Authentic Amritsari Kulcha at Home (NO TANDOOR)!!!
We all have our share of lockdown stories; little correction, 'lockdown cooking stories'. But from the first week itself, I made it clear to my family to become absolutely strict with themselves and not give in to the sinful temptations that were flying around. (on social media) If and when visual hunger strikes at all, to eat with their eyes! haha. Being bigger health freaks than me, they all dutifully complied. Not to say, there's been no fancy cooking at our place but yes there've been no jalebis or kachoris or gulab-jamuns! Especially on weekdays, definitely not! Instead I utilized this time in experimenting a lot with millets or played mostly around 'healthy food'. But Sundays have become reserved for family and on this 'one' day, I enjoy giving in to their demands and indulging them. Off late, Amritsari kulcha with Pindi Chhole, pyaz wali chutney and a tall glass of meethi lassi have become our compulsive Sunday ritual.
I've never been to Amritsar but having been born in a Punjabi 'Jain' family, food runs in my blood! Howsoever hard I try to run away from it, but the fact remains, it's my overruling passion! There was a time, I used to spend my bulk hours planning the next meal even before the previous one was over.
Hands down, I was bound to take our 'Sunday ritual' utterly seriously!
It is famously said about Amritsar, that you can never be hungry in a city, where ghee, butter, and cream are the star performers, sometimes rocking a dish altogether. Ambarsaris' major time goes into relishing one spread and planning the next one. But one dish, no one ever has to plan for in this city is the Amritsari kulcha!
I on the other hand, had lots of research and planning to do to nail it; more so because I had to replicate the same flavor and texture without the 'tandoor. Normally Amritsari kulcha is baked in a tandoor or clay oven. But most of us living in urban areas have no access to it, so I tried it on our regular Tawa/iron griddle and the results were near to perfect!
When we hear “kulcha”, we conjure up an image of a bread-like texture, made out of fermented dough but the minute, we attach 'Amritsari' to it, the version becomes similar in appearance to a stuffed tandoori roti, though very different in terms of taste and texture.
I watched several videos on youtube before zeroing down on 'my version', which I'm sharing here. It's my first attempt at a video (on popular demand by my food buddies) and I had absolutely no idea, that I was committing myself to dive into open waters, when I didn't even know 's' of swimming! The result is a very raw, rustic, (much longer than I anticipated) amateur video. I'll be amazed, if you stick till the end to hear the kulcha actually crackling on being crunched! ;)
Video
A good kulcha must be light and flaky with the upper crust crackling as the goodness of butter oozes in.
Food is savored through sight, smell, touch, and taste, but with the Amritsari kulcha, you also experience the fifth sense. You can hear it!
Once you are done, browning your kulcha to perfection, glaze it generously with a cube of butter. Thereafter, all you need to do is give it a gentle crush. If there’s a crackling sound it is cooked to perfection. A silent Amritsari kulcha is just not good enough! The crackle ensures it’s got the textures: a crusty exterior followed by moist and flaky inner folds stuffed with potato and spices. Crushing it snaps open the top layer allowing the heat to escape.
A good kulcha must be light and flaky with the upper crust crackling as the goodness of butter oozes in.
Speaking of crispy, the story of how the kulcha came to be, packs its own crunch. The origin of tandoors and tandoori cooking dates back to the time of the Indus Valley civilization. But it is the naan that is credited with the birth of stuffed kulcha. Naan, was brought to India from Persia. One can only guess that this birth took place in a nameless kitchen, when one fine day, a cook decided that the plain naan was just boring, and decided to fill it with some interesting stuffing. That said, there is proof that the connection between Amritsar and kulcha is at least 200 years old. Enterprising Punjabis, who traditionally devoured roti or unleavened whole grain flatbread made on an iron griddle, started refining the flour, leavening the dough, filling it with a mixture of potatoes and baking it in the tandoor.
Later they spied on French chefs laboring in the region’s royal kitchens and improvised further. They adopted their puff pastry technique; slathering the dough with butter and folding it a few times before letting it rest. The result was, flaky kulchas flying off the tandoor.
The most interesting anecdote around the kulcha has to be the one associated with Nizam of Hyderabad who used the humble kulcha as his official emblem on the flag, while the rest of the princely states vied after lions or elephants as their official insignia.
Ingredients to make Amritsari Kulcha:
500gms white flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon amul butter/ghee
1 teaspoon baking soda (Personally, I avoid adding soda to my food)
water to knead the dough
To Make Potato Stuffing
4-5 boiled and peeled potatoes
2 chopped onion
1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
coriander leaves
mint Leaves
fresh or dry fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon crushed peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon ajwain/ carrom seeds
1/4 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder
salt to taste
Steps to Prepare the Dough for the Kulchas
Wash your hands clean and then take a vessel in which you can easily mix the fine flour.
Add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the fine flour.
Add 10 gms of amul butter and you can also add 1/4 cups of fresh yogurt (optional) and mix everything nicely.
Knead the dough with water at normal temperature or warm water if you like.
Knead it properly for at least 10 minutes till the dough is soft and pliable.
Now leave the dough to rest, covered with clean moist cloth for 20 minutes or more.
Once the dough is rested, take it out, knead it slightly to remove any air present in it and place it on a praath or platform, pre dusted with fine flour.
Spread the dough flat, using your finger pressure.
Smear a 10 gms cube of butter on the flattened dough, covering it nicely and sprinkle some fine flour over it.
Now fold it by bringing one of the side to the centre. Fold again by bringing the opposite side overlapping on the first fold. We get our three folds like this. To take these three to seven, simply fold (lengthwise) from the centre, bringing one end on top of another. (as shown in the video)
Repeat the process 3 times, giving the dough time to rest, each time you do the folding procedure. Folding the dough will give us those flaky layers.
When finished the third time, cut the layered strip of dough in equal sizes.
Now, take one piece in your hand, pinch sides of the dough and make a round ball of it.
Repeat the same process with all the dough pieces.
Cover these round dough pieces with a moist cloth for 10-15 minutes.
Steps to Prepare the Stuffing for the Kulchas
Mash the boiled potatoes in a bowl.
Add all the ingredients mentioned for stuffing and mix well.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of fine flour and mix thoroughly.
Keep aside.
Steps to make Amritsari Kulcha on Tawa:
After 15 minutes take the dough balls out and spread maida on a rolling plate or flat platform and roll out one of the dough ball with your hand. (as shown in the video)
Stuff it generously with spicy potato filling or any filling of your choice.
Thereafter, flatten it with your hands, using water or ghee.
Once the dough is flattened to the desired size, spread some coriander leaves on one side and lightly press so that they stick to the dough.
Wet the other side of the kulcha, so that it sticks to the tawa and carefully place on the hot iron griddle making sure that the watered side is placed down.
After 2 minutes, hold the tawa upside down to cook the top side of the kulcha.
Cook the kulcha evenly from all sides by holding the tawa upside down.
Using tongs, take out the kulcha and crisp the edges further, direct on the flame.
Smear generously with butter and give it a gentle crush between your palms.
You will hear the 'crunch' of your kulcha, telling you that it's ready to be devoured by all five senses!
Serves: 4
