Aloo Kulcha
An Aloo Kulcha is a flaky, savory Indian flatbread 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. A vegan, soy-free and nut-free recipe.
Servings: 8 kulchas
Calories: 282kcal
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 avocado oil or any neutral 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 ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 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.
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Potassium: 599mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 187IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 3mg