Kashmiri Namkeen Kulcha: The ultimate accompaniment to nun chai
The entire period of the pandemic has been a daunting experience mostly, but here’s the small bright side. If it weren’t for the lockdowns, who would have even thought of trying their hands on professional skills at home, such as giving haircuts, replacing dental fillings (yeah, I did that too!) and baking Kulchas? Leave alone food blogging!
In Kashmir, home-baking is not so popular. However, we have the best bakers in the world, Kaandurs. Thanks to them, we can enjoy a variety of indigenous Kashmiri breads and other baked goods whenever we want. One can easily access several kaander-waans, or baker’s shops in every locality, where these baked goods are prepared in a hygienic manner and sold at easily affordable prices. The problem arises when you’re away from Kashmir, caught up in a global pandemic, unable to travel to Kashmir for two years and badly craving a Kulcha. Well, you’ve come to the right place to find a solution. Read on!
Basically, Kulcha is a gigantic biscuit with a crumbly and crunchy texture. Traditionally, the dough is prepared exclusively with ghee, without any addition of water. The flour is completely coated with ghee until a crumbly dough is formed. The tricky part is to form a disc out of this crumbly dough mixture without using any water, before popping it in the oven. If you show some patience and take it slowly, the tricky part will be done and you will soon have a treat ready to be relished with a cup of nun-chai.
Also, important to mention here, Kashmiri Kulcha is nowhere close to its namesake popular in India as a street food: a flatbread sandwich of sorts. Kashmiri Kulcha is a delicacy. Period.
While you are here, how about trying some kaander tchot too? Also, please find me on Instagram for more food-posts and show some love!
Kashmiri Namkeen Kulcha
Ingredients
- ½ cup Ghee
- 1 cup flour (maida)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220° C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Pour in the melted ghee and mix using your hands until coarse crumbles remain.
- Try to bring the dough together using only Ghee. If it doesn't hold together, use not more than 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to bring it together. Do not add too much water because the aim is to make a dry and stiff dough, not a sticky one.
- Divide it into three equal parts. Roll each part into a ball and flatten out using your hands. Place the Kulchas on the baking tray.
- Brush on top with water and sprinkle poppy seeds generously all over the surface.
- Bake in the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes. Let the Kulchas cool for a while. Enjoy with a cup of nun chai!
Notes
- I have tried this recipe using a mix of ghee and olive oil, without much compromise on taste.
- Because the Kulchas are large in size, I have considered only half a Kulcha as one serving while calculating the calories.