high.

When the skillet's hot, put the burgers on (don't crowd 'em) and cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until done to your preference.  Don't forget about safe food temps, please.

You can toast or warm your buns/pita if you'd like.  That's your call.  I toasted the buns quickly on a separate skillet, about 30 seconds per side.  The pita I placed in a 200(F) degree oven for about 10 minutes while the burgers cooked.

To assemble the burgers, place a generous dollop of the date sauce on each bun, along with the patty and any toppings you've selected.

I liked mine with spinach, feta, cucumber slices, and tomato.  The recipe in Bon Appetit recommends caramelized onions (which I skipped since both the sauce and the lamb mix contain onion).  The online menu from Abigail Street says they use goat cheese and mint pesto.  Doc preferred asiago cheese to feta.  Whatev, it's all pretty grand.

Saffron Sugar Buns (Trini Hot Cross Buns)

It's been many years now since I first discovered Trini sugar buns.  I don't often venture into West Indian / Caribbean cooking, but when I do I'm usually pleased with the results.  There's something incredibly appealing about that kind of fusion cuisine.

I came across Trini sugar buns one year when I was searching for a new take on hot cross buns.  The idea of adding in saffron to a lightly-sweetened, milky cinnamon bun was just what I was searching for.  In the years since it's become a tradition of sorts, though I never actually add the icing.  They're just as good for a non-holiday brunch as they are for Easter, too.

Saffron Sugar Buns (Trini Hot Cross Buns)

 
Total Time:  30 mins prep, 2-2.5 hours rising, 25 minutes baking.


Credits:  The idea of adding saffron and turmeric to sweet rolls came from The Trini Gourmet.  The base roll recipe is a sweetened version of a dinner roll recipe that's been in my family for generations (affectionately known as The Rolls).

Makes:  24 small buns or approximately 18 large ones.




Ingredients:

• 0.5 cup raisins (optional, can sub currants/sultanas if preferred) + roughly 1 cup of boiling water
• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon milk (whole is best, but ok to sub as per your preferences)
• 0.25 tsp saffron threads
• 6 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 package (2.25 teaspoons) yeast
• 5 cups bread flour
• 0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1.25 teaspoons salt
• 2.5 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 2 eggs

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon

Icing (optional):

• 1 cup 10x (confectioner's/icing) sugar
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 tsp lime juice
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Place the raisins in a heat-safe cup and cover with enough boiling water to leave 2 inches of water on top.  Set aside for 30 minutes to plump.
2. Meanwhile, heat the milk using stovetop or microwave and stir in 3 tablespoons of the sugar until completely dissolved.  Once milk is hot enough to produce steam, remove from heat and add saffron.  Set aside to cool while the saffron infuses the milk.
3. Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar into the lukewarm milk.  Add yeast and set aside to proof (5-10 minutes or until foamy).
4. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, and turmeric.
5. Add shortening to the flour mix.  Blend until the flour takes on a grainy texture.
6. Add yeast mixture to the flour, mix.
7. Whisk eggs into the milk and mix until well-combined.  Knead 2-3 minutes.
8. Drain the raisins, pressing out any extra moisture.
9. Add raisins to the dough and knead 1-2 minutes or until combined.
10. Cover with a warm, damp towel and side aside to rise until doubled (about 90 minutes).
11. Form rolls (24 small or 18 large) by stretching dough over itself and pinching together at the bottom [see pictures below].  Space approximately two finger-widths apart in a well-greased pan.
12. Brush with milk glaze, cover with warm, damp towel, and aside aside to rise until doubled again (about 30-45 minutes).  NOTE:  if preferred, rolls could be covered with plastic wrap at this point and allowed to rise in the fridge overnight.  
13. Brush again with milk glaze just before baking. 
14. Bake at 325F for 25 minutes (may take slightly longer for large buns).  Halfway through, rotate the pans 180 degrees and brush again with milk glaze.
15. Allow buns to cool completely on a wire rack.
16. Optional:  whisk together the icing ingredients while buns are baking and place them in the fridge to cool.  Top with icing once buns are completely cooled.

-----

The trick to this particular recipe is to start the raisins and the saffron milk before doing anything else.  

The reason for plumping the raisins in hot water is to keep them from sucking all the moisture out of the buns as they bake.  If you're feeling adventurous you could also use milk or whiskey/rum.  I find hot water does the trick just fine.  Just make sure whatever cup you use can handle boiling water.  Cover them completely, plus a few inches extra on top to give them room to grow.

See how much they plump up? 

Next up is the saffron milk.  One important thing to remember if cooking/baking with saffron is that you won't get much flavor unless you infuse it into a warm liquid first.  I did this on the stovetop.  Microwaving is also an option.  You don't need to get the milk boiling or anything -- just warm it enough to steam a little and dissolve the sugar.  Once the milk is warm sprinkle the saffron on top, using your fingers to crush the threads a little as you go.  I took this picture as soon as I could grab my camera, and you can already see the color/flavor leeching into the milk just a few seconds after I put the saffron in.

Take it off the heat and let it cool.  You don't want the milk to be too hot when you add it to the dough or else it'll kill your yeast.  Lukewarm is okay. 

Note:  if you want to cut down on dishes, you could put the raisins into the hot milk along with the saffron.  I tend not to because then I find the buns get a little too raisin-flavored and the saffron flavor gets buried.  Up to you.

While the milk and raisins are busy working their mojo dissolve the remaining sugar and yeast into the lukewarm water.  

This is calling "proofing" because what you're doing is making sure (proving) that the yeast is alive.  That was more of an issue in the old days but is still a good idea if you tend to keep yeast for months or years.  It's not a strictly necessary step, though.  The proof that the yeast is active/alive is that it starts to digest the sugar, which we can indirectly observe by the gas that it lets off.  That's where the foam comes from:

Neat, huh?  And only a little bit gross.  Try not to think about it.  

While the yeast is chowing down on the sugar water and belching up proof (yum), whisk together your flour, salt, cinnamon, and turmeric:

The spices will kind of disappear into the flour.  Not to worry, the saffron is going to give the buns a nice yellow color.  

Next up is the shortening.  If you're like me, shortening kind of freaks you out.  If you want to give butter or even lard a try, I won't stop you though I can't guarantee that it'll come out the same.  You might have to play around with measurements a little.

Blending in the shortening will change the texture of the flour so that it's more grainy:

Okay, so now you've got all the major components.  First the proven yeast goes in:

Mix that up, whisk the eggs into the cooled milk (make sure it's only lukewarm, not hot):

See how yellow the milk got?  That's all the saffron-y goodness.  Once the eggs are whisked in, add that to the flour:

Blend it all into a dough.  If you're using a mixer, like I was, you may want to stop partway through to change from a paddle to a dough hook.  

Once it all comes together like the above, you can knead it for about 2-3 minutes.  That should give you a soft, springy dough:

At this point drain the raisins, pressing any extra moisture out, and add them in.  Another minute or two of kneading should be enough to mix them in.  

Your dough is done!  Wet down a clean cloth with hot water and drape it over the top of your mixing bowl.  The dough will rise at different rates depending on how warm your kitchen is -- usually about 90 minutes is adequate to get it to roughly double in size.

When the dough has risen it's time to shape it into buns.  I usually opt for smaller ones for the simple reason that I really like these buns and usually go for a second one whether I need it or not.  

There's a trick to getting round(ish) buns and rolls that goes like so:  stretch the dough through your fingers and tuck it in on itself until it's round and smooth.  Here's the first step, where I'm using the thumb of my left hand to push the dough through a ring made with the fingers of my right hand:

Please forgive my giant ham hands and instead focus on how this is stretching the top of the bun so that it's smooth.  Doing that will give you a kind of pocket at the bottom, which you can then pinch together:

Again, ham hands.  Sorry.  But anyway, if you put the bun seam-side down into your pan, nobody will ever know that the bottom is kind of puckery:

See?  And now your bun isn't all lumpy.

Lather, rinse, repeat until all the dough is used up.  Space them about two finger-widths apart and don't panic if you don't end up with an even number.  I had to go back and add extra leftover dough to a few just so I wouldn't have to start a third pan.

Aside:  does anyone else think it's weird when recipes say to put baked goods X inches apart?  Does anyone actually get out a ruler and check?

Next you'll want to brush these with the milk/sugar/cinnamon glaze.  This will add a little extra sweetness, but more importantly it'll keep the buns from drying out too much while they rise.  

Cover them with a warm, damp cloth and let them rise again until the buns are about doubled in size -- roughly half an hour, maybe a smidge more.

Brush 'em down with the milk glaze again when they're all risen:

And now it's time to bake!  The total baking time is 25ish minutes at 325F.  Halfway through brush them down with the milk glaze again and rotate the pans 180 degrees so that they bake more evenly.

When you're done the tops should be lightly browned and shiny:

Tadaaaa!  

If you're making the icing:  whisk the sugar/milk/lime juice together while the rolls are baking and put it in the fridge to firm up.  Drizzle it over the top once the buns are cooled.  I don't particularly care for icing so most of the time I skip that step.  

I prefer to eat them hot out of the oven with a little coffee.

Yum!

What I like best about these is that they're a-mazing right out of the oven, but they also toast up nicely the next day.  Just split them in half and pop 'em in the toaster oven for a minute or two to heat them back up.