Intuitively, I think of "naan" as fluffier; with a more interesting shape (triangle, rather than the usual circle); and usually topped (if not stuffed) with som

Intuitively, I think of "naan" as fluffier; with a more interesting shape (triangle, rather than the usual circle); and usually topped (if not stuffed) with some thoughtful sprinkling of garlic, herbs, etc. In general, though, by the time you collect all the things that could be "kulcha" and all the things that could be "naan," you end up with a Venn diagram that has a pretty healthy overlap. A lot depends on regional variations and individual chefs. In a restaurant situation in modern times, you'd generally expect "naan" to cover the usual breads that people want/expect, given the popularity of the word at this point, whereas "kulcha" is probably reserved for the chef's desire to do something a little more interesting (e.g., an elaborate stuffing) in bread that might also be cooked slightly differently. You can likely bank on the triangle/circle difference, but... you never know. In the context of the myth, it likely underlines the simplicity and home-made nature of the bread, especially because of the note about the water. Kulcha can be made with fewer ingredients, if you imagine the simplest possible "kulcha" compared to the simplest possible "naan." So the vibe I got from the story is, "This saint lives such a simple and enlightened life that he doesn't even bother with the fancy fluffy restaurant breads; a simple home-made kulcha will do just fine." TL;DR: It's complicated, and it's still tough these days to find a half-decent paratha.