Luchi (Bengali Soft Maida Puffed Puri)
Luchi is the iconic Bengali deep-fried puffed bread — soft and pillowy, made from refined maida (all-purpose flour) kneaded with ghee and salt (no yeast, no whole wheat). The dough is rolled into thin discs (~4 inches) and deep-fried in oil until they puff up into perfect white balloons. Served piping hot with aloor dom (potato curry), cholar dal (Bengali chana dal), kosha mangsho (mutton curry), or sweet dishes like begun bhaja during Bengali special occasions and festival breakfasts.
Ingredients
- Sunflower Oil (optional) (whole)
- salt — 0.5 tsp (whole)
- Ghee — 2 tbsp (whole)
- All-purpose Flour — 3 cup (ground)
Method
- To begin making Bengali Style Luchi, first sift the flour with salt once into a large mixing bowl.Add oil or ghee to the same bowl and mix till incorporated.Make a well in the middle and add 1/2 cup of warm water.
- Gently mix the water and flour and start kneading with your fingers.Gradually add more warm water as needed will the dough becomes easy to knead into a dry ball that is firm to touch, but soft and pliable when rolled.
- Meanwhile, warm the oil in a kadai placed on medium heat, to begin deep frying the luchi.When the oil is hot, gently slide the rolled out luchi, one by one, into the kadai.
- Fry for a minute on either sides, till they are puffy and cooked.
- Do not brown the luchis.
- The traditional luchi looks like a white puffed poori.Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.Serve Luchi with Bengali Cholar Dal or with Bengali Style Aloo Dum for a comfort Sunday brunch.
Common questions
- How many calories in one plate of Luchi (Bengali Soft Maida Puffed Puri)?
- 378 kcal per plate.
- How much cooking time?
- 60 min — 30 min prep, 30 min cooking.