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Kalari kulcha
Kalari kulcha: Udhampur's pan-crisped fresh cheese tucked into a buttered kulcha
Kalari, also spelt kaladi, is a fresh, stretchy cheese made in the hills around Udhampur and Ramnagar in Jammu, often from buffalo or goat milk. Street sellers in Jammu city lay slices of it on a hot iron tawa with no oil at all: the cheese releases its own fat and fries to a blistered brown crust while the inside turns soft and slightly stringy. They stuff it into a warm kulcha with onion, tomato, green chutney and a shake of chaat masala, and it is eaten standing up, especially on winter evenings. Outside Jammu, use halloumi, which behaves almost the same, or firm paneer with a teaspoon of oil. Chef's tip: dry the cheese slices on kitchen paper first; wet cheese steams instead of crisping.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the cheese
For the salad
To assemble
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Pat the 10 ½ oz kalari cheese slices dry on kitchen paper. Mix 1 red onion, 1 tomato, 2 green chillies, ⅓ oz fresh coriander and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a bowl.
5 minStep 2: Heat a heavy iron tawa or frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Lay the cheese slices in with no oil; if you are using paneer, brush the pan with 1 tsp vegetable oil first.
2 minStep 3: Leave the cheese alone for 2–3 minutes. It will sizzle, release a little fat and form a blistered brown crust. Moving it too early is the common mistake: it sticks and tears. Flip once and cook the other side for 2 minutes.
5 minStep 4: Wipe the pan, add half of 2 tbsp butter and toast the 4 soft kulchas for 1 minute a side over a medium heat until soft, warm and spotted gold, adding the rest of the butter as you go.
4 minStep 5: Split each kulcha like a pocket, spread with 4 tbsp green chutney, add the hot cheese and a spoonful of the onion salad. Sprinkle over 1 tsp chaat masala and ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder and eat at once while the cheese is still soft.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kalari kulcha take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of tomato?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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