Kulcha

Kulcha is a north India bread, usually eaten with Cholay. It is typically made with Maida flour.
Kulcha is a typical Punjabi recipe, like any other ethnic food available in its true style in the state of Punjab, India. Amritsar being more popular for its Amritsari kulchas than any other city in the state. Flour dough, mashed potatoes, onion (optional) and lots of spices are rolled into a flat round bread and baked in an earthen clay oven. After it is golden brown it is rubbed with butter and then eaten with spicy cholay.
In Punjab, the northern part of India, Amritsari Kulcha is a very famous bread with chickpea curry. It is served with mint sauce, raw onion and curd. Kulcha can be stuffed with cottage cheese, mashed potato, mixed vegetables, etc. It is now famous with western countries.
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Punjabi cuisine (from the Punjab region of Northern India and Eastern Pakistan). Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes. Home cooked and restaurant Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amounts of clarified butter, known locally as ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream with home cooked concentrating on mainly upon wheat masalas (spice) flavourings. Though wheat varieties form their staple food, Punjabis do cook rice on special occasions. During winter a delicacy, Roh Di Kheer, is cooked using rice. Rice is cooked for a long time in sugar cane juice.
Within the state itself, there are different preferences. People in the area of Amritsar prefer stuffed parathas and milk products. In fact, the area is well known for quality of its milk products. There are certain dishes which are exclusive to Punjab, such as Mah Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Saag).
The food is tailor-made for the Punjabi lifestyle in which most of the rural folk burn up a lot of calories while working in the fields. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. Tandoori food is a Punjabi speciality especially for non-veg dishes.

The Punjabi breads are generally flat breads; only a few varieties are raised breads. The breads may be made of different types of flour and can be made in various ways ::
1. Baked in the tandoor like naan, tandoori roti, kulcha, lachha paratha
2. Dry baked on the tava (Indian griddle) like phulka or chapati, jowar ki roti, baajre ki roti and the very famous makke ki roti (these are also smeared with ghee or white butter)
3. Shallow fried like paratha, aloo or mooli paratha
4. Deep fried like puri and bhatoora (a fermented dough)

The tandoor also allows for tasty chicken and meat preparations including seekh kebab, tandoori chicken, reshmi tikka and malai tikka.
These breads can be made by just about everyone, however it is often said that it is only made the best with Punjabi hands. Punjabi people are especially skilled in the making of these various breads.

Pulse, bean and / or lentil preparations ::
• Dal makhani (Mah di dal)
• Dal maharani
• Dal amritsari
• Lobiya (Black eyed bean)
• Rajma (Red kidney bean)
• Choley (eaten with bhatoora or naan).(Whole Bengal gram e.g Bengal chickpeas)
• Punj ratani dal (mixtures of 5 lentils) etc...
• Saron (sarson) da saag te makki di roti

These are generally soaked overnight or for at least 8 hours and gently simmered on the embers of a tandoor (A clay oven of the shape of a horizontally sliced pot) along with ginger, garlic and a few other garam masala (whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, mace, and bay leaf).
These are then combined with a tangy masala base which could include tomato or dried mango (aam choor powder) or even pomegranate seeds (anar dana). The character typical to the bean or whole lentil preparation is that the shape is retained intact, but the gentlest pressure would make it into a paste.
Dollops of cream and butter provide for the rich finishing touch. Garnishing is usually with shredded coriander leaves and juliennes of ginger.