{"id":12098,"date":"2025-09-12T01:35:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/kulcha-ral-revolution-amritsars-iconic-bread-baking-its-way-to-gi-status-lifestyle-news\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T01:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:35:56","slug":"kulcha-ral-revolution-amritsars-iconic-bread-baking-its-way-to-gi-status-lifestyle-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/12\/kulcha-ral-revolution-amritsars-iconic-bread-baking-its-way-to-gi-status-lifestyle-news\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Kulcha-ral’ Revolution: Amritsar\u2019s Iconic Bread ‘Baking’ Its Way To GI Status | Lifestyle News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Punjab government has initiated formal efforts to secure this recognition, aiming to protect the cultural and culinary legacy of one of North India\u2019s most beloved street foods<\/h2>\n
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A GI tag is a form of intellectual property that identifies goods as originating from a specific place, where a given quality, reputation, or characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. (Representational image\/News18 Hindi)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

The iconic Amritsari <\/a><\/span>kulcha<\/span>\u2014a crisp, golden, and generously stuffed flatbread hailing from the historic city of Amritsar\u2014is now on the cusp of receiving the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The Punjab government has initiated formal efforts to secure this recognition, aiming to protect the cultural and culinary legacy of one of North India\u2019s most beloved street foods.<\/span><\/p>\n

A GI tag is a form of intellectual property that identifies goods as originating from a specific place, where a given quality, reputation, or characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. If granted, the Amritsari <\/span>kulcha<\/span>\u00a0will join the ranks of other distinguished Punjabi specialities like Phulkari embroidery and Basmati rice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amritsari <\/span>kulcha<\/span>\u00a0is not just any bread\u2014it\u2019s a dish that represents the soul of Punjab\u2019s culinary landscape. Traditionally made using refined wheat flour (<\/span>maida<\/span>), the dough is leavened with yoghurt or baking agents and left to rise before being rolled out and stuffed with a spiced mixture of mashed potatoes, paneer, onions, or other fillings. What distinguishes it is the cooking method: it\u2019s baked in a clay tandoor (oven) until puffed and crisp, often brushed with ghee or butter, and served with spicy chickpeas (chole) and tangy tamarind chutney.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>kulcha\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0roots trace back to the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, when Amritsar emerged as a cultural and political nucleus in the region. Over time, the <\/span>kulcha<\/span>\u00a0evolved from royal kitchens to roadside stalls, becoming a staple for locals and a must-try for visitors. Today, iconic eateries like <\/span>Kulcha<\/span>\u00a0Land and <\/span>Bharawan<\/span>\u00a0Da Dhaba carry forward the tradition with generations-old recipes that continue to draw culinary pilgrims from across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The GI tag will help preserve this unique tradition from dilution or misuse by commercially mass-produced versions made outside the region. It will also bolster the local economy by promoting culinary tourism and providing legal protection to authentic makers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pathikrit Sen Gupta<\/a><\/p>\n

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via …Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via … Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health<\/a>,\u00a0fashion<\/a>,\u00a0travel<\/a>,\u00a0food<\/a>, wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration and recipes. <\/span>Also\u00a0Download the\u00a0News18 App<\/a> to stay updated.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
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September 12, 2025, 05:49 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> lifestyle<\/a> ‘Kulcha-ral’ Revolution: Amritsar\u2019s Iconic Bread ‘Baking’ Its Way To GI Status<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last Updated:September 12, 2025, 05:49 IST The Punjab government has initiated formal efforts to secure this recognition, aiming to protect the cultural and culinary legacy of one of North India\u2019s most beloved street foods A GI tag is a form of intellectual property that identifies goods as originating from a specific place, where a given…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}