Amritsari Paneer Kulcha Recipe

One of my kids' all-time favorite snacks is Paneer Roll. Every time we go to our nearest market called Destination Center, he is most likely to drag me to outlet to get him a Paneer roll (cottage cheese rolls). And this made me think of making the famous Amritsari Paneer Kulcha at home. Yes both the recipes are different to each other, but at the heart, both have the filling of Paneer. So I made Paneer Kulcha replacing 75% Maida with wheat as a replacement for my son’s favorite .

As I was already planning for this Indian flatbread paneer Kulcha recipe, I decided the theme of Flat Bread for April 2018 for BreadBakers community.

To make Stuffed Paneer Kulcha recipe, we need dough and cottage cheese stuffing. Traditionally, Amritsari Paneer Kulcha is served with Dal Makhani or Pindi Chole. But if the paneer Kulcha filling is spicy then one can cherish these Kulchas with a dollop of butter too. My family likes these Stuffed Kulcha Naan with butter and tangy buttermilk.

|Recommended Read: Amritsari Aloo Kulcha

I have curated the list of recommended tools and ingredients for baking. I recommend only tried and tested products that have given satisfactory results in my kitchen.

If you bake this recipe, please share a picture with me on my Instagram using #bakewithsonia

Baked Paneer Kulcha

To start the recipe, in a bowl take 100 ml lukewarm water (out of 300 ml total amount suggested in

the recipe). Add sugar and yeast to it.  Stir it and let it rest for 5 minutes or until it froths. In case you don’t get froth then discard that batch and start fresh.

PS: Use Conversion Table to convert cups into grams and vice versa

In a large kneading bowl, take flour, salt, milk powder and activated yeast solution. Start kneading the dough by adding water to it.

For the suggested amount of flour, I consumed 300 ml of water in total (including water used for yeast)..

The dough should be a little sticky. In case you feel your dough is hard and dry, add 2 tbs water at a time.

Take the dough out on the counter and add oil to it. Knead it for another 5 minutes. It will be soft, elastic and non-sticky by now.

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Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl and cover it with a wet cloth or cling wrap to avoid crust formation. Keep this bowl in a warm and dry place until dough doubles in volume.

Paneer Kulcha Filling

While the dough is resting, let’s prepare the stuffing for our baked Kulcha. In a frying pan add oil and heat it. Add chopped onion and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes. Add grated cottage cheese along with all the dry spices and cook for 5 minutes to reduce its moisture.

Stuffing is ready. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool down.

By this time your dough must be double in volume. For me, it took 40 minutes to double.

Time for proofing is totally dependent on weather conditions. Warmer and dry the weather, sooner the dough will be double. But don’t worry if it is taking more than 1 hr in your case. Move to next step only when your dough is double in volume.

Now a few things I want to share here about proofing. After kneading when we rest our dough, then yeast starts feeding on sugar and releases ethanol. The air produced by yeast during proofing is what gives bread its flavor. In bread baking, this resting time helps to form the gluten in the dough.

Once the dough doubles, punch it to release the air and divide it into 6 equal portions.

How to make Paneer Kulcha

Roll each dough ball into a circular disc with thickness ¼ inch. Divide the prepared stuffing into 6 equal portions and stuff each rolled sheet with it. Fold all the corners towards the center and seal properly. It will be like a stuffed dough ball.

Sprinkle some dry flour on the counter and roll each stuffed dough ball again. Cover them with a cloth and let them rest on the counter for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, keep the oven for preheating at 200 °C. Shift the rolled dough to a greased baking tray and brush with milk. Sprinkle black sesame seeds on it and gentle press.

Bake these Paneer Kulchas in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until edges turn golden brown. Every oven behaves differently so baking time and temperature can vary. The best way is, to understand your oven first.

When baked completely, transfer the Baked Paneer Kulcha on a cooling rack and brush with butter. Butter not only make the crust soft but enhances its taste as well. However, if you are too diet conscious then you can brush these with extra virgin olive oil.

Baked Paneer Kulchas are ready to serve. Serve them with Raita or your choice of curry. Well, I like to have these Kulchas with extra butter.

Buy Tools and Ingredients used in this recipe

Kitchen Weighing Scale | Mixing Bowl | Baking Tray | Silicon Brush | Spatula

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|Must Try: Chur Chur Naan

Bread Bakers this month

#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.

Amritsari Paneer Kulcha Recipe

Paneer Kulcha recipe is a popular Indian Flat Bread. We are going to make it with 75% wheat and only 25% maida to make this Paneer Kulcha healthier.