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    Home » Eggless Bakes » Quick Bread Recipes » Paneer Kulcha/Paneer qulcha – Flatbread stuffed with panner for #BreadBakers

    Paneer Kulcha/Paneer qulcha – Flatbread stuffed with panner for #BreadBakers

    Jun 9, 2015 · Modified: Dec 20, 2020 by Priya_Srinivasan ·

    Kulcha, is a leavened flat-bread, popular in India and Pakistan. Flour dough is rolled into a flat, round shape and baked in an earthen clay oven until golden brown. When baked, it is usually rubbed with butter, and then eaten with spicy chickpeas curry. 
    Do you know that kulcha was a royal symbol and appeared on a flag? No, i m not joking. Who gave that royal status to humble kulcha? The Nizams. ‘Kulcha’ was the official symbol of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and even appeared on the Hyderabad state flag. A state known for its niharis and kebabs gave kulchas a royal status than any other food product. Kulcha appeared not only on their Coat of Arms but also on the official flag of Hyderabad state. So, What is the story behind?It all dates back to Mir Qamruddin, an old courtier in Mughal court. Once, he was informed that he was appointed the Deccan Governor, he headed straight to meet his spiritual guide, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aurangabadi. Hazrat Nizamuddin invited him for a meal and offered him kulchas tied in a yellow cloth. Mir Qamruddin apologised for his hunger, on which Hazrat said that he could eat as many kulchas as he wanted. 
    Hearing this, Mir Qamruddin gobbled down seven kulchas. On his apology, Hazrat Nizamuddin prophesied that one day he would be king and that his descendants would rule for seven generations. This prophecy came true. Soon after Mir Qamruddin came to Deccan, Nadir Shah invaded and sacked Delhi. With the  Mughal power gone, the Nizams, who were simply governors, declared their rule in the Deccan, and became the richest kings of the biggest kingdom in India. And the kulcha became the centerpiece of the Hyderabad coat-of-arms. It would appear everywhere, from the golden-yellow state flag and the velvet ministerial insignia’s, down to the rank markings on a policeman’s epaulets. 
    So, when +Chef Mireille gave us the theme of Yeasty flatbreads for this month’s Bread Baker’s theme, i decided i would do a kulcha. Kulcha is actually leavened using Baking soda and powder. But then since it is a leavened flatbread, it should also come good with yeast right? So, i decided to go with yeast. Here is the recipe, the original uses All purpose flour, i have used Whole Wheat flour for good. 
    Story source : The Indian Express Food story
    Recipe Source : here
    Ingredients
    2 cups Whole Wheat flour (Not Chapathi flour)
    1 teaspoon instant yeast (or use ½ teaspoon baking powder & ¼ teaspoon Baking soda)
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon sugar
    ½ cup curd
    ½ cup warm water
    ¼ cup oil
    For the filling
    200 gram of paneer ( I used store-bought paneer)
    2 fistfuls of chopped coriander leaves
    2 green chilies, finely chopped
    1 large onion, finely chopped
    salt to taste

    Method
    • I used my food processor to knead the dough, it can also be kneaded by hand. Take the flour,salt, sugar and yeast in the processor bowl. Add curd and start running the processor to knead dough. 
    • Slowly add water and oil to get smooth, soft pilable dough. Remove the dough to a large bowl. Let it rest covered for about an hour. The dough can also be made and rested in the fridge overnight, in that case, just remove it from the fridge an hour before making the kulchas.
    • While the dough is resting, let us make the filling ready, crumble paneer in a large bowl, add coriander, chilies, onion and salt. Mix well and set aside until use.
    • After an hour or so, remove the dough to a flat working surface, punch it down, knead a couple of time and divide the dough 6-8 pieces.
    • Dust your kneading surface liberally, flatten each portion of dough and roll it into a circle using a rollig pin, place 3 tablespoon of filling in the centre of the rolled dough. Bring the edges together and seal by pressing it together. Roll again into a flat, thick disc. Take care while rolling, excess pressure might break the dough and the filling might ooze out.
    • Heat a tava, when it is smoking hot place the rolled kulcha on it, Flip 3 or 4 times and cook both sides until brown spots appear and the bread puffs a bit. 
    • Remove from the stove, apply ghee generously on both sides and serve hot. The bread can be paired with any spicy curry, but i served it with raita/spiced yogurt  sprinkled with boondi/gram flour crisps.
    #BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board

    right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

    BreadBakers

    Now let’s see what other #BreadBakers, kneaded for this month Yeasty Flat-breads :

  • Chickpea Moroccan Bread by Food Lust People Love
  • Emirati Khameer by The Schizo Chef
  • Focaccia by Simply Veggies
  • Garlic Naan by Seduce Your Tastebuds
  • Grilled Bacon Onion Cheese Flatbread (Flammkuchen) by Magnolia Days
  • Grilled Naan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Homemade Naan by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
  • Hönökaka – Swedish Flatbread by Passion Kneaded
  • Kesra – Moroccan Flatbread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
  • Man’oushe – Lebanese Flatbread by A Shaggy Dough Story
  • Margherita-Style Grilled Flatbread by Cali’s Cuisine
  • Orange Herb Pitas by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
  • Paneer Kulcha by I Camp in my Kitchen
  • Roghni Roti by Sneha’s Recipe
  • Sausage Gravy Pizza with Peppers and Onions by Pastry Chef Online
  • Simple Pita Bread by A Baker’s House
  • Spelt Biskers by What Smells So Good?
  • Tigelle – Italian Flat Bread by Cooking Club
  • Whole Wheat Pita Bread by G’Gina’s Kitchenette
  • Za’atar & Cheese Manakish – Levantine Flatbread by Ruchik Randhap
  • Za’atar Spiced Khobez by Cook’s Hideout
  • « Nellikaai Thengai Chutney/Amla Coconut chutney – Side dish for Idly/dosa
    Honduran Baleada »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. AparnaRajeshkumar

      June 09, 2015 at 10:09 am

      I gulp both priya my favorite combo

      Reply
    2. Unknown

      June 09, 2015 at 10:18 am

      Your flatbread looks delicious! I especially like the stuffing. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    3. Unknown

      June 09, 2015 at 10:29 am

      Totally my kind of flatbread with the chiles and paneer.

      Reply
    4. Jennifer Field

      June 09, 2015 at 11:53 am

      Wow, I had no idea of the royal history of kulcha!! Any bread that makes it onto a flag must be excellent (and what a great story, by the way)! Paneer/coriander/chilli might be one of the most magical stuffing combinations ever. Gorgeous bread!

      Reply
    5. Shobha

      June 09, 2015 at 1:44 pm

      Nice and filling meal.. we can also make so many variations to the fillings 🙂

      Reply
    6. Karen

      June 09, 2015 at 3:30 pm

      I love bread posts with stories and history! This looks very tasty!!! Thanks for all of the information!

      Reply
    7. Unknown

      June 09, 2015 at 6:09 pm

      Delicious… I am hungry now…

      Reply
    8. A Day in the Life on the Farm

      June 09, 2015 at 9:46 pm

      I so much enjoyed your history lesson. I love when writers go that extra mile to connect with their readers and your bread turned out lovely.

      Reply
    9. Chef Mireille

      June 09, 2015 at 9:58 pm

      so interesting to read about the history with Hyderabad

      Reply
    10. Unknown

      June 09, 2015 at 11:28 pm

      Bread as a staple is so important to many cultures. Honoring it on a flag doesn't sound like a bad idea to me!

      Reply
    11. Holly @ abakershouse.com

      June 10, 2015 at 3:53 am

      Thanks for all of the background information. It makes it all the more special to appreciate this flatbread.

      Reply
    12. Rafeeda AR

      June 10, 2015 at 6:34 am

      looking at the picture itself looks like a delicious bread… loved reading through the story… 🙂

      Reply
    13. Georgina K.

      June 10, 2015 at 10:43 am

      Your Paneer Kulcha is outstanding Priya! Wow and talk about what a "royal Kulcha" is indeed! Thanks for sharing the background behind the Kulcha! Good to learn!

      Reply
    14. Stacy Rushton

      June 11, 2015 at 1:12 am

      What a great history lesson you served up along with the delicious paneer-filled kulcha, Priya! I love learning from Bread Bakers!

      Reply
    15. Kelster

      June 11, 2015 at 5:24 am

      Food that so important that it's on a flag? That's pretty awesome! Thanks for the history lesson!

      Reply
    16. Padmajha

      June 11, 2015 at 12:57 pm

      Enjoyed reading the nuggets of information on Kulcha!! Who would have imagined!!! And this is one delicious Kulcha and boondi raita is my fav 🙂

      Reply
    17. Pavani

      June 11, 2015 at 6:21 pm

      Loved reading the 'kulcha' story Priya. Your stuffed kulchas look so soft, fluffy and delicious.

      Reply
    18. Kalyani

      June 14, 2015 at 9:14 am

      I saw these on your feed and was looking forward to reading the entire post..

      awesome kulcha and love that onion on top not to forget the side dish 🙂

      I have written to breadbakers thrice now asking for me to join in.. havent heard from them..hope to join u guys there 🙂

      Reply
    19. Robin

      June 19, 2015 at 8:40 pm

      It's always so interesting to read the history behind certain foods so I very much enjoyed learning about kulcha. It looks and sounds so delicious and I can't wait to try it.

      Reply

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