This onion kulcha recipe is one of the best homemade Indian bread recipes for dinner that you’ll ever eat! Soft, fluffy, delicious, stuffed with chopped onion and other spices. This onion kulcha is wholesome, you will never realize that this kulcha bread is made actually with whole wheat flour and in tawa.
I know for many of you, Indian food might have introduced to you in the form of Naan bread. Recently naan bread is becoming popular globally for its flavor and versatility.
But how about kulcha? have you heard this term before? If not you have missed a important delightful dish so far in your life. well, Kulcha is the mesmerizing word for around half of the Indian population already.
Personally, this onion kulcha recipe is the favorite of myself for its taste and its prepping work. Preparing is very easy to make with the available ingredients in the Indian pantry. You do not need to rush the stores to get the ingredients. Check out your kitchen, you may have them already.
Even if you are lacking for some of the items, we will discuss its substitutions and alternatives in the following post.
What is Kulcha?
Kulcha is a kind of Indian flatbread, originated in the state of Punjab. And later became popular throughout the country.
Generally, kulcha is made in two ways, stuffed and unstuffed. Unstuffed kulcha is made with leavened agents and flavored with garlic, onion seeds or other spices. And stuffed kulcha is made with slightly leavened ingredients which are usually filled with vegetables.
This onion kulcha recipe is a healthy and filling generally served in the breakfast and great to serve for dinner as well.
Why you should make this Onion Kulcha?
- This is easy and simple. Made with healthy ingredients, and will not leave you with the guilt of eating fatty or unhealthy food.
- In my opinion, this is very filling and will not leave you in hunger for next 6 hours.
- Looking for a kulcha recipe on tawa, this post helps you to achieve the best homemade kulcha that you have ever tasted before. You can use the same recipe for baking in the oven.
- This Amirstari onion kulcha recipe is spicy and with the right flavors that tingle in your mouth for a long.
- The taste is addictive and you keep making it again and again.
- This does not need huge preparation like any other Indian recipe. But it needs a resting time, where you need to plan ahead.
Best Side dish for Homemade Onion Kulcha
This recipe for onion kulcha is best to serve with a simple raita or spicy protein-rich chana masala. The following are some of the tasty side dishes.
Make-ahead, Storing Ideas
We can make the dough prior to the day of cooking. For this combine all the ingredients together as listed below. And allow it to rest for 4 hours and then store in the refrigerator. This way we can store upto 3 days in the refrigerator.
Onion is known for its moisture and hence it is better to prepare the filling fresh whenever needed.
The leftover tawa kulcha can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 5 days and upto a month when frozen. I find the freezer-safe ziplock bags are great to use.
Ingredients Needed
Whole wheat flour. This is wholesome and becomes softer after the resting time. And you can also substitute with multi-grain flour or gluten-free flour if necessary.
All-purpose flour. We are adding half of the all-purpose flour and half of the whole wheat flour. The former gives nice chewy texture to the onion kulcha. If you feel all-purpose flour is unhealthy, you can use the whole wheat flour alone. This substitution will not change the taste significantly.
Baking powder and Baking soda. These are leavening agents that helps the dough become light. I feel these are the must ingredients, and without this, the kulcha becomes dense and it is harder to chew.
Curd/yogurt. Another softening agent in this onion kulcha recipe, helps the dough taste rich and unique. You can use either homemade curd or store-bought yogurt.
Onion. The key ingredient for the stuffing. White onion, yellow or red onion will be suitable. Chop them as fine as possible which helps to roll the kulcha thinner without any huge chunks.
Cumin seeds. I call this as a flavor enhancer. You may also crush before adding if you prefer.
Ajwain. Another flavor bomb, I would advise to use it not only for its flavor but also for its unique Indian taste.
Cilantro/coriander leaves. This is the secret behind the refreshing kick in the recipe of onion kulcha. You may also combine with fresh mint leaves if you have at home.
Onion Seeds. Otherwise also called kalonji in Hindi. This seed is used for decoration and gives a nice aroma as well. But, this is optional to use depending on the availability.
How to make onion kulcha
This homemade kulcha recipe is easier than you could have thought. The recipe uses simple, basic ingredients and yields soft, fluffy and healthy goodness. The taste of the kulcha is addictive and end up in double up the quantity in the next event.
Prepare the dough. The prep work is simple and pretty straightforward. All we wanted is to plan ahead. The dough requires a resting time for a minimum of 4 hours. So plan accordingly.
For the fluffy and soft-In this onion kulcha recipe, the dough has to be made a few hours prior to cooking. As we are using natural leavening agent curd-it takes a longer than usual. But it is not a difficult task, If you are planning for the dinner, you can knead the dough in the morning or if you are planning for breakfast, make it before the night.
In a big mixing bowl, combine, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, curd. Rub them until all the ingredients mixed together. Now add water little at a time to make a pliable soft dough.
Add a teaspoon of cooking oil and spread around the dough. Cover it with a lid or a cloth. Allow it to rest for a minimum of 4 hours.
Prepare the stuffing. For the inner filling, chop the onion and coriander leaves finely.
In a small mixing bowl, add chopped onion, chopped coriander leaves, cumin seeds, carom seeds, red chili powder.
No need to add salt in here. As the salt leaves the onion moist, watery and will not be perfect to roll the onion kulcha.
Roll. Divide the dough into small sized balls that fit in your fist.
Dust the board and the rolling pin with flour.
Place this ball and pat slightly.
Keep a tablespoon full of stuffing in the inner circle.
Bring all the edges together to form a big ball. Sprinkle onion seeds on the top.
Dust again and using the rolling pin make a big circle.
Heat a pan, and cook it on both the sides until black spots are seen.
Transfer to a plate and serve hot.
Looking for other Indian flatbread recipes?
Onion kulcha recipe
Ingredients
For making the dough
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup yogurt /curd
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup water or as needed for kneading.
For onion masala
- 1/2 cup onion finely copped
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp carom seeds
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
For making kulcha
- 8 tsp vegetable oil for drizzling
Instructions
Making the dough
- In a mixing bowl, combine wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, yogurt, salt.
- Rub until all the ingredient combines well.
- Add water little at a time to make a smooth, soft dough.
- Sprinkle cooking oil and spread all around the dough.
- Cover it with a lid.
- Set aside for four hours.
Making the onion masala
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped onion, chopped cilantro, cumin seeds, carom seeds, red chili powder, and salt.
- Combine them well.
Prepping the kulcha
- After ther resting time, dough turns soft than before.
- Now divide the dough into 10 equal sized balls. Set aside.
- Dust the board with the flour.
- Keep a dough ball and using the rolling pin spread it like a thick and small circle.
- Place a tablespoon of onion masala at the center.
- Grab the edges together to the center and press gently to make a bigger ball now.
- Again carefully roll to a smooth ball by keeping the filling intact.
Cooking the kulcha
- Heat a pan in medium heat, place this flat kulcha.
- Brush 1/2 teaspoon of cooking oil and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Flip to the other side, and brush 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil and cook for 1-2 minutes or until black spots seen.
- Remove from the pan and transfer to a plate.
- Repeat the same procedure for the remaining dough balls.
- And serve hot with raita.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Meta. Onion kulcha recipe is one of the best homemade Indian bread recipes for dinner that you’ll ever eat! Soft, fluffy, delicious, stuffed with onion and other spices. This onion kulcha is wholesome, and you will never realize that this kulcha bread is made actually with whole wheat flour and in tawa.
Suja Manoj
Love it,looks so yummy
Sujatha Muralidhar
Thank you Suja Manoj!