Amritsari Aloo Kulcha / Potato Stuffed Indian Flat Bread

 Amritsari Aloo Kulcha is a potato stuffed flat bread and a traditional recipe from Indian state of Punjab. Aloo Kulcha is very popular street food from North India . These stuffed kulcha are soft as well as crisp , fluffy and delicious and are typically served with Pindi Chole and Dal Makhani but they taste equally good with even plain curd and Raw Mango Pickle.They can be served at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Traditionally kulcha are made using refined flour / maida and are baked in clay tandoor. Here i have made them with whole wheat flour and roasted them on fire/ gas stove to give the smoky flavor and texture. The roasted kulcha are immediately rubbed with home made ghee . I have not used yeast to leaven the bread. The recipe is onion garlic free and very simple and easy to follow. The filling for the kulcha is mashed boiled potato spiced with basic Indian spice powders. The kulcha are topped with black sesame seeds and coriander leaves. I have served the aloo kulcha with Matar Mushroom and Pomegranate Raita.

It is Monday today and we bloggers at #FoodieMondayBlogHop are back with a new theme for our #158th bloghop event. It was my turn to choose the theme this week. I gave out #IndianFlatBreads as my theme because, i felt there is a vast variety of Indian Flat Breads and as it is an integral part of Indian Cuisine, it needs to be covered in our blogs as well. I had plans to make the traditional Khoba Roti from Rajasthan for this theme, but i made this delicious Amritsari Aloo Kulcha instead. 

Last weekend i went on a lunch date with some of my friends and our kids to eat the famous Amritsari Kulcha. There were almost 20 different varieties of stuffed kulcha served in that food court. The kulcha served there was very big , it was crisp from outside and soft from within. It was paired with chole which was more of a liquid consistency. We enjoyed the lunch thoroughly. So this week when i told my little one that i am planning to cook a new type of roti for him, he jumped and said are you making aloo kulcha mumma ! It was then when i dropped my plans of Khoba roiti and made these soft fluffy Amritsari aloo kulcha using whole wheat flour. I made this kulcha yesterday for our Sunday lunch. Paired it with our all time favourite Matar Mushroom , Pomegranate Raita and Mango Pickle. Little one said this kulcha is far better than the restaurant one..so with that pat on my back i was all happy ! So without any further ado lets get to the recipe.

Preparation Time: 2 hours

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients for the outer covering

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoon curd
• 1/4 cup milk or as required
• 1 tablespoon ghee / oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of baking soda
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Stuffing:

• 2 -3 boiled potatoes
• 2 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala (optional)
• Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

• Wheat flour for dusting the kulcha dough
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds 
• 2 tablespoon coriander leaves
• Ghee to brush on the kulcha

Method:

1. Take whole wheat flour in a bowl. Add sugar , salt , baking soda and baking powder to it. Mix well. Now make a well in the center of the flour and add curd and oil to it. Mix well . Next add warm milk little by little and knead into a soft dough. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours for fermentation. 

2. In another bowl grate or mash the boiled potato and add spice powders ( red chili powder, chat masala, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder), salt and chopped coriander leaves to it and mix well. Our stuffing for the kulcha is ready.

3. After fermentation, the dough will rise. Knead it again for a minute or so and make equal sized 4 dough balls. Similarly divide the stuffing also into equal parts. Place one dough ball on a dusted working surface or rolling board . Flatten it using a rolling pin. Now place the stuffing in the center , gather the edges and seal them in the center. Add little chopped coriander and sesame seeds on the stuffed dough ball and carefully roll it out into oval shape. Do not roll out very thin . 

4. Now apply water on the back side of the rolled out kulcha and place it on the heated skillet such that the water coated side sticks to the skillet. Use a thick tawa/ skillet for making kulcha other wise it will burn. Now on medium to high heat , roast the kulcha for 2-3 minutes. Now lift the skillet with handle and invert it over the open flame. Keep moving the tawa over the flame until the kulcha is roasted well and light brown spots appear on the surface. The kulcha will puff and get roasted.

  5. Remove the kulcha using a flat spatula from the tawa and place it on a plate. Immediately rub it with homemade ghee or butter. Repeat the same process with the rest of the dough and stuffing. Serve the kulcha warm with Pindi Chole , Dal Makhani or any curry . You can even pair it with some raita, or plain curd and Mango Pickle. I have serve the aloo kulcha with Matar Mushroom curry and Pomegranate Raita.

Recipe Notes:

• I have made the kulcha using only whole wheat flour. You may use whole wheat flour and maida in 1:1 ratio or make the kulcha entirely using maida if you are looking for the typical dhaba style taste.
• You may use finely chopped onion and green chili also in the stuffing. I have not used.
• You may use kalonji / nigella seeds/ onion seeds to top the kulcha. I have used black sesame seeds instead as i wanted to make onion garlic free kulcha.
• The kulcha can be baked in an oven. For that keep the rolled out stuffed kulcha dough in a preheated oven on a greased baking plate and bake on high for 10 minutes.
• Rub ghee or butter on the kulcha once it is roasted.
• Use a thick tawa or skillet to make kulcha or else it will get burned.

You can pair Amritsari aloo kulcha with any of these , Pindi Chole , Dal Makhani, Baby Corn Masala , Kamal kakdi ki sabzi , Khoya Matar Makhana, Paneer Makhanwala, Achari Bhindi, Mushroom Masala, Boondi Raita 

If you ever try this recipe, do share your feedback with us in the comment section below. 

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For more Indian flat bread recipes, check out the following recipes from my blog

• Makki Ki Roti

                             

• Sindhi Dal Pakwan

                              

• Litti Chokha

                              

• Bhajaniche Thalipeeth

                              

• Gobhi Ke Parathe

                             

• Broccoli Paneer Paratha

                             

• Puran Poli

                            

• Mooli Paratha

                             

• Leftover Dal Paratha

                            

• Bajra Bhakri

                            

• Tilgul Poli / Jaggery Sesame seeds stuffed Indian bread

                            

• Adai Dosa

                           

• Instant Suji Uttapam

                           

• Pesarattu / Mung Bean Dosa

                           

• Sweet Corn Uttapam

                          

• Methi Paratha