Luchi: Not Just A Bengali Flatbread But An Emotion

Bengali culinary culture is one of the most diverse and richest in India. It is famous for its several outstanding meals, which include vegetarian, non-vegetarian, and dessert specialties. Bengali food has made an incomparable contribution to Indian cuisine.  Luchi recipe is one of the assets of Bengali cuisine, which is not only a bread recipe but also a part of Bengali culture. This  soft, flaky, puffy and ready to melt in mouth, Luchi is deep-fried puffed and beautiful white bread made of all-purpose flour, popular for its versatility—you can pair it with meat, dal, or even with a simple potato curry. In fact, there are many Bengali households where Luchi is eaten just with sugar.

Luchi is not the same as poori. Poori is a North Indian type puffed bread made with whole wheat flour, whereas Luchi is a Bengali puffed deep fried bread made with maida or all-purpose flour. Also, Both bhature and Luchi are prepared using all-purpose flour, but the distinction is that Luchi is unleavened bread, while bhatura dough is slightly fermented with yogurt or yeast. It is believed that Portuguese brought the technology with them to make Refined Flour (Maida), to India. Portuguese used refined flour to bake their bread. But Bengalis didn’t know, how to make bread at that time. So, they took Refined flour and make dough out of it, roll it like a flat bread and deep fried it

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all purpose flour

2. 2 tablespoon Ghee or 2.5 tablespoon oil

3. water as required

4. salt as required

5. ghee or oil for deep frying

Procedure to prepare Luchi

Luchi/ pinterest.com

Luchi is more than just a flat bread recipe in Bengali cuisine and culture. Whether it's a weekend special breakfast or a festive event, from "Durga puja" to "pohela baishakh," the recipe for Bengali Luchi is always there as an evidence of the joy . It is one of the most famous and cherished tiny breads that can be found in almost every Bengali home.