Garam Masala Tuesdays: Amritsari Kulcha

Before my grandparents moved to Mohali they were living in Jalandhar, a city in the northern indian state of Punjab. About ten minutes from our house in Jalandhar was this Gurudwara (the holy place where Sikhs worship) that my grandparents would go to regularly. Every afternoon, just a few feet away from the Gurudwara, a guy would come with his mobile cart and sell these amazingly thin, crispy yet soft Amritsari Kulchas. He would only come in the afternoon with the dough and filling prepared at home and would stuff and bake the kulchas in front of us, serving them in plates with his famous spicy chickpea curry. Our summer vacations were full of foodie adventures and my grandparents loved feeding us. These amritsari kulchas were a must on each of our visits.

Every afternoon, people would come during their lunch break and line up for a plate of this guy’s delicious Kulchas. He always came alone and stuffed the dough in front of you and baked it in his mobile tandoor to serve the dozens of people waiting next to his cart. Since he baked then and there, we would get piping hot kulchas laden with oodles of butter that would immediately start melting once placed on the kulcha. Not only were his kulchas to die for, but he made a delicious spicy chickpea curry and gave homemade pickle on the side. Eating them fresh out of his tandoor was the best option but generally we would get them packed for the whole family and eat at home. And stuff ourselves crazy. No wonder my brother and I would gain 5-6 kilos easily during the months of May and June.

Kulchas are Indian flat breads which are similar to naans but differ slightly in the way they are prepared. While naan is made using yeast, kulchas are leavened using baking soda/ baking powder. The shape also varies. Naans are oblong, and kulchas round. Other than that there isn’t much of a difference. Some point that naans are made in tandoor and kulchas are known to be made on stove tops, but I have seen both methods of cooking used for both these flatbreads. I have also seen naan being made without yeast, and have come to the conclusion that the difference is minimal and the nomenclature is more to do with tradition than anything else. If anybody has any other input I would love to know.

Amritsari Kulchas are stuffed variants of regular kulchas and are filled with potatoes, onions, indian cottage cheese (paneer) and certain spices. No one is clear about its origin but I assume since its named after Amritsar, a city in Punjab, home to the famous Golden Temple, its origin probably lie in one of the many streets that make the famous city. And its no surprise, the entire city has gazillions of eateries serving the city’s own Amritsari Kulcha.

Having tried Amritsari Kulchas at the best places in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Chandigarh, Delhi  I can safely say the ones made by my parents’ cook at Allahabad are as good as the ones I have had, if not better. I love how they just melt in the mouth.

The two things that the cook told me to keep in mind to be successful at making kulchas is that one, the dough shouldn’t be too dry. It should be wet and still slightly sticky. One of the photographs below should give you an idea.

The other thing is the stuffing. You should only mix it just before you plan to stuff, else the mixture will leave water, making it difficult for you to roll out a nice round. While I have given a recipe for the stuffing, its very difficult to give you exact measurements, because these guys really don’t follow any measurements. When I made it too I did adjust a few ingredients here and there according to my taste. But the ingredient list should serve you as a basic guide and you can fine tune accordingly. I like a higher ratio of paneer to potato. While the cooks use 4-5 potatoes, I prefer just 2-3 and a higher ratio of paneer in the stuffing. But that’s a personal preference, so adjust accordingly.

Also, unlike most Kulcha recipes the cook here doesn’t use baking powder or soda and still achieves really soft and melt in your mouth kulchas.

While at my parents place we make the kulchas in a tandoor, I did not have that luxury when I made these in the states. Instead I have learnt a great trick from Journey Kitchen, on how to get tandoor style flat breads in a kitchen using the pressure cooker. I have explained the method in the recipe. For making the dough, filling and stuffing it, I have put together a step-by-step photo reference. Hope this helps in making the recipe more clear.

Make the dough and let it rest covered for 1-2 hours, while you make the stuffing.

Boil, peel, and mash the potatoes.

Grate the paneer in a separate plate

To the boiled potatoes, add onions, green chillies, ginger, carom and fenugreek seeds, and keep aside.

Fire up your tandoor 

15 minutes before you are ready to make your kulchas, divide your dough into dough balls and let rest covered under a cloth. Also mix your filling at this point and add salt, to taste.

When ready to stuff, flatten each dough ball with your palm, and flip it between your palms as if you are clapping (as shown in the second picture below)

Take a sufficient amount of stuffing and put in the centre of your flattened dough ball.

Pinch ends together to make a ball, and flatten slightly. Oil your hands and flatten the ball to make a round shaped kulcha.

Bake in tandoor for 5 minutes, or till done. 

You can also bake them or cook them in a pressure cooker.

Remove from tandoor and slather butter on them immediately. Serve hot with cholla /chickpea curry.