Kulchas and Carrot & Beans in Peanut - Sesame Sauce

Long ago, I had tried home - version naans for a couple of times and felt that it is best left to restaurant chefs who own the neccessary ovens. Though skillet breads like para(n)thas and rotis can be mastered at home with experience, kulchas and naans are totally a different clan. They are usually made in the clay oven tandoor at temperatures around 700 deg F, where the dough is slapped against hot clay walls.
Recently the urge to prepare kulchas started when I noticed them on various blogs, where chefs happen to be home cooks like me. I chose and prepared DK's onion kulchas sans the stuffing. Here are those plain kulchas that I am sending over to Nupur's Blog Bites - CopyCat edition.

Ingredients to make around 12 kulchas:
3 cups Maida / Flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking Soda
4 Tbsp oil
1/2 cup Yogurt
1 tbsp Ghee

 Making rotis:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Prepare a soft dough (like rotis) adding water as needed. Let the dough rest for a couple of hours or more. Then divide the dough into 12 equal portions and shape each one into a ball. Roll it out into a circle using a rolling pin. (I happened to roll them a little thicker than what I do usually.)
Fry them on a skillet on stovetop.
Serve them with melted butter and a side dish.
For dough consistency and frying any kind of roti/paratha on a skillet, check here.

My experience:
I tried both broiler and stovetop method. I feel stovetop ones were fried better (notice all those brown spots) than broiler ones. No offense, these kulchas can be tried at home but not a substitute for those tandoor baked kulchas. For the real deal, I would prefer a restaurant.

Carrot & Beans Subzi in Peanut - Sesame Sauce:
I usually go with this kind of sauce when preparing laukis but this time used for carrot - bean combo. This delicious gravy can be used for any combination of vegetables and this subzi is good with any kind of rotis.



Ingredients to serve 4:
4 tsp oil
1 tsp each - Chanadal & mustard seeds
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 Onion - peeled and diced
1 Tomato - diced
Green beans, stringed and cut into 1" pieces - 1 cup
1 Big carrot - peeled and diced
1 tsp Sambhar powder
1 tsp Sugar / jaggery
Salt to taste
Ingredients to powder:  In a spice grinder, grind a handful of toasted and skinned peanuts + 2 Tbsp toasted, white colored sesame seeds + 1/4 cup dry coconut + lightly toasted 8 dried red chilies (I used byadagi chilies. If using other variety, adjust the quantity.)

Making Subzi:

• Heat oil in a pan / kadai and add chanadal and mustard seeds. When chana starts to turn reddish, add turmeric powder and onions.
• Fry on low - medium flame till the onion turns translucent.
• Then add tomatoes and sauté them for a couple of minutes.
• Next add carrots, beans and cook them tender adding as much water as needed.
• Add the powdered ingredients, sambhar powder, salt and sugar to the cooked veggies. Mix well. Adjust the ingredients and the quantity of water, if needed.
• Let it come to a rolling boil and then turn down the heat. Simmer the subzi for about 5 minutes.

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