Khura | Buckwheat Pancake

Khura is a traditional East Indian breakfast. Fermented batter with buckwheat flour and chaang, alcoholic beverage. These soft, fluffy pancakes are simple, quick, gluten free and can be made diary free!

What is khura ?

Khura is one of the staple breakfast dishes of Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh, meaning "Land of the rising sun" in sanskrit, is a beautiful mountainous region in the North east corner of the Indian sub continent. Surrounded by China, Bhutan and Nepal, its culture and ethnicity, is heavily influenced by these countries.

The inhabitants of the state are mostly tribal people and one of the few states in India where the tribal community is still in existence. Tawang, a city of alluring natural beauty is the home of Monpas, one of the tribal communities in the region who migrated from the near by Tibetan regions long time ago.

Khurra is found in almost all of the street shops of Tawang and is made from two locally available ingredients - buckwheat flour and chhaang, locally brewed grain (rice or millet or barley) beer. As most of the native people are peasants, buckwheat flour helps in giving them the necessary boost to sustain the day.

Buckwheat Flour | Kuttu ka atta

The term buckwheat is derived from the dutch word boekweit which means beech-wheat. Buckwheat seeds are triangle-shaped and resembles the seeds of beech tree. This pseudo-cereal is a native of the Tibetan region and China and it is widely consumed in India as well.

Buckwheat flour is a common ingredient in North and East Indian pantries. Known as kuttu ka atta in Hindi, it is commonly used during fasting as it is rich in nutrients and provides high nutrition to our body. Indians also use buckwheat grains to make khichdi and porridge.

Click on the link to know more about buckwheat and how to use and cook it.

Chhaang

Chang , chaang or Chhaang is a local alcoholic beverage brewed from food grains. Popularly known as the 'beer of the himayas' chhaang is native to Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, in India. The Lepcha community in Sikkim call it as chi and it is given as an offering to the deities.

Chhaang is mainly brewed from barley, finger millets or rice grains depending on where you are in the Himalayas. The one brewed from rice is known as dre chhaang and the one from barley is known as dru chhaang.

Read more about how change is an indispensable part of the Himalayan settlements here and here. You can make Chang at home with rice grains and dry yeast known as phab in Tibetan. You can find it in Asian grocery stores as wine yeast. Follow the recipe at Simply Tibetan.

How to serve Khura?

The monpa's have this along with Tibetan butter tea, po cha, made with Yak milk and local seasonal veggies.  This made me realize that every Indian state has its own way of making dosa and rotis. India can never run out of these delicacies!

Indian Buckwheat pancakes are earthy, raw and is more of a peasant food and is an acquired taste. It is earthy and has an intense raw flavour. Pair it up with a spicy curry or sauce on the side to balance it out. You can also mix this with other flours like wheat or all purpose flour to tame the taste.

Notes, Tips and Suggestions

1. Do not spread the batter on the griddle, it will be sticky. Pour enough and let the batter spread naturally on the hot pan.
2. Cover and cook the khura. As the buckwheat flour is gluten free, it breaks easily while flipping. To set the pancake properly, cover and cook on medium flame.
3. The batter will thicken with time. Add some more liquid as required.
4. As chhaang is made from rice, any rice beer can be used instead. If you do not have beer, use sparkling water.

Print

Khura | Buckwheat Pancake - Arunachal Pradesh Breakfast

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Buckwheat Pancakes, a traditional Monpa tribe breakfast, served with butter tea made from yak milk.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Buckwheat flour dosa, Kuttu ka dosa

Servings: 10 medium pancakes

Author: Nisha

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Buckwheat flour / Kuttu ka atta
• 4 cups Rice beer or sparkling water
• Salt to taste
• Oil for cooking

Instructions

1. Mix flour and water in a bowl and let it stand 10 minutes. Let the batter be slightly thick and in pourable consistency.

2. Heat a griddle or tawa on a medium flame. Ladle the batter and pour it on the gridlle. Do not spread it with the back of your ladle as doing dosas.

3. Cover and cook the pancakes until the bottom side starts browning. Then flip and cook on the other side.

4. Serve this warm with some vegetable curry and butter tea.

Recipe Notes

1. Do not spread the batter on the griddle, it will be sticky. Pour enough and let the batter spread naturally on the hot pan.
2. Cover and cook the khura. As the buckwheat flour is gluten free, it breaks easily while flipping. To set the pancake properly, cover and cook on medium flame.
3. The batter will thicken with time. Add some more liquid as required.
4. As chhaang is made from rice, any rice beer can be used instead. If you do not have beer, use sparkling water.
5. Indian Buckwheat pancakes are earthy, raw and is more of a peasant food. They will not be fluffy as they do not use any leavening agents like baking powder or soda. 
6. Buckwheat flour is an acquired taste. It is earthy and raw and has an intense raw taste. Pair it up with a spicy curry or sauce on the side to balance it out. You can also mix this with other flours like wheat or all purpose flour to tame the taste.