A kulcha is often overshadowed on Indian restaurant menus by its more popular cousin, the naan. But with its flaky, soft texture this flatbread is just as capable of holding its own and even shining brighter. Try this version of a stuffed Aloo Kulcha, with an easy, savory potato filling. And for those of you who have a sourdough starter bubbling away, I have directions for making this with sourdough discard, which makes it healthier and even more delicious. A vegan, soy-free and nut-free recipe.

The kulcha is one among a plethora of Indian flatbreads, including this vegan naan, roti and paratha. It's soft, puffy, and sometimes stuffed with more deliciousness.
This Aloo Kulcha, with a potato filling, is one of my favorite Indian breads to make, and it is so good, it'll likely become yours too if you try it.
A kulcha has a slightly flaky yet soft texture and although you can make it plain, it's even better with a stuffing of potatoes not unlike that you'd find in an aloo paratha.
If you have a pot of sourdough starter, and hate throwing away the discard, this is a recipe you should be trying. You can use as little or as much of the discard as you want to -- I added three-fourths of a cup, but you could use as much as 1 cup or as little as half, depending on how much you are discarding or want to use up.
Or, if you don't have sourdough discard, you could just use baking powder as the leavening.
This is an easy recipe, but it does involve a few steps--making the dough, making the stuffing, and then putting it all together before cooking the kulcha. And if you're making it with sourdough you need to plan a little ahead--not a lot, but a little. That's because when you're using sourdough, you want to harness its benefits, which means giving the dough some time to stand and let the good bacteria break down the starches in your dough. You don't need too long, two or three hours is good.
You could just add the sourdough and proceed after a few minutes, but then you'd not get that benefit, see? If you're in a hurry, just use some baking powder.
This is an eminently kid-friendly recipe--flour and potatoes, what's not to like? You can vary some of the spices in the stuffing if you have picky kids who won't eat this or that--cilantro, for instance, although Jay loves it.
How to make the best aloo kulcha:
- Unbleached all purpose flour or bread flour are both fine here. You can sub half the white flour with whole wheat, but if you do so, be warned that your kulcha won't quite have the same flaky texture--it'll be more dense and heavier. If you use sourdough, the sourdough will the bread a little healthier, by breaking down the starches.
- Your dough should be tacky not smooth when you're done kneading it. In other words it won't roll up into a smooth ball and might seem a little unfinished, but don't fret. You'll get there.
- You will need to do some layering to get your kulcha to the correct texture. The way you do this is by rolling out your dough, brushing on some oil, then sprinkling on some flour. This is a technique not unlike that used for puff pastry or in my khasta paratha recipe, but there's no waiting here, so it goes by quickly. It's not at all hard to do, and it will bring your dough to the perfect texture.
- Your dough, once ready, will need to stand for two to three hours so the bacteria in the sourdough can go to work. If you use baking powder instead of sourdough, you can do away with the two-hour resting time and let your dough rest for just 15 minutes.
- For the stuffing you will need potatoes, of course. Mash your potatoes so there are no lumps--lumps make rolling out the kulchas harder.
- I add only powdered spices to my filling, but I keep the ingredients quite traditional. This ensures that the kulcha is easy to shape and there are no big pieces of spices sticking out or tearing through the dough.
- You will get about eight kulchas from this recipe. I like overstuffing the kulchas, so the ball of potato filling I use is just slightly smaller than the ball of dough. You can definitely use less, but why would you?
- To shape the kulchas, you can use a rolling pin or just use your fingers. It's fun and easy to do. Keep a bowl of water by your side, dip your fingertips in it, and then press into the dough using your fingertips to make little indentations all over. If you roll the kulchas out with a rolling pin, you should still brush on some water because the kulchas will achieve the right texture when they steam a little.
- Kulchas, like many north Indian flatbreads, are baked in a tandoor oven. But we will be making these on a griddle.
- After you place the kulcha on the griddle, you will sprinkle on some cilantro and onion seeds (which are optional). You want to press these into the kulcha with your fingers, but if you're not comfortable with this step, you can skip it altogether. Instead melt some vegan butter, add the cilantro to it (skip the onion seeds) and brush it on as soon as the kulcha comes off the griddle.
- You should brush your kulcha with some vegan butter once it's off the griddle for the best flavor.
What do I serve with the Aloo Kulcha?
Chana masala is the perfect accompaniment for a kulcha. But any spicy lentil or bean curry would work just as well. Try this with a Rajma, a kidney bean curry, or vegan Dal Makhani.
You can also serve the kulcha and it'd be perfect with a north Indian veggie curry, like this vegan Palak Paneer with Tofu or this vegan Paneer Butter Masala. A vegan Butter Chicken would make this an elegant and divine meal.
Serve a vegan cucumber raita on the side for the perfect meal.
More vegan Indian bread recipes
Aloo Kulcha
Equipment
- Cast iron griddle or nonstick griddle or tava
Ingredients
For the kulcha dough:
- 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ¾ cup sourdough discard (if not using discard use ½ teaspoon baking powder instead. You can use more or less discard, up to a cup, but you might want to adjust the flour up a little if you use less than ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoon vegetable oil (divided, for the dough and for brushing)
For the potato stuffing:
- 5 medium russet potatoes (boiled and mashed until there are no large lumps)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (or red pepper flakes)
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder (can use 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (can use 1 teaspoon fresh grated garlic)
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves, crushed into a powder)
- 1 teaspoon amchur (dry mango powder)
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- Salt to taste
For brushing on at the end:
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
- 2 teaspoon onion seeds (kalonji, optional)
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Place the flour in a bowl along with the salt and mix. Add the sourdough discard, if using, or the baking powder. Drizzle in water, a little at a time, kneading until you have a shaggy dough that sticks to your fingers. I needed just under ¾ths cup of water.
- Add 2 teaspoon of oil and continue kneading until incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and set it aside in a warm place for 2-3 hours. If using baking powder, you can go to the next step after 15 minutes.
- Flour your work surface. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the dough out to a rectangle about six inches wide and eight inches long. Brush on some oil, sprinkle on some flour. Pick the two long sides and fold them over so they overlap, creating three layers. Roll out the dough again and once again oil, flour, fold. Repeat one more time for a total of three times.
- After you've done this three times, roll the dough into a cylinder and cut lengthwise into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and set aside, covered with a kitchen towel.
Make the stuffing:
- Place the mashed potatoes in a bowl with all the spices. Add salt to taste and mix well with your hands or a fork until everything is incorporated.
Assemble the kulchas:
- Heat a griddle over medium-high heat.
- Take a ball of dough and with your fingers or a rolling pin, roll it into a diameter of about four inches. Form the stuffing into a ball almost as big as the ball of dough and place it into the center. Pull up the sides of the dough over the stuffing and form a seal at the top.
- Place a bowl of water next to you. Wet your fingertips and press into the dough with them to shape the dough into a diameter of about six inches. You can also just roll the dough with a rolling pin and press into it with wet fingertips at the end, or just brush on some water with a pastry brush.
- Place the kulcha, wet side down, on the griddle. If adding the cilantro and onion seeds at this point, sprinkle them on, then press into them very carefully with your fingertips so they are embedded within the dough. You can skip this step if not comfortable working with heat.
- Cover with a lid and let the kulcha steam-cook for about a minute or two or until the underside has golden-brown spots. Flip over and cook until golden spots appear on the other side.
- Remove and brush on some vegan butter. If you didn't add the cilantro earlier, you can mix it into the vegan butter and brush it on at this time.
- Pick up the kulcha with your palms as soon as you can handle it and crush it between your palms to make it separate slightly into flaky layers.
Danielle
I e tried both sourdough and regular way and this recipe is a hit either way, my husband asks for it regularly now! Thank you for making it so easy to follow!
Kayla
This recipe is SOO good, it has become a favorite!! The dough is amazing. What else would you stuff these with? Any sweet kulcha filling ideas?
Vaishali
Hi Kayla, you could totally stuff it with nuts or raisins. A coconut and sugar filling might work as well!
Kathakali
Made it today..it came out so so good.will make it again .Solved 'what to do with my sourdough discard' problem largely:)
Krithika
I have a bunch of discard ready for this! Do you recommend making the whole batch and storing in the fridge? Or could I save the dough and filling and make kulchas as needed?
Vaishali
Make them ahead. I find sourdough doughs get a bit soft after a while which can make them harder to work with.
Swetha Pattabhi Ramaiah
As you mentioned already this is your favorite, it has become our favorite for me and my husband. This has turned into a weekend routine now. For someone who owns a rotimatic and never ever rolled doughs to make indian breads, I never thought I'd be making this every weekend :D. Never knew sourdough discard can make such amazing soft kulchas and naans(same recipe but use whole wheat flour instead of AP) without using curd or any other flavor enhancers. Thanks for this simple and amazing recipe.
Satya
I made this and it was so so good ! Its amazing that sourdough starter can make such wonderful kulchas ... Never would have imagined. Will definitely make this again! I had left a comment few days back about the discard being good with rotis.. I am going to try all your recipes. thank you Vaishali !
Vaishali
So happy to hear that, Sathya!
Lisa Warner
do you have any recipes for gluten free discard?
Vaishali
Yes! Search for gluten-free sourdough pancakes and gluten-free sourdough waffles in the search box. I have both!
Julia
This looks delicious! What do you think about using sweet potato for the filling (just thinking about what's in my stay-at-home pantry).
Vaishali
You could use sweet potato but sweet potato is squishier which would make rolling out the kulcha harder. You can add some tapioca or corn starch to help firm it up a bit--1 to 2 tbsp perhaps. Also, as you realize, the kulcha would taste sweeter with sweet potato. 🙂
Julia
Thanks!