 Kulcha with chole from India | |
| Type | Flatbread |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Punjab |
| Associated cuisine | Pakistani, Indian, Punjabi |
| Main ingredients | Maida |
Kulcha is a Persian term for a disc-shaped loaf of leavened bread. [1] In India, this term is commonly used for regular English bread (which is disc-shaped). [2]
The term kulcha is Persian and describes a disc-shaped loaf of bread, bun or even biscuit. [1] [3] However, in India this term came to be associated with round breads popularized during the British colonial period. [4] In some parts of India, naan or tandoori parantha is often confused with kulcha.
Kulcha is made from maida flour, water, a pinch of salt and a leavening agent (yeast 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 into a flat, round shape. It is baked in an earthen clay oven ("tandoor") until done. When baked, it is often brushed with butter or ghee, 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. [5]
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 is not stuffed but made plain and eaten with a curry which can be either vegetarian or meat-based.
The second variant is the kulchas stuffed with fillings that were served during the period of the Mughals and Nizams in their Darbars. [6] For example, in the Awadh region, Awadhi Kulcha is served with Nahari, a mutton based dish. [7]
Nowadays, these are sold in restaurants and shops. Jammu's Kaladi Kulcha which is made with traditional Dogra Cheese i.e. Kaladi Cheese is one of the most-loved street foods in Jammu. [8] Kaladi cheese is sautéed in oil on a pan, cooked till brown in colour on both sides and stuffed between roasted kulchas. [9]
In Amritsar, Kulcha is often confused with tandoori parantha or naans which have become popular there in recent decades. [10]
In entire North India, a range of stuffings, including paneer (cottage cheese), potatoes, onion and other vegetables are used to stuff these kulchas.
| External image | |
|---|---|
 A slidshow of Hyderabadi Kulcha / Naan / Sheermaal preparation images. Published on Flickr |
In Pakistan, kulcha breads are largely eaten in certain parts of the Hazara and Pothwhar regions, where they are a popular breakfast item. [11]
Chapati, also known as roti, rooti, rotee rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka, chapo, sada roti, poli, and roshi, is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent and is a staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and the Caribbean. Chapatis are made of whole-wheat flour known as atta, mixed into dough with water, oil (optional), and salt (optional) in a mixing utensil called a parat, and are cooked on a tava.
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread. It is characterized by its light and slightly fluffy texture and golden-brown spots from the baking process. Naan is found in the cuisines mainly of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Caribbean.
Roti is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, and Southeast African countries.
Pakistani cuisine can be characterized as a blend of regional cooking styles and flavours from across South, Central and Western Asia. Pakistani cuisine is influenced by Persian, Indian, and Arab cuisine. The cuisine of Pakistan also maintains certain Mughal influences within its recipes and cooking techniques. Pakistan's ethnic and cultural diversity, diverse climates, geographical environments, and availability of different produce lead to diverse regional cuisines.
Punjabi cuisine is a culinary style originating in the Punjab, a region in the northern part of South Asia, which is now divided in an Indian part to the east and a Pakistani part to the west. This cuisine has a rich tradition of many distinct and local ways of cooking.
Bhakri is a round flatbread often eaten in the cuisines of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka in India. The bhakri prepared using jowar or bajra is coarser than a regular wheat chapati. Bhakri can be either soft or hard in texture, unlike khakhra in respect to hardness.
Bhatoora is a fluffy deep-fried leavened sourdough bread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly served as a midday meal or a breakfast dish in northern and eastern India. Paired with chickpea curry, it forms a traditional dish called chole bhature.
A dhaba is a roadside restaurant in the Indian subcontinent, primarily across Pakistan and northern India. They are on highways, generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops. They are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and most are open 24 hours a day.
Chicken tikka is a chicken dish popularised in the Indian subcontinent popular in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. It is traditionally small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers on a brazier called angeethi or over charcoal after marinating in Indian spices and dahi (yogurt)—essentially a boneless version of tandoori chicken. The word tikka is a Persian word, meaning "bits" or "pieces". It is also a chicken dish served in Punjabi cuisine. The Kashmiri version of the dish, however, is grilled over red-hot coals, and does not always contain boneless pieces. The pieces are brushed with ghee at intervals to increase its flavour, while being continuously fanned. It is typically eaten with green coriander and tamarind chutney served with onion rings and lemon, or used in preparing an authentic chicken tikka masala.
A flatbread is bread made usually 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 pita bread.
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.
Awadhi cuisine is a cuisine native to the Awadh region in Northern India and Southern Nepal. The cooking patterns of Lucknow are similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern India and western India with the cuisine comprising both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The Awadh region has been influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The city is also known for its Nawabi foods.
Mekitsa is a traditional Bulgarian dish made of kneaded dough made with yogurt that is deep fried. They are made with flour, eggs, yogurt, a leavening agent, water, salt, and oil. In Serbia they are called mekike, while in Macedonian mekica or pituljica, and in Bulgaria mekitsa. They are similar to Hungarian lángos and British Yorkshire pudding. Mekitsa is conventionally a breakfast dish.
Tandoor bread refers to a bread baked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
Kalari or Kaladi is an Indian traditional ripened cheese product.This is a culinary dairy product invented by the nomadic tribal Gujjars centuries ago. It was crafted to address a specific need for the preservation of milk in a solid form during the sweltering summer months when these tribes venture into the hills with their livestock during bi-annual seasonal tribal migrations. Gujjars use this dairy food during the summer months to meet their nutritional requirements, and they sell it in markets in both divisions of Jammu and Kashmir to support their livelihood.
A tandoor is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoor is predominantly used in Western Asian, Central Asian, South Asian, and Horn of African cuisines.
Malaysian Indian cuisine, or the cooking of the ethnic Indian communities in Malaysia, consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Malaysia. Because the vast majority of Malaysia's Indian community are of South Indian descent, and are mostly ethnic Tamils who are descendants of immigrants from a historical region which consists of the modern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka's Northern Province, much of Malaysian Indian cuisine is predominantly South Indian inspired in character and taste. A typical Malaysian Indian dish is likely to be redolent with curry leaves, whole and powdered spice, and contains fresh coconut in various forms. Ghee is still widely used for cooking, although vegetable oils and refined palm oils are now commonplace in home kitchens. Before a meal it is customary to wash hands as cutlery is often not used while eating, with the exception of a serving spoon for each respective dish.
Punjabi tandoori cooking was born out of the clay oven known as the tandoor. According to Macveigh [2008] the Punjab tandoor originated in the local region. It is a clay oven and is traditionally used to cook Punjabi cuisine, from the Punjab region in Pakistan and northwestern India. It is traditional to have tandoors in courtyards of homes in the Punjab to make roti, naan and tandoori chicken. In rural Punjab, it is also traditional to have communal tandoors.
Paratha is a flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent, with earliest reference mentioned in early medieval Sanskrit, India; prevalent throughout the modern-day nations of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago where wheat is the traditional staple. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta, which literally means layers of cooked dough. Alternative spellings and names include parantha, parauntha, prontha, parontay, paronthi (Punjabi), porota, paratha, palata, porotha, forota, farata, prata, paratha, buss-up shut, oil roti and roti canai in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tandoori Roti, naan and kulcha, originated in Punjab region, are delicious meals of Delhi.
Media related to Kulcha at Wikimedia Commons
