Luchi is a deep fried and much loved Bengali bread. Luchi is made with all purpose flour, salt and ghee/oil and is served with some Bengali delicacies.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 60 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 90 minutes
  • Yield: 10 · 10 Luchi
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: Bengali

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons ghee (or 2.5 tablespoon oil)
  • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water (or add as required)
  • salt (as required)
  • oil (or ghee for deep frying, as required)

Method

Preparing dough for luchi

  1. In a bowl or a large plate (tray) first add the flour, ghee and salt.
  2. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and mix everything with your hands or with a spatula.
  3. Then add about ½ cup of water and begin to knead the flour.
  4. Add water as required and knead very well. The dough should be soft and smooth.
  5. Cover the dough with a moist kitchen napkin and let it rest for minimum 30 minutes at room temperature.

Rolling and frying luchi

  1. Make lemon sized balls from the dough and cover them with the moist napkin.
  2. Apply some oil on the balls, roll each into a circle of about 3 to 4 inches.
  3. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. The oil has to become hot.
  4. Drop a small piece of the dough in the oil and if it comes up steadily from the bottom, it means the oil is ready for the luchi to be fried.
  5. Gently drop the dough circle into the hot oil. The luchi will begin to puff up.
  6. Gently nudge with a spoon to help in the complete puffing up of the luchi.
  7. When one side has become creamish and the oil has stopped sizzling, turn over and fry the other side.
  8. Remove and drain on kitchen towels for the extra oil to be soaked. Fry luchi in batches this way.
  9. Serve Luchi hot with aloor dum, cholar dal or any of your preferred Bengali vegetable or lentil curry.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.