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Kulcha is a type of mildly leavened
flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads r ...
that originated in the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...
.


Recipe

Kulcha is made from
maida flour is a white flour from the Indian subcontinent, made from wheat. Finely milled without any bran, refined, and bleached, it closely resembles cake flour. is used extensively for making fast foods, baked goods such as pastries, bread, several varie ...
,
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
, a pinch of salt and a leavening agent (
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
or old kulcha dough), mixed together by hand to make a very tight dough. This dough is covered with a wet cloth and left to stand for an hour or so in a warm place. The result is a slight leavening of the dough but not much. The flour is kneaded again by hand and then rolled out using a
rolling pin Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
into a flat, round shape. It is baked in an earthen clay oven ("
tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoo ...
") until done. When baked, it is often brushed with
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...
or
ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from ...
, although this is not necessary. It is then eaten with any Indian curry. In particular, a spicy chickpea curry known as ''chole'' is the dish of choice for being eaten with kulcha.


Variations

In the first variant, instead of using water to knead the dough, milk or yogurt can be used; this results in the dough becoming softer and more rubbery. This type of kulcha is known as ''doodhia kulcha'' (milk kulcha). Leavening is often greater if yogurt is used. This variant of kulchas are not stuffed but made plain and eaten with a curry which can be either vegetarian or meat-based. The second variant are the kulchas stuffed with fillings that were served during the period of Mughals and Nizams in their Darbars. For example, in Awadh region,
Awadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...
Kulcha is served with Nahari, a mutton based dish. Nowadays, these are sold in restaurant and shops. Jammu's Kaladi Kulcha which is made with traditional
Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himac ...
Cheese i.e. Kaladi Cheese is one of the most-loved street foods in Jammu. Kaladi cheese is sautéed in oil on a pan, cooked till brown in colour from both sides and stuffed between roasted kulchas. Amritsari kulcha, a.k.a. amritsari naan, is a modern recipe which has become one of the favorite breakfast choices for the local population of Amritsar. In entire North India, range of stuffings, including
paneer Paneer (), also known as ponir () is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting sof ...
(cottage cheese),
potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
,
onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
and other vegetables are used to stuff these kulchas. In
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, kulcha breads are largely eaten in certain parts of the Hazara and northern
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
regions, where they are a popular breakfast item.


See also

*
List of Indian breads Indian breads are a wide variety of flatbreads and crêpes which are an integral part of Indian cuisine. Their variation reflects the diversity of Indian culture and food habits. Ingredients Most flat breads from northern India are unleavened a ...
* List of Pakistani breads


References


External links

* {{Indian Dishes Indian breads Pakistani breads Kashmiri cuisine Punjabi cuisine Punjabi words and phrases Roti Flatbread dishes Indo-Caribbean cuisine