Phulko Luchi ar Aloor Dom (Fried Pancake & Potato Curry)

A typical Bengali Breakfast.




Luchi (ch pronounced as in chair) is a deep-fried flatbread made of bleached wheat flour or maida that is typical of Bengali cuisines. It is almost like Puri, but while Puri is usually brown, Luchi is always white.
In order to make luchis, a dough is prepared by mixing fine maida flour with water and a spoonful of ghee, which is then divided into small balls. These balls are flattened using a rolling-pin and individually deep-fried in cooking oil or ghee. A typical luchi will measure 4-5 inches in diameter.
Hot puffed up luchis are served with a myriad of dishes according to one's liking and also the time of the day. Luchi with Begun Bhaja (fried eggplant slices), Luchi with Aloo Bhaja (thin strips of potato fried), and, of course, Luchi with Alur Dom (Luchi with a Spicy Potato preparation, the D in Dom pronounced as Th in That)

1. Luchi (What You Need)
2. All Purpose Flour/Maida ~ 3 cups
3. Salt ~ a pinch to add to the flour
4. Oil ~ 2-3 tbsp added to flour as a shortening. You can add still less oil but then the luchi will be a little crisp and not soft
5. Water ~ to make the dough. I use lukewarm water.
6. Oil for frying
7. Alur Dom (What You Need)
8. Potatoes(Alu) ~ 12-15 small round ones.
9. For Tempering -
10. Bay leaves ~ 2
11. Asafoetida ~ ¼ tsp
12. For the Masala (Spice)
13. Onion Paste ~ 1 tbsp
14. Tomatoes ~ 1 smallish finely choped or blanched
15. Cumin powder ~ 1 tsp
16. Garam Masala Powder (powdered cardamom 2, clove 4, bay leaf 2, cinnamon 2)~ ½ tsp loosely packed or less
17. Ginger paste ~ 1 tsp heaped
18. Red Chilli Powder ~ ½ tsp
19. Yogurt ~ 2 tsp (optional)
20. Ghee (clarified butter) ~ 1 tsp (optional)
21. Salt
22. Sugar ~ 1 tsp or less loosely packed . You may go less on the sugar and increase the Red Chilli powder depending on your spice level
23. Oil
24. For garnishing
25. Corriander leaves ~ fresh and chopped

1. Process (Luchi - Fried pancake)
2. In a bowl where it is easy to knead the dough I added 3 cups of All Purpose Flour.
3. Make a small well at the center of the flour mound and to it add 2-3 Tbsp of Oil
4. Sprinkled a little salt and then added water gradually, whilemixing the flour with hand.
5. Be careful with the water, you don’t want your dough to be soggy. Work on the dough till it does not stick to your fingers and comes out clean. You will get a smooth soft round which is lightly spongy (poke your fingers to see) as seen in the above pic.If you want to save the dough for later use, be sure to cover with a lightly damp cloth or even a lightly damp kitchen tissue
6. Make small round balls with the dough
7. Roll out the balls to make flat circles 4-5 inches in diameter. Use little oil to roll out the balls and not flour. If you have difficulty making the perfect rounds, roll out to any shape you desire and then cut out the circular shape with any cutter
8. The luchi is deep fried, so heat enough oil in a wok. Wait for the oil to be piping hot. It should not be smoking though.
9. Dip a corner of a rolled out luchi in the hot oil to see how the oil reacts, if you see the bubbles you know the time is right. This test is important as the heat of the oil is an important factor for luchi to puff up.
10. Release the luchi gently in the oil and press the sides with a flat spatula. The right heat of the oil and the pressing makes the luchi puff up just so.
11. As soon as it puffs up, flip it on the other side and then take it out with a slotted spatula which has holes in it.
12. Process (Alur Dom - Potato Curry)
13. In a boiling pot or pan, bring water to a boil with little salt
14. Add the potatoes to it. Since we are using small round potatoes, we are not chopping them (if you use big ones, slice them into 4 squarish pieces) . It is not necessary to peel the skins either, as it is easier to peel after the potatoes are boiled
15. Once the potatoes are done, put them under cold running water and peel them. The jacket is out in a jiffy.
16. Heat Oil in a Frying pan/Kadhai
17. Add Bay Leaves and Asafoetida
18. Add the Onion paste and fry with a tsp of sugar till the onion turns a pinkish brown.
19. Add the tomato and sauté till the tomato is nicely mushed up and well integrated with the onion
20. Mix the Cumin Powder, Garam masala Powder (, Red Chilli Powder with 2 tsp of yogurt and add to the Frying Pan. At this moment remove the Pan from heat for a couple of minutes. You can do away with yogurt and add the spices directly too.
21. Sauté the spices till you see the oil separate from the spices.
22. If you are adding ghee, do so at this point
23. Add the potatoes and mix well with spices.
24. Sauté till the potatoes take a light golden color.
25. Add very little water and salt and cook till the water almost dries up to give way to a moist but dry gravy. There won’t really be any gravy as such and the spices will nicely coat the potatoes.
26. Note: If you do not want to use onions, for tempering use a couple of cardamom and a small stick of cinnamon along with the stuff mentioned here