I want to make kulcha that is a lot healthier then with using maida (white flour). This white flour has been bleached and quite unhealthy. This is why I am using chiki atta (wheat flour).
I have added the dry ingredients first to my bowl before I added the wet ingredients. I used Swad at first but then I couldn’t find it anymore and started to use Royal. It has a picture of Amitab Bacchan on the bag who is a Bollywood actor and an old one at that too.
I added 6 cups of chiki atta, 1 handful of nido milk powder, 2 pinches of yeast, 1 pinch each of baking powder, baking soda, pink salt and turbinado sugar which are the dry ingredients.
Then I added the wet ingredients on top of the dry which are 1 tbs of Desi yogurt. I added 2 cups of water a little at a time until a dough is formed. I added 2 tbs of olive oil and kneeded the dough for 3 minutes. This makes the dough elastic and pliable and keeps the dough from drying out on the top. I covered the large mixing bowl with a lid that came with it and let it sit for 30 minutes.
When the dough has risen, take the dough and form it in to 6 or 7 balls depending on how many you want to eat. I dredged it in to some chiki atta on a plate which would be 1 cup for dusting aproximate. Roll it until it is round and flat. Remember not real flat because this kulcha is supposed to puff up while cooking.
I make my roti on the tawa on high heat and make sure it is really hot by taking some water and sprinkling water on top of it if you see beads of water on it dancing and drying up right away it means it is very hot. Take the raw kulcha that you have made and place it on the tawa to cook gently. Count to 20 to and flip every 20 seconds until they are golden brown. The filling for the stuffed kulcha is optional and instructions are at the bottom after for stuffed kulcha.
This is the basic kulcha dough. However I had a taste for plain kulcha and nothing fancy. All of the optional ingredients are going to be posted at the bottom.
The fillings for the kulcha are purely optional and it depends on what you want in it.
The masala part is 1 pinch of chat masala which is make your own or use store bought followed by 1 pinch each of anar dana, kasoori methi, white and black sesame seeds, dried mint, methi and red chili powder.
In a mortar and pestle add 1 small broken piece of amchur, 1 pinch each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds and kaloonji. Grind this in to a coarse powder.
The contents of the mortar and pestle gets mixed with the random ingredients on top and these are purely optional only if you want to make stuffed kulcha.
For the optional filling for the stuffed kulcha are 1 handful of whole dried peas that has been washed and soaked overnight in a cereal bowl filled with water. Add 1 pinch of baking soda to speed up the softening of the peas. Rinse them and add to pressure cooker cooking the peas unseasoned for 30 minutes after safety button pops up. When time is up shut the heat off and let pressure excape. Any liquid remaining gets drained off because the peas has to be dry. Also the peas has be soft but not real mushy. Set this aside. Don’t forget this is optional.
You can also boil 1 potato for 40 minutes then drain peel the potato and mash. This gets mixed with anar dana. (optional)
Also 1 grated radish, 3 pinches of crumbled paneer, 1 onion or 3 cloves of garlic that has been fried brown are the last of the optionals for making stuffed kulcha.
You can also stuff Paratha, chapati or naan with this optional filling.
Just roll the dough like you would for making these type of breads and place 1 tsp filling of choice in the middle. Take the edges and fold it in to the middle to cover the filling in the middle. Make sure it is well sealed like a pie and dredge it in chiki atta in plate and gently roll til it is again flat. Cook this on a tawa the same manner that you make regular kulcha which is unstuffed. Also you can garnish with white or black sesame seeds and kaloonji too. This is also optional.
I am sorry that this is kind of backwards, lol but the best things come to those that wait as the old saying goes.
I hope you enjoy making these as well as I do. These are eaten with any type of curries like our next post which you will see shortly. It is also eaten with dal and korma too.
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