As diverse as it is, Indian cuisine has some of the tastiest varieties flat breads which have taken the culinary world by storm throughout the entire globe. Here are the top five Indian breads you must know about and try for yourself.
- Kulcha
Kulchas are soft, airy and mildly leavened flat bread originating from Punjab. You can find them with different varieties of stuffing ranging from simple potatoes to nuts and cottage cheese. They have a slight smoky flavour since they are baked in clay ovens called tandoor and are served with a generous amount of butter. It is best paired with Dal Makhani and is widely popular in Northern India.
- Paratha
One of the most popular flat breads in India, paratha is a crispy fried flatbread made of either wheat flour or Maida flour or a combination of both. The specialty of paratha lies in the way it is folded in layers after layers which gives it a signature crunch almost like a puff pastry. It is traditionally fried in clarified butter or plain homemade butter and goes with almost every curry but a little pickle along with paratha is a must.
- Roti
Rotis are one of the healthiest bread there is which is made out of wholegrain flour and is a staple in every Indian household. You can pair roti with anything and everything. It cooked without any fat medium like oil or butter on a flat pan called tava which makes it super healthy. A rolling pin is used to flatten the dough in perfect, thin circles which is an art in itself which takes skill and practice.
- Tandoori Roti
This is the fancier version of a roti which we often order in restaurants. It is again leavened flat bread which makes it soft and fluffy on the inside with a crunchy, thin and smoky crust which forms when it is cooked in the clay oven. It is often served with chicken curries or butter paneer or other richly flavoured curries which gets balanced by the subtlety of the tandoor. You can even make tandoori roti at home without a tandoor. You can find tandoori roti recipe in hindi in various magazines, cook books or online articles.
- Luchi
It originates from the eastern region of India in Bengal. Luchi is a flatbread where the dough is prepared from refined flour. It is then rolled out like roti using a rolling pin but is made much smaller than a roti and is finally deep fried in oil until they pop up like little golden bubbles which are filled with air on the inside. They are often served with a potato curry or a sweet dish called payesh. Luchi and payesh is traditionally served on birthdays in every Bengali home.
- Pathiri
Pathiris are Indian pancakes which originate in the southern region of Kerala. They are made out of dough using three simple ingredients – rice flour, water and oil. They are paper thin and soft in texture and are baked on a pan called oadu.