Amritsari Aloo Kulcha

Let’s make one of the most loved Indian flatbread!!

Amritsari Aloo Kulcha, deliciously crispy, stuffed with spicy tangy potatoes. Perfect accompaniment with pindi chana, sirke wale pyaz & coriander chutney along.

Indian Cuisine offers a wide variety of breads mainly flatbreads. And there is something so enticing about the flatbreads that Indian subcontinent has to offer. I absolutely adore them all but there are a few I can’t do without. Amritsari Kulcha is one such flatbread.

Making these Kulcha’s today took me down to my beautiful memories. I remember my grandmom had that clay tandoor and she would make us those delicious tandoori roti’s quite often. Having a tandoor was a tradition then in every Punjabi household. We would all gather together in terrace and enjoy hot rotis with yummy curries over lots of fun, laughter. Precious golden memories they are to me, you will often find me talking about my dad and grandmom. Then later dad would make cooks these out of the world aloo kulchas in same tandoor and serve with dal makhni. It would be crisp yet soft like the ones you get on the highways going towards Punjab. Writing this and thinking how I wish I had that clay tandoor now 🙁

“There is something profoundly satisfying about sharing a meal. Eating together, breaking bread together is one of the oldest and most fundamentally unifying of human experiences – Barbara Coloroso”

Amritsari Kulcha is basically a leavened flatbread similar to naan but both are different. Typically Kulcha dough uses baking powder and yogurt. Amritsari Kulcha is more specific to Punjab mainly Amritsar and its traditions and is typically eaten for breakfast. If you happen to visit Amritsar you can see the entire city has with thousands of eateries serving kulchas and people flocking in numbers to enjoy them. The Amritsari version is usually stuffed with spicy n tangy filling made with aloo, paneer or onions mixed with few blend of spices. They are gorgeous.

These kulchas just melt in your mouth giving you explosion of flavors in every bite. Seriously so good!!

The dough for the kulchas require basic ingredients – all purpose flour, baking powder, yogurt, milk all mixed together to form a soft and sticky dough. Important thing to keep in mind here, the dough has to be soft, sticky and at no point dry. If the dough is dry you will not get crispy yet soft kulchas. And then set aside to rest for minimum 2 hours in a warm place. There will be slight leavening of the dough, it will become smooth and is easy to roll out. Another thing to keep in mind, make the stuffing only when you are ready to make the kulchas. The filling has to be really dry for easy rolling. Once ready to cook the roll out a little dough, stuff it with the potato mixture and cook it in clay tandoor until crisp and slightly charred. Some butter on top and crushed between hands while still hot. Heaven!!

The kulchas are cooked traditionally in a tandoor, since I do not have one I cook the tandoori style ones on inverted pressure cooker or tawas/griddle. So don’t be stressed out if you do not own a clay tandoor like me, we can still make those delicious kulchas achieve that lovely color and charred effect. The picture below explains how to go about making them.

I like to serve them hot with pindi chole, sirke wale pyaz and coriander chutney.

So folks homemade Amritsari Kulcha’s why not and these are incredibly easy to make.

A must try. You won’t regret, promise!!

Until next time.

Amritsari Aloo Kulcha

Amritsari Aloo Kulcha, deliciously crispy, stuffed with spicy tangy potatoes. Perfect accompaniment with pindi chana, sirke wale pyaz & coriander chutney along.

For the Dough
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Yogurt
1/4 cup Ghee
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sugar
4 – 5 tbsp Water or as required
For the filling
4 medium Potatoes (boiled & mashed)
1 small Onion chopped
3 Green Chillies Chopped
1 inch Ginger crushed
1/4 cup Freshly Chopped Coriander
1 1/2 tsp Coriander cumin seeds roasted and crushed coarsely
1/2 tsp Black Salt
1 tsp Dry Mango Powder
Salt as per taste
Butter as required
To sprinkle on top
1 tbsp Coarsely ground anardana
3 tbsp Freshly chopped coriander

Let's begin with the dough. In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and mix. Next add the yogurt, ghee and mix well. Start adding water little at a time and knead till you get a medium dough (not to soft andor not too stiff). Apply little oil all over, cover with a clean and damp cloth and set aside for 1 hours.
For the Potato filling. Once the dough has almost rested we make our filling. In a bowl add the mashed potatoes, onions, green chilles, chopped coriander, ginger and the dry spices (crushed coriander cumin, black salt, dry mango powder) and mix well to get homogeneous mixture. Adjust seasoning.
Now the dough has rested, we have our filling ready let's make the kulchas. keep a bowl of water and more chopped coriander handy near you. Heat an iron griddle. Or if using pressure cooking invert it on an open flame and let heat until very hot on all sides. Sprinkle salted water all over on the inside of the cooker. It acts like a tandoor.
Pinch out a medium sized ball from the prepared dough and roll it big enough to hold the potato mixture in centre on a floured surface. Now bring all the edges together in form of ball, pinch to seal and flatten it using palm. Flatten a bit, sprinkle crushed anardana and cilantro.
On a floured work surface begin to roll the flattened dough in form of disc with thickness similar to stuffed paranthas.
Carefully lift the kulcha and brush some water on the other side and place the watered side down on a very hot tawa or on the inside walls of inverted pressure cooker. Water helps the dough to stick on to the hot griddle/pressure cooker walls
if using tawa allow to cook for 2-3 minutes till you see some bubble appear.
Now flip the griddle on direct flame and allow the kulcha to cook on medium to high heat until cooked properly and some charred marks appear.

If using pressure cooker, place the watered side of kulcha carefully on the inside walls of hot cooker, flip and cook directly on open flame until cooked through.
Using tongs remove the kulcha from the griddlle / pressure cooker
Apply some butter and slightly crush the kulcha between your palms while hot. Serve with pindi chole, some mint chutney and sirke wale pyaz.
Enjoy!!