Keema Kulcha

Normally, I would say that bread is a conveyance for yumminess. However, in this case the keema kulcha is the yumminess.

Kulchas are so soft, fluffy, and almost bread like. They’re amazing plain or stuffed and can be found throughout India. However, an authentic or traditional Amritsari kulchas can be stuffed with potatoes, onions, paneer, keema, or just about anything else you’d want. However, my favorites by far are either the onion kulcha or the keema kulcha.

Normally, I find myself irritated when people refer to roti, paranthas, etc. as breads. They’re not bread, they’re barely even flatbread given that there’s no salt in them. It’s flour, water, and a skillet. You don’t call a tortilla, “tortilla bread”, so stop being uncouth and calling it naan bread. That rant aside, I think an authentic Punjabi kulcha definitely falls under the leavened bread and flatbread title. It’s just so pillowy soft and the perfect wrapper for sabji, kebabs, or even a hearty daal.

Somehow I always feel like the yummier the dish the harder it will be to make. However, I’m glad to report that is not the case with Amritsari or Punjabi kulchas. They’re surprisingly easy to make and incredibly delicious. You just make the dough and leave it to rest, roll, and griddle fry.

I know a lot of blogs do the step by step recipe process, but as I always say, “I trust you to not need a picture of me pouring in water.” This recipe is traditional, authentic, and really easy to follow along. The secret to these suckers is getting the dough right. Once you’ve got that right the rest is easy peasy, chicken squeezy. And let me just stress – the blogs that show these as golden brown, flat, dense or crunchy are wrong. They’re supposed to be super soft, airy, and doughy.

How about some more bready dreams?

Keema Kulcha

Course: Breads, SidesCuisine: PunjabiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Resting time

3

hours

Total time

35

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Kulchas:

• 2.5 cups all purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 4 tbsp whole milk yogurt

• 2 1/2 tbsp ghee

• 3/4 cup water

• Ghee for frying

• All purpose flour for dusting

• Filling:

• 4 cups Keema

• 1/2 cup cilantro, minced

• 2 chili peppers, minced

Directions

• Kulcha Dough:
• In your stand mixer bowl, add flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Add in yogurt, ghee, and water.
• Mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
• Increase to medium speed and mix for 7 minutes. Or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for 3 hours in a warm spot.
• Filling:
• In a medium sized bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and set aside.
• Rolling and Cooking:
• Heat cast iron pan or griddle.
• Divide the dough into 8 equal parts and roll into balls.
• For each ball of dough: With the palm of your hand flatten the ball and then roll it our to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Dust with flour if needed.
• Place 1/2 cup keema mix in the middle of the rolled dough and fold the dough over to completely cover the keema mixture. Make sure to pinch as you go to completely seal in the mixture.
• Re-roll the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thick. Dust with flour if needed.
• Place the kulcha on your griddle and cook each side for one minute.
• Lightly brush the top side of the kulcha with ghee and turn over. Cook for 10 seconds.
• Repeat with other side.
• Follow steps 4-8 for remaining kulcha dough.
• Serve immediately.

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