Aloo Kulcha is a leavened Indian flatbread with a soft and crispy texture, stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes. Aloo Kulcha recipe is from the Punjabi cuisine and very popular in Delhi as well as some parts of North India. Traditionally, Aloo Kulcha is cooked in a tandoor or clay oven. But you can easily cook it on a skillet (tawa). While cooking, it is often brushed with ghee or butter and finally savored with robust Indian curries. Chole or spicy chickpea curry with Kulcha is the quintessential combination in the Indian food scene.
Table of Contents
What is Aloo Kulcha
In Hindi, the term Aloo stands for potatoes and Kulcha is an leavened flatbread made from all-purpose flour. Simply put together the words Aloo Kulcha mean a leavened soft flatbread stuffed with a savory and spiced mashed potato filling.
Since the day I tried the fab aloo kulcha served at a nearby Punjabi dhaba (roadside eatery), I’ve been a fan of it. One bite and I got so inspired that I wanted to try the Aloo Kulcha recipe at home.
This recipe is thus a result of that. The base kulcha and potato stuffing recipes in this have been adapted from my family recipe of Aloo Paratha.
Do note that both Aloo Kulcha and Aloo Paratha are different recipes. Aloo Kulcha is made with leavened all-purpose flour dough and Aloo Paratha is made with unleavened whole wheat flour dough. So the taste and texture is different and not the same.
There are many variations to the original plain Kulcha recipe as well. Here, you can find some variations like:
Generally, the restaurant and dhabas have an Aloo Kulcha recipe which has refined or all-purpose flour (maida). But I have added both whole wheat flour (atta) and all-purpose flour in equal quantities.
If you plan to use only whole wheat flour, then you’ll end up having a texture and taste similar to that of an aloo paratha. The spice in the potato stuffing can be adjusted according to your taste. You can add some green chilies for a spicier version of this Aloo Kulcha recipe.
How to make Aloo Kulcha
Make Dough
1. In a mixing bowl take the following listed ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt or as required
2. Add 2 tablespoons fresh yogurt (curd) and 3 teaspoons of oil. Use any neutral and flavorless oil.
3. Lightly mix everything with a spoon or with your hands.
4. Add water. I added ⅔ cup water in parts, you can add from ½ to ⅔ cup water.
Keep in mind that the quantity of water you need to add will depend on the quality and texture of the flours. So, add as needed to make a soft and pliable dough.
5. Mix and then begin to knead.
6. Knead to a smooth, pliable and soft dough.
7. Cover the dough and keep aside for 2 hours ( I kept for 1 hour and 48 minutes).
Make Potato Stuffing
8. Meanwhile, steam or boil 4 to 5 potatoes (about 300 to 350 grams) till they are cooked through completely.
You can boil the potatoes adding water as needed in a pan on the stove-top, instant pot or a stove-top pressure cooker. You can also peel and dice the potatoes and steam them in a steamer pan.
9. Peel and mash the potatoes with a potato masher.
10. Add the following spices and herbs:
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried mango powder (amchur powder)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
11. Mix the spices and herbs in the mashed potatoes very well. Check the taste and add more of the salt, green chilies and dried mango powder if required.
12. After resting the dough for 2 hours, lightly knead the dough again.
Assemble and Stuff Aloo Kulcha
13. Make medium sized balls from the dough.
14. Sprinkle some whole wheat flour on the rolling board and on the dough ball.
15. With a rolling pin, roll it into a disc or circle of 5 to 6 inches diameter.
16. Place some potato stuffing in the center, keep 1 to 1.5 inches space all over the circumference.
17. Bring the edges together and pinch them to join at the center.
18. Press the joined edges and sprinkle some sesame seeds on it. Press the sesame seeds with your fingers or very lightly with the rolling pin so that they stick to the dough.
Adding sesame seeds is optional. I made the aloo kulcha, both with and without sesame seeds.
19. Sprinkle some flour.
20. Turn over and sprinkle some sesame seeds here too. Sprinkle a bit of flour again. This is an optional step.
21. Gently roll out to a large disc of about 7 to 8 inches in diameter dusting with flour as needed.
Cook Aloo Kulcha on Tawa
22. On a hot tawa or skillet, gently place the stuffed kulcha. Keep the heat to medium-high or high.
23. Flip the aloo kulcha with a spatula when one side is partially cooked. You will see faint golden spots on this lightly cooked side.
24. Spread some ghee (clarified butter) or oil on this side. The amount of ghee or oil to be added, depends upon you. You can either add less or more or skip it as well.
25. Flip again.
26. Now spread some ghee or oil on this side too.
27. Flip again and you will see both the sides with brown or golden spots.
28. Press the edges with a spatula to ensure that they are cooked.
29. Flip once or twice to ensure even roasting and cooking.
30. Here is a cooked Aloo Kulcha without sesame seeds.
31. Place the aloo kulcha in a roti basket.
32. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of butter and spread it with a butter knife or spoon. Prepare all the kulcha and stack them up this way. I assemble, roll the kulcha and roast them simultaneously.
33. After making each kulcha, wipe the tawa with a cotton kitchen towel to get rid of the browned or burnt flour particles.
34. You can also serve Aloo Kulcha straightaway from the skillet or pan to the plate. Serve these hot or warm with butter, curd, mango pickle, green peas curry or chana masala.
How to serve Aloo Kulcha
For serving, I chose to pair my Aloo Kulcha with fresh homemade yogurt (curd). Other accompaniments that really go well with this kulcha are obviously Peshawari Chole, Dal Makhani, Dal Bukhara or just mango pickle.
But don’t be surprised if you find your loved ones having this Aloo Kulcha all by itself. It is so tasty that you don’t really need anything with it! This soft Aloo Kulcha is also perfect for your kid’s tiffin box. You’ll know this when they will return with empty boxes!
Expert Tips
- While making the dough, the amount of water to be added depends on the quality of the flours. So, add accordingly. You need to make a smooth, soft and pliable dough.
- To prepare the potatoes for stuffing, you can cook the potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker or instant pot. To mash the peeled potatoes, you can use a fork too. Make sure to mash the potatoes really well.
- You can opt to substitute baking soda in the recipe by swapping it with ¼ to ½ teaspoon baking powder.
- In the potato stuffing, substitutes for dried mango powder (amchur powder) are dried pomegranate seeds powder (anardana powder), lime juice or chaat masala. You can add about ½ to 1 teaspoon of dried pomegranate seeds powder or ½ teaspoon chaat masala powder. Lime juice can be added as per your taste. There should be just a faint sour taste or tang in the stuffing.
- Make sure to wipe the tawa with a cotton kitchen towel after making each kulcha. This helps getting rid of burnt flour particles.
- This is a vegetarian recipe. But you can even make it vegan by skipping the yogurt or using a plant-based yogurts like almond or cashew yogurt, and roasting the kulcha in oil instead of ghee.
FAQs
Yes, these can be prepared and refrigerated to store overnight. Make sure to store in an airtight steel box. Spread some oil on top of the dough.
Yes, you can use fruit salt (Eno) instead of baking soda and whole wheat flour (atta) in place of all-purpose flour (maida).
Baking soda is used in this recipe because it helps in leavening.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed well and you are not overstuffing the kulcha. While rolling, make sure to roll into thick to medium-thick discs. If these are thin, then the stuffing tends to come out.
Paratha is an unleavened flatbread and kulcha is a leavened flatbread. Traditionally, kulcha are made in a tandoor or clay oven and baked plain kulcha without any stuffing can be stored for many days.
More Indian Bread Recipes to Try!
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Aloo Kulcha
Ingredients
For dough
- 1 cup whole wheat flour – 120 grams
- 1 cup all-purpose flour – 125 grams
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons oil or ghee (clarified butter) – I used oil
- 2 tablespoons Curd (yogurt) – vegan yogurts like cashewnut or almond yogurt can be used as substitutes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt or add as required
- ½ to ⅔ cup water for kneading or add as required
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (black or white) or nigella seeds (kalonji)
For stuffing
- 3 large potatoes – 300 to 350 grams or 4 to 5 medium potatoes
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilies or 1 to 2 green chilies
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried mango powder (amchur powder) or add as required
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
More Ingredients
- oil or ghee for roasting as required
Instructions
Making dough
- In a mixing bowl take whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, 1 teaspoon sugar and ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt or as required.
- Add curd (yogurt) and oil.
- Lightly mix everything with a spoon or with your hands.
- Add water. I added ⅔ cup of water in parts. The amount of water to be added depends on the quality of the flours. So, add accordingly.
- Mix and then begin to knead.
- Knead to a smooth, pliable and soft dough. Cover the dough and keep aside for 2 hours.
Making potato stuffing
- Meanwhile, steam or boil the potatoes until they are cooked through completely. You can cook the potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker or in the instant pot.
- Peel and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. You can also use a fork to mash the potatoes or grate them first and mash later.
- Add the chopped green chilies, red chili powder, dried mango powder, garam masala powder and coriander leaves.
- Mix the spices and herbs in the mashed potatoes very well. Check the taste and add more of the salt, green chilies and dried mango powder if required.
Assembling and rolling aloo kulcha
- After two hours lightly knead the dough again.
- Make medium sized balls from the kulcha dough.
- Sprinkle some whole wheat flour on the rolling board and on the dough ball.
- With a rolling pin, roll it into a disc or circle of 5 to 6 inches diameter.
- Place some potato stuffing in the center, keep 1 inch space all over the circumference.
- Bring the edges together and pinch to join them at the center.
- Press the joined edges and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Press the sesame seeds with your fingers or very lightly with the rolling pin so that they stick to the dough.
- Sprinkle some flour. Adding sesame seeds is optional. You can skip them.
- Gently roll to a large disc of about 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
Cooking aloo kulcha
- On a hot tawa or skillet, gently place the stuffed kulcha. Keep heat to medium-high or high.
- Flip over when one side is partially cooked. You will light golden spots on this side. Also, spread some ghee or oil on this side.
- The amount of ghee or oil to be added, depends on you. You can either add less or more or skip it too.
- Flip again and now spread some ghee or oil on the second side. The second side will be slightly more cooked than the first side.
- Press the kulcha edges with a spatula to ensure that they are cooked well with crispy golden spots on both the sides.
- Flip once or twice to ensure even roasting and cooking.
- Place the kulcha in a roti basket.
- Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of softened butter and spread it with a butter knife or spoon. Prepare all the aloo kulchas with the above method and stack them up in the roti basket.
- After making each aloo kulcha, wipe the tawa with a cotton kitchen towel to get rid of the browned or burnt flour particles.
- You can also serve kulcha straightaway from the skillet to the plate. Serve these hot or warm with butter, curd, mango pickle, grean peas curry or chana masala.
Notes
Substitutions:
- Baking soda – Use ¼ to ½ teaspoon baking powder instead.
- Dry mango powder: Swap with dry pomegranate seeds powder (anardana powder), lime juice or chaat masala. You can add about ½ to 1 teaspoon of dried pomegranate seeds powder. Lime juice can be added as per your taste. There should be just a light sour taste or tang in the potato stuffing.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This aloo kulcha post from the blog archives first published in January 2015 has been republished and updated on 15 February 2022.
Can we skip baking soda and maida? or any other alternatives for these? Why is baking soda used?
hema, instead of baking soda you can use Eno. instead of maida you can use atta. baking soda is used for leavening
Hi, keep up with your awesome never fail recipes! Love the pictures which make it a lot easier. I’m a regular to your website.
Do you have a Murtabak recipe? I’ve been looking for one but they have egg.
thanks a lot. i do not have murtabak recipe. have heard of it, but never made.
Dear…. If u dont mind, please send me the picture of ur iron tawa… Because i bought a iron tawa but aftr 6Months some coating is going fron side… I dont know why iron tawa is like that coating. I am confused with that, can i use that tawa again or not….
fathi, i assume its not the coating. iron tawa needs care. if acidic food is cooked, then there is discoloration. also some oil should be spread on the tawa, so that they don’t rust.
Hi
When you mention knead to a smooth dough, can you specify the amount of time eg. is 5 mins sufficient. Can I use the dough mode of the breadmachine.
Tq.
about 6 to 7 minutes. you can try with the dough mode of bread machine.
Superb recipes thnxs for sharing, can u pls suggest some recipes like parathas or curry etc.. Actually my hubby gng to Europe for too week’s, so at least it’s eatable for 2weeks …. Thnxs
welcome urmia. for two weeks, you can freeze the food and carry them while travelling in cold boxes or ice boxes. you can make partly cooked rotis, parathas and then freeze them. later thaw and then roast the rotis, parathas again till done. most veg gravies can be freezed and them heated. avoid lentils, dals, milk, cream and curd based dishes. they are best had fresh. you can even make roasted or fried snacks.
for rotis, parathas, you can check this link – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipes/indian-breads-indian-parathas/
for veg gravies – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipes/indian-curry-recipes/
Hey thanks for the recipe I made it yday and it was so yummy…I m just curious to know y we have to add sugar
sugar helps in leavening of the dough. hence its added.
Today i tired kulcha for breakfast.it was d best recipe n came out too good.
thanks gauri. nice to know.
Hi Anjana.
This is regarding ur problem retaled to kulcha.sometime if the dough is hard u will struggle to make stuffed kulcha\ paratha. Make sure u kneed the dough soft. Another thing is while rolling the dough balls you should always roll it very lightly i.e not putting too much pressure on the rolling pin.
Hope this info. will help you.
Thanks
thanks vidhya 🙂
Hello,
I am a big fan of urs…. Always try ur recepie and it comes out well….going to try this one now….could you pls tell me what is the diff between a kulcha and paratta it seems similar….
Keep updating recepies…..regards Anjana
thank you anjana. paratha is made from whole wheat flour/atta and is usually cooked on a tawa and sometimes in a tandoor too. kulcha is made from all purpose flour/maida and is usually made in a tandoor. since we do not have tandoor in our homes, we make on tawa. also paratha is an unleaveaned bread while kulcha is a leavened bread.
Thnx…..for the reply…I always wondered the diff b/w both of them….
welcome anjana.
Hi ,
I hv tried few recepy frm yo website and al hv turned out yummy… But I cud not succeed in making aloo kulcha I perfectly followed yo instructions, but wn I went to kulcha after stuffin aloo the aloo used to cum out , I tried in all possible ways to make out but kulcha dnt turn up , can you tell me why???
thanks reethu. aloo have to be mashed very well. don’t overstuff the kulcha. roll into slightly thick rotis. if the rotis are thin then stuffing will come out.
Hi, dasanna, I love your website…. Anything I want to make, first I have to check it in your recipe list n gooooo….that’s it. Thanks to you ….for making me a good chef. I tried a lot of recipes… Every recipe turned out yummy. Now want to try aloo kulcha. But wanted to know that can we make the stuffing and dough at night to be used in the morning.
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
thanks a lot. yes you can make both the stuffing and dough at night. before stuffing and cooking, just bring both the potato filling and dough at room temperature.
Luved it. …
Everbody appreciated me
thankyou shriya 🙂
loving this recipe . very soft and spicy .yummy !!!
thanks avleen
Actually kulcha is not cooked with oil actually it is cooked in oven and it is to be pressed and given shape using hands
there are many variations of kulcha. the amritsari kulcha is baked and not cooked without oil.
Hi,
Really nice, well explained and easy recipes!
Recently, I learnt that paranthas can be made with stuffing of fruits like raw papaya, apple, pineapple can be made in the same way like aloo parantha. Same amount of spices, green chillies etc have to be added.
Would be great if you also share your version for these “fruit paranthas”.
Best wishes.
Kriti
thanks. i have never heard or seen anyone making fruit parathas. new to me. lets see if i can make a fruit paratha recipe.