Tricolor Luchi

These are delicious, fluffy, flaky luchis colored and flavored naturally. These are colored in such a way that it represents the Indian tricolor standard. These luchis are vegan too.

Luchi is a traditional fry bread from India. In simple words this is poori but it is made with all purpose flour or maida instead of whole wheat flour. When making with all purpose flour, it is necessary to rest the dough well as this makes the dough less resistant when rolling. The end result is a flaky, puffy, melt in the mouth Luchi! 

Colored and flavored foods are always fun to make and delicious to devour. Coloring naturally utilizes fresh produce. This is a great plus as the kids will be having an extra veggie added to their diet. There are many natural and fresh ingredients that add color as well as flavors. Spinach or herbs add a vibrant green color to foods and this green chapathi is a simple idea! Matcha also adds green color like this loaf or these buns! Tomatoes add a great color and this No Knead Tomato Basil Bread is an amazing way to make colored foods. Beets are well known for the purple color. Try this Beet Hummus, Heart "Beet" Sticks, and Beet Falafel that adds a lot of fun. Mangoes and berries add yellow and pink/purple/blue color to smoothies and Lassi respectively. Turmeric and saffron also add yellow and orange color and are used in Indian cuisine extensively. Cocoa powder adds flavor and color to cookies, cakes, breads/buns, smoothies, smoothie bowl, and whatnot! The list goes on, it is endless.

I chose to make luchis, as they are made with all purpose flour and it is easier to add color to it than wheat flour. Carrots and tomatoes along with red chili powder are used to color and flavor the dough orange. For the green colored and flavored dough, I chose to use spinach and green chili. Spinach is an easy choice and adds a vibrant color easily. Add a little sugar to spinach and puree, this helps in preserving the green color. No color change happens. The regular Luchi dough gives the white color. 

With so many natural colorants and flavors available, it is easy to make pleasing colored foods that are perfect to serve for any occasion. Be it any day like every day meal, or special occasion, colored foods make an impact. They are pleasing and add nutrition, so everyone will welcome these foods. For the occasion of Indian Independence Day, myself and a few fellow bloggers are sharing recipes that are tricolor standard representing the Indian Flag. These naturally colored and flavored luchis are my share for this theme. Celebrate Independence Day with friends and family with these tricolor luchis.

While rolling the luchis, they can be kept in rectangular shape like the flag, or cut into circles just like regular luchis or poori. Instead of fusing the three color doughs, luchis can be made in individual colors. It is fun to serve a bowl of Luchi that is colored in the tricolor standard. It is basically your preference to serve which way you would want to serve them to family and friends.

These fun, delicious, and nutrient rich luchis can be served with any curry. We love this quick Veggie Dal or the standard Aloo Masala with Luchi. Green Sagu is an amazing vegan curry that also has the tricolor. This can be served with creamy paneer curry too. I served it with malai veggie curry. They are great with this Rajma as well as Mughalai Moong Dal. These are pure comfort combos! 

I am also linking this to Sundays on Silverado, Happiness is Homemade, What's For Dinner!

Ingredients 

Serves 6-8 people 

For the green Luchi 

All-purpose flour - 1 cup

Spinach - 1.5 cups, packed

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1/8 tsp

Green chili - 1

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 tbsp

For the Orange Luchi

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Carrots - 1/3 cup, chopped

Tomatoes - 1/3 cup, chopped 

Oil - 1/2 tsp

For  the White Luchi

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Water - 1/4 cup 

To make Luchi

Oil - 4 cups

Method

Grind the carrots, tomatoes, and red chili powder to a smooth purée. Mix the flour, oil, and salt. Add the ground purée and knead to a smooth dough. Cover and set aside for an hour.

Grind the spinach, sugar, and green chili to a smooth paste sprinkling about two tablespoons of water. Mix flour, oil, and salt in a bowl. Add the ground spinach purée to the flour mixture and knead to a smooth dough. Cover and set aside for an hour.

Add flour, salt, oil to a bowl and  mix. Sprinkle water and knead to a smooth dough. Cover and set aside for an hour.

Divide the dough into 25-30 equal pieces, cover, and rest for 30 minutes to an hour.

Take one dough of each color (keeping the remaining covered), and place them side by side according to the tricolor standard. Press gently with hands and attach the dough. Gently roll into a rectangle shape dusting with flour as necessary. Repeat with the remaining dough. At this stage, the poori is can be cut into circle or can be kept as such. 

Heat oil over medium heat. When hot carefully drop each Luchi into oil. Gently press with a strainer ladle puffing the Luchi. Flip and fry the other side for a minute. Remove from oil and drain the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining flattened dough.

Serve with any curry.