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Punjabi · Indian

Amritsari kulcha

Vegetarian

ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰੀ ਕੁਲਚਾ · amritsari kulcha

Crisp, flaky, ghee-layered bread stuffed with a tangy spiced potato filling and crusted with coriander. Amritsar's famous breakfast, traditionally baked in a tandoor; here on a hot stone in the oven.

Amritsari kulcha is a Punjabi bread from India, ready in about 3 hours 10 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, potato and ghee. It serves 6 and is rated advanced to cook.

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Prep
40 min
Cook
30 min
Rest
2 h
Total
3 h 10 min
Serves
6
Level
Advanced
Calories
358

Ingredients

6 kulchas

Dough

Filling

Layering and finishing

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, baking powder (opens in a new tab), soda, sugar (opens in a new tab) and salt; add the yogurt (opens in a new tab), water and oil and knead 6–8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Rub with a little oil, cover and rest 2 hours (or up to 6 in the fridge) so it becomes very extensible.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Mix all the filling ingredients; the potato (opens in a new tab) should be dry and fluffy, not pasty. Taste — it should be distinctly sour and salty. Divide into 6.

  3. Step 3

    Preheat the oven (opens in a new tab) to maximum (250–275 °C) with a pizza stone or upturned heavy tray on the top shelf for 40 minutes. Divide the dough into 6. For layers, roll a ball thin (20 cm), smear with ghee (opens in a new tab), pleat it like a fan, coil into a spiral and rest 10 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Flatten each coil to 10 cm, place a portion of filling in the centre, gather the edges over it and pinch shut. Press flat, sprinkle the top with coriander and nigella, and roll or press gently into a 15 cm disc. Brush the base with a little water.

  5. Step 5

    Bake on the stone, wet side down, for 7–9 minutes until crisp and golden-brown underneath, then 1 minute under a hot grill for a blistered top.

    Food safety: Load the hot stone with an oven glove and a flat tray or peel.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  6. Step 6

    Brush with butter (opens in a new tab), crush lightly between your palms to open the layers, and serve hot.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Amritsar, Punjab, Punjab, India · Well documentedMore food from India
Dish
Breakfast · Brunch · Lunch · Breads & flatbreads · Street food
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Broiled / grilled under heat
Taste
tangy, buttery, spicy (chilli heat), savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Potato · Ghee · Baking powder · Baking soda · Sugar
Techniques
Baking · Grilling · Broiling · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom yogurt, ghee, butter
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

358 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 167 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 8%
  • Carbohydrate 59%
  • Fat 33%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy358 kcal215 kcal
Protein7.3 g4.4 g
Carbohydrate52.7 g31.6 g
Net carbohydrate49.3 g29.6 g
Sugars2.4 g1.4 g
Added sugars0.7 g0.4 g
Fibre3.3 g2 g
Fat13.3 g8 g
Saturated fat6.8 g4.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol27 mg16 mg
Sodium715 mg429 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g1.1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
409 mg
Calcium
62 mg
Iron
3.1 mg
Magnesium
33 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
108 µg
Vitamin C
20 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
162 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: anardana (dried pomegranate seeds), nigella seeds.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): amchur (dried mango powder).
  • Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
  • Garam masala: Curry powder (FDC 170924) used as a stand-in; both are ground blends of similar dried spices used in teaspoon amounts.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Let the boiled potatoes cool and steam dry before mashing; wet filling bursts through the dough.
  • Without an oven, cook on a tawa with ghee over medium heat, pressing, 2–3 minutes per side.

Common mistakes

  • Overfilling: keep roughly equal weights of dough and filling for a beginner.

Serve with

  • Amritsari style: with chole, a dollop of white butter, sliced onions and tamarind or mint chutney.

Storage

  • Best eaten fresh. Freeze par-baked kulchas up to 1 month.

Reheating

  • Re-crisp in a 200 °C oven for 5 minutes.

Variations

  • Paneer or mixed kulcha: Use crumbled paneer, or a potato–cauliflower–paneer mix, for the filling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

Dough

Used in step 1

Masalas in this recipe

Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 1 h 10 min

    Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

  2. Rest · about 2 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 18 min at 260 °C

    Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

  4. Start to finish: about 3 h 28 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater120 g40%
YogurtOther liquid60 g20%
Neutral vegetable oilFat14 g4.5%
SugarSugar4 g1.4%
Baking powderRaising agent2 g0.7%
Baking sodaRaising agent1 g0.4%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
40%
With milk, eggs…
57%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Milk, eggs and other liquids add about 17 points of extra water, so it handles like a 57% dough.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

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