{{short description|South Asian flatbread}} {{for|the Australian band|Kulcha (band)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox prepared food | name = Kulcha | image = Chole Kulcha Meal - Order Food Online in Mumbai (31013272937).jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = Kulcha with chole from India | alternate_name = | country = | region = Punjab | national_cuisine = Indian, Pakistani, Punjabi | creator = | type = Flatbread | served = | main_ingredient = Maida | variations = | calories = | other = }} '''Kulcha''' is a type of flatbread made from refined wheat flour, and fermented in earthen pots and baked in a tandoor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joshi |first=V. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjg0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA372&dq=kulcha+bread&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source#v=onepage&q=kulcha%20bread&f=false |title=Indigenous Fermented Foods of South Asia |date=2016-01-05 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4398-8790-5 |language=en}}</ref> The term kulcha derives from a Persian term for a disc-shaped loaf of leavened bread. In India, this term is commonly used for regular English disc-shaped bread.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Steingass |first1=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVrG0F-7yzMC&dq=Kulcha+Persian&pg=PA1042 |title=A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary: Including the Arabic Words and Phrases to be Met with in Persian Literature, Being Johnson and Richardson's Persian, Arabic, and English Dictionary Rev., Enl., and Entirely Reconstructed |last2=Richardson |first2=John |last3=Johnson |first3=Francis |date=1892 |publisher=Allen |language=en}}</ref>
Another variant of kulcha is khatai or sweet kulcha, which is prepared in a similar manner, but with sugar substituted for salt.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tamang |first=Jyoti Prakash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRHUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237&dq=kulcha+bread+history&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source#v=onepage&q=kulcha%20bread%20history&f=false |title=Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages of India: Science History and Culture |date=2020-03-02 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-981-15-1486-9 |language=en}}</ref>
==Origin and terminology== The term ''kulcha'' is Persian (کلوچه) and describes a disc-shaped loaf of bread, bun or even biscuit.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of کلیچه |url=https://dehkhoda.ut.ac.ir/en/dictionary/%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C%DA%86%D9%87 |access-date=2023-04-04 |website=Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute and International Center for Persian Studies |language=en}}</ref> However, in India this term came to be associated with round breads popularized during the British colonial period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manfield |first=Christine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cwvEAAAQBAJ&dq=Kulcha+british+period&pg=PT556 |title=Christine Manfield's Indian Cooking Class |date=2021-11-04 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-76085-244-3 |language=en}}</ref>
In some parts of India, naan or tandoori parantha is often confused with kulcha.
==See also== *List of Indian breads *List of Pakistani breads
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}}
{{Flatbreads}} {{Indian bread}} {{Pakistani bread}} {{Indian Dishes}}
Category:Indian breads Category:Pakistani breads Category:Indian cuisine Category:Kashmiri cuisine Category:Punjabi cuisine Category:Roti Category:Flatbread dishes