Bakarkhani
{{Short description|A flat bread}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Bakarkhani
| image = বাকরখানী.jpg
| caption = Bakarkhani being made in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They can be seen lining the walls of the tandoor oven.
| alternate_name = Shukha
| national_cuisine = Bangladesh,{{cite news |last1=Akbar |first1=Ahsan |title=From kala bhuna to shatkora curry – let's all get a taste for Bangladesh |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/21/from-kala-bhuna-to-shatkora-curry-lets-all-get-a-taste-for-bangladesh |access-date=7 October 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=21 March 2021 |language=en}} India{{cite book|title=Prashad:Cooking with Indian Masters|author=J Inder Singh Kalra, Pradeep Das Gupta|date=10 December 1986 |page=129|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=9788170230069 |quote=A rare leavened Indian bread, Bakarkhani is a popular with the Muslims of the Deccan.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UFwsluKqM8C}} and Pakistan{{cite book|title=Mountain Berries and Desert Spice: Sweet Inspiration From the Hunza Valley to the Arabian Sea|page=51|author=Sumayya Usmani|publisher=Frances Lincoln|year=2017}}
| course = Appetizer/Dessert
| type = Bread
| served =
| main_ingredient = Dough, ghee, milk, sugar (optional)
| variations = Gao-joban, Shuki (shukha), Nimshuki, Kaicha-ruti, Mulam, Chinshuki, Kashmiri
| calories =
| other =
}}
Bakarkhani or Baqarkhani or Bakorkhoni also known as bakarkhani roti, is a thick, spiced flat-bread that is part of the Mughlai cuisine. Bakarkhani is prepared on certain Muslim religious festivals in South Asia and is now popular as sweet bread.{{cite news|last=Shinwari|first=Sher Alam|title=Local pizza, Bakarkhani bread gaining popularity|newspaper=Dawn|location=Pakistan|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1299096|access-date=24 February 2020}}
Bakarkhani is almost biscuit-like in texture, with a hard crust. The chief ingredients are flour, semolina, sugar, molasses soaked in saffron, poppy or nigella seeds, salt, and ghee (clarified butter).
Legend
A legend attributes the bread's name to Mirza Agha Baqer, a son-in-law of Murshid Quli Khan II. According to the legend, Baqer, a general based in Chittagong under Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah of Bengal, falls in love with a dancer called Khani Begum from Arambagh, who was also eyed by Zaynul Khan, the city's kotwal and the son of a wazir. Zaynul attempts to attack Khani for rejecting him, and Baker intervenes, defeating Zaynul in a swordfight. Zaynul 's two companions go and lie to his father, the wazir, telling him that Baker has killed Zaynul. Out of fury, the wazir orders them to put Baker inside a cage with a tiger. Baker kills the tiger and at the same time, the claim of Zaynul's death is found to be false. The wazir, Jahandar Khan, and his son Zaynul then kidnap Khani and set off for South Bengal. The battle continues there as Baker arrives to rescue Khani. In another brawl of talwars, Jahandar accidentally kills Zaynul, after Zaynul inadvertently murders Khani. Khani is later buried in Bakla-Chandradwip (Patuakhali-Barisal). Baker Khan builds a tomb over her grave and Bakla-Chandradwip would be renamed Bakerganj after him.{{cite Banglapedia|article=Bakorkhani|author=Hossain, Muhammad Faruque}} Baker was already familiar with this area as he was a jagirdar in Barisal's Salimabad and Umedpur parganas.{{cite book|author=Nazir Hussain|title=Kingbodontir Dhaka (Edition 3)|publisher=3 Star Cooperative Multipurpose Society Ltd.|date=April 1995|location=Dhaka|page=293}} The tragic love story of Baker Khan and Khani Begum inspired the bakers to name his favourite bread Bakerkhani.{{cite news|title=Bakarkhani: delight in every bite|work=Daily Sun|url=http://www.daily-sun.com/post/131131/Bakarkhani:-delight-in-every-bite|access-date=5 May 2018}}Prothom Alo, Chhutir Dine, 4 February 2006 Dhaka's first bakarkhani shop opened in close proximity to Lalbagh Fort and many of the city's bakarkhani sellers originate from the Sylhet Division.{{cite news |url=https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/327826/%E0%A6%90%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9A%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9B%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%87 |script-title=bn:ঐতিহ্যের বাকরখানি যাচ্ছে বিদেশে |language=bn |trans-title=Traditional bakarkhani is going abroad |author=Muhammad Abu Talib |date=28 Feb 2015 |work=The Daily Ittefaq}}
The Bengal Subah, specifically Mughal Dhaka, was a hub for merchants from all parts of the subcontinent and even as far as the Middle East and Armenia. Through trade and travel, the bakarkhani became popular outside of Bengal in places such as Kashmir, Bihar, Lucknow and Hyderabad.{{cite news|url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/living-history/2019/03/14/bakarkhani-an-ode-to-lost-love|title=Bakarkhani: An Ode To Lost Love|website=Live History India|last=Katti|first=Madhuri|date=14 March 2019|access-date=1 July 2019|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701160645/https://www.livehistoryindia.com/living-history/2019/03/14/bakarkhani-an-ode-to-lost-love|url-status=dead}}
Regions
Bakarkhani is popular in the regions of Pakistan,{{cite news|url=https://images.dawn.com/news/1174756|title=This sweet flatbread is in fact a Mughal recipe|date=2 February 2016|publisher=Dawn}} India,{{cite book|title=Food Culture in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIyV_5wrplMC&pg=PA42|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|isbn=9780313324871}} Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Russia.{{cite news|url=https://www.daily-sun.com/post/131131/Bakarkhani:-delight-in-every-bite|title=Bakarkhani: delight in every bite|date =24 April 2016|publisher=Daily Sun}}
Utsa Ray, a culinary historian, described Bakarkhani as the "pride" of the "gastronomic culture of Dhaka" and according to other scholars, "Bakorkhoni gives Old Dhaka a unique and distinct culinary identity".{{cite book |last1=Prakash |first1=Jamuna |last2=Waisundara |first2=Viduranga |last3=Prakash |first3=Vishweshwaraiah |title=Nutritional and Health Aspects of Food in South Asian Countries |date=2020 |publisher=Elsevier Science |isbn=978-0-12-820012-4 |pages=226 |language=en}} According to Hakim Habibur Rahman, Bakorkhoni could not be found in anywhere else than Dhaka during the colonial period.{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Utsa |title=Culinary Culture in Colonial India |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-04281-0 |pages=212–213 |language=en}}
Preparation
{{unsourced section|date=October 2021}}
Bakarkhani is made by kneading together flour, ghee, in some cases cardamom, sugar and salt with water. The dough is then flattened. The bread is made by stretching a sheet of dough repeatedly and interleaving with ghee, molasses, saffron water, poppy or nigella seeds before baking on a tandoor or tawa girdle.
Variations
It is also known as shukha (meaning 'dry') naan or shukha roti due to its dry texture.{{cite book|author=Muntasir Mamun|title=Dhaka Smriti-Bismritir Nogori (Updated Version)|publisher=Anannya|date=July 2006|location=Dhaka|page=172|isbn=984-412-104-3}} Hakim Habibur Rahman, author of Dhaka Panchas Baras Pahle, lists three variations of bakarkhani; Gao-joban, shuki (shukha) and nimshuki. There are also other variations such as kaicha-ruti, mulam and chinshuki.
Outside of Dhaka, different types of Bakarkhani are eaten across the country. The Bakarkhani of Sylhet and Chittagong resemble a sweet and syrupy porota,{{cite news|url=https://khadizaskitchen.com/tag/sylheti-bakarkhani/|title=Sylhety Bakharkhani|access-date=29 April 2020| publisher=khadizaskitchen.com}} whilst the Bakarkhani of Dinajpur is thick and doughy and often contains pieces of morobba.{{cite news|url=https://www.daily-sun.com/post/131131/Bakarkhani:-delight-in-every-bite|title=Bakarkhani: delight in every bite|access-date=29 April 2020| date=24 April 2016| publisher=Daily Sun (Bangladesh)}}
There is also a Kashmiri variant of bakarkhani{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food/food-reviews/Bakarkhani-only-a-sweet-memory-now/articleshow/45159577.cms | title=Bakarkhani, only a sweet memory now | date=6 December 2014 | newspaper=The Times of India | first=Saima | last=Afreen | access-date=24 February 2020}} which is a thinner variety, similar to round naan in appearance, but crisp and layered, and sprinkled with sesame seeds.{{cite web|url= http://anantnag.nic.in/culture.htm|title=Culture of Anantnag|website=District Anantnag J&K|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619085207/http://anantnag.nic.in/culture.htm |archive-date=2009-06-19}} It is typically consumed hot, during breakfast, often with noon chai.{{cite news|url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/kashmir-has-special-confectionary_10027147.html|title=Kashmir has special confectionary|work=Thaindian News|date=2008-03-13|access-date=2013-07-18|archive-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112836/http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/kashmir-has-special-confectionary_10027147.html|url-status=dead}}
In literature
File:Bakorkhani shop in Old Dhaka.JPG
Bakarkhani is mentioned in lines of a Bengali poem by Pratul Mukhopadhyay:
{{Verse translation|lang=bn|italicsoff=y|
‘আলু বেচো, ছোলা বেচো, বেচো বাকরখানি
|attr1=Pratul Mukhopadhyay
|Sell potatoes, sell gram, sell Bakarkhani
Don't sell, don't sell, friend, the jewel in your eye.}}
See also
{{Commons category|Bakarkhani}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Bangladeshi dishes}}