Soft Bread Kulcha reminds me of my college days when I used to gorge on matar kulcha from my favorite roadside thela. Smeared with butter, these kulchas are popular in Delhi and pair perfectly well with chole or the classic matar chaat.

Bread kulcha is a bread that’s not so popular outside North India. It’s most famous in Delhi area where it’s often served with matar chaat (also known as matra). You would often spot roadside carts selling matar kulcha on the streets of Delhi.

Since I grew up in that area, this was something which we would often eat when we wanted to eat something different from our usual everyday food of rice, dal and roti. My house help in India would make the matar chaat at home but we would always get the kulcha from outside.

The kulchas were so readily available so it just made sense to get them from the market. Here though it’s a different story. We don’t get bread kulcha easily here, and so when the craving kicks in for Matar Kulcha, you got to make both at home!

If you have ever had matar kulcha in Delhi, then you know how delicious those kulchas are! These are not to be confused with Amritsari kulcha or a kulcha that you would find on the menu in Indian restaurants. This is bread kulcha, so it’s texture is like a nice, soft bread which is perfect to dunk in any curry or matar chaat in this case.

This is a simple recipe and doesn’t need any special ingredients. It’s easy to make and pairs perfectly well not only matar chaat but can also be enjoyed with other things.

Ingredients

Flour: All purpose works well for this recipe which is also known as maida in Hindi. I have not tested this recipe with bread flour but I am pretty confident that it will work just as well.

Milk: makes the bread soft, I have used whole milk here but low fat milk should also work. In fact, non-dairy milk should work as well.

Yeast: for this recipe, I have used active dry yeast which needs to be activated first. You can also use instant yeast here, but the amount would need to be adjusted (see notes).

Salt & sugar: regular salt is used for seasoning the kulcha. I also add little of sugar for flavor and it also helps in activating the yeast.

Garnishes: the kulcha is incomplete without some butter on top! Amul butter is my choice of butter here. For flavor, the recipe also has some fresh cilantro not only in the dough but also sprinkled on top.

Step by Step Instructions

1- To a bowl (I used the steel bowl of my stand mixer) add warm milk (110-115 F degrees, not cold and not too hot), to that add active dry yeast and sugar. Give a quick stir and let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes to proof.

2- After 10 minutes, the mixture will be all bubble and frothy on top indicating that the yeast is active (if you don’t see any such activity, throw the mixture and start over).

3- To that mixture now, add flour, salt, 3 teaspoons oil and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Turn your mixer on medium speed and mix using the paddle attachment.

4- Slowly start adding water to bring it all together in a dough. Once you have the dough, change to the dough hook and knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes on medium speed. You can also knead using your hands for 10 minutes.

5- Once you have a nice smooth dough, grease it with little oil and place it in a warm place. I used the yogurt button on my instant pot but you can also place it inside an oven with lights on (but oven off) or just leave on the counter if you live in a warm place. If using the Instant Pot, grease the steel bowl with little oil before placing the dough and cover the pot with a clean kitchen towel (don’t use the IP lid).

6- If using the yogurt button, set the time for 1 hour. If using the oven or your counter, it might take 1.5 hours for the dough to more than double in size. Once the dough has more than doubled in size, punch the dough to release the air.

7- Now, divide the dough into 8 equal parts (around 56 grams each). Now take one dough ball, roll it between your palms to make a smooth round. Then using a rolling pin, roll it into a circle, around 5 inch diameter. Similarly smoothen and then roll all dough balls.

8- Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in a warm place again for second rise for around 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, you would see the kulchas would have puffed up a little at few places.

9- Heat a skillet on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, carefully lift and place the kulcha on the pan.

10- We are going to half cook the kulcha at this point. So cook on one side for 1 minute, then flip and cook the other side for another minute until it has some light brown spots. Half cook all the kulchas similarly.

11- Now, take another pan on medium heat and add some butter to it (say 1/2-1 teaspoon butter for each kulcha), once the butter melts, add some chopped cilantro.

12- Add the half cooked kulcha, and press with the spatula to get it browned. Flip and repeat with the other side until browned from both sides. Cook all the kulchas similarly and serve bread kulcha with matar chaat.

Tips To Make Bread Kulcha

• Star with the right temperature of milk for the yeast. Too cold and the yeast will not activate, too hot and it will kill the yeast. Milk should be warm but not hot, anywhere between 110 to 115 F degrees is fine.
• A good way to test the temperature if you don’t have a kitchen thermometer – dip your finger in milk, if you have to remove it immediately, it means the milk is too hot.
• Knead the dough well- if you are using a stand mixer, knead using the dough hook attachment for 7 to 8 minutes. If using your hands, knead for good 10 minutes.
• Be gentle while handling and rolling the dough- use light hands when you are smoothing out the dough balls and then rolling them.
• Use amul butter for best tasting kulchas! Sure you can use any other butter, but Amul butter (a brand of butter from India which you can also find at Indian grocery stores) gives them the best taste.

Storage & Serving Suggestions

If you don’t plan to serve the bread kulcha right away, you can half cook them (as mentioned in the recipe) and store in the refrigerator. Cook them completely until browned using butter when you plan to serve them.

If you have leftovers of completely cooked kulcha, simply place then on a paper towel and then wrap the entire thing using aluminum foil. Re-heat in microwave or in a pan.

These are best enjoyed with matar chaat, but you can also serve them with-

• chole
• rajma
• pav bhaji
• paneer butter masala

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