 Luchi | |
| Type | Flatbread |
|---|---|
| Associatedcuisine | Bengali cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Maida flour,ghee, water |
| Variations | Puri,Kachori |
Luchi is aflatbread that isdeep-fried, popular inBengali cuisine. It is made ofmaida flour, water, andghee. It is similar topuri, which is made withatta rather than maida. Luchi is eaten with dishes such asaloo dum ordal. Originating from a dish calledshaskuli, luchi was first attested in 1660. It is commonly eaten during festivals. Variations of luchi includekachori andkhasta luchi, and local variations exist across Bengal.
Luchi is aflatbread made ofmaida flour, water andghee.[1] It may additionally usesemolina.[2] The dough is kneaded, shaped into a circle, anddeep-fried.[1] Each luchi is fried individually, filling with air as the oil is spooned over it, after which it is flipped and cooked until golden brown.[2] The diameter of luchi may vary but is typically 12.5 to 15 centimetres (5 to 6 inches).[1]
Luchi is commonly served withpayesh,begun bhaja,dal,aloo dum, ormutton.[3] The luchi is torn and eaten with the side dishes.[2] In upper-classBengali Hindu culture, the traditional method is to tear it using the thumb and first two fingers.[3] Luchi may be eaten for breakfast, lunch,tea, or dinner;[4] it is traditionally part of a Bengali dinner.[5]
Luchi and the similarpuri are distinguished by the flour, as puri is made withatta.[1] Puri also uses less water, causing it to be firmer,[2] and does not have fat in the dough, causing it to be thinner and more air-filled.[6]Kachori is luchi with astuffing such as peas.[7] A traditional variant of luchi isradhabollobi, filled with dal; this typically usesurad dal, as opposed todal puri, which useschickpeas.[4] Other variations of luchi includekhasta luchi, made with extra ghee for a flaky texture,[8]moricher luchi, made withblack pepper,keema puri, made withground meat, and colourful versions usingbeetroot orspinach.[4]
The wordluchi or similar words do not appear inSanskrit orPrakrit texts. According to one theory,luchi comes from the Hindi wordlocha (लोच), referring to something slippery, named for the way luchi slips from one's hands. According to another theory, it comes from the Sanskrit wordlochak (लोचक), meaningpupil, due to its round shape.[3] As per theHindī Śabdasāgara [hi], the wordluchi is derived from theSanskrit wordruchi (रुचि), meaning something which is appetizing.[9]
The original form of luchi was calledshaskuli. It was described by the eleventh-centuryPala medical writerChakrapani Datta in his bookDravyaguna, which wrote, "Kneading wheat flour withghee, rolling it out, and frying it in hot ghee results inshaskuli, whose qualities are likephenika [khaja]."[10][11] In the Pala era, three varieties ofshaskuli were common:khasta, which was kneaded with fat,sapta, which was kneaded without fat, and puri.[11][12] Thekhasta of the Pala era became the luchi popular in Bengal, while puri became popular in North India.[12] Luchi was traditionally made without water, using ghee or bananas instead.[4] The first mention of luchi inBengali literature was in a 1660Vaishnava text titledRasikamangala.[13]
In the 1854 playKuleen Kulasarbbaswa byRamnarayan Tarkaratna [bn], luchi is described as the finest component of a light meal.[12] In Bengal, wheat-based foods such as luchi were primarily for special occasions before wheat became astaple food, alongside rice, during the1943 famine.[14] Luchi became popular inAssam during theBritish Raj era, when Bengali people comprised much of the regional administration.[15] Luchi was incorporated intoAnglo-Indian cuisine by thepost-independence era; an Anglo-Indian diarist in the 1970s listed it as a typical component of a big breakfast.[16]
According to theBengali Culinary Dictionary, by Milon Datta, luchi is Bengali people's favorite salty food.[17] Luchi is eaten during the festivals ofDurga Puja,Lakshmi Puja, andKali Puja, served with dal and potato curry.[2] It became part of religious festivals as it was in the traditional category of cooked food, served to priests. According to chef Sharad Dewan, "Luchi is the perfect celebratory food. On normal days, people eat their staples, rice orrotis, or other cereals. But luchis are for special occasions".[4]
The typical diameter of luchi is six to eight inches in rural Bengal and three to four inches inKolkata. Luchi served inMalda District, West Bengal, is plate-shaped and over twelve inches wide.Kantajew Temple inDinajpur District, Bangladesh, once served bowl-shaped luchi to be torn with both hands. Near the city ofMalda, the cremation ground of Sadullapur serves "elephant's foot luchi", shaped like an elephant's foot, which is sold by weight to pilgrims bathing in theBhagirathi River. According to researcher Pranab Ray, the smallest luchi in India is likely found in the village of Palashi,Midnapore district (nearRadhamohanpur railway station), where it is offered asbhoga at the Nandi family estate, with a diameter of one to one-and-a-half inches.[10]
| Main and side dishes |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snacks and sauces | |||||||
| Breads | |||||||
| Beverages | |||||||
| Sweetmeats | |||||||
| Bangladeshi diaspora | |||||||
| Asia |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | ||
| Africa | ||
| America | ||
