Daily Times

Naan, the fluffy bread with a risen border and a checked texture in the centre, has a significant role to play in the cuisine of Pakistan, especially when it comes to breakfasts or luxurious dinners. While naan has most of its types available at local clay ovens called tandoors, some of its special forms are there at almost every restaurant, not to be missed if one is out with family or friends and is craving for desi food.

ROGHNI NAAN — when having guests over, add a little more to your hard work and buy Roghni Naan from your nearby tandoor instead of a simple one which grows stiff while waiting for the guests, eventually becoming hard to chew. Roghni Naan is costly, yes, but an already affluent gathering demands this small, soft and shiny naan which looks pleasing to the eye. That is owing to the coating of desi ghee which it is given, either with the help of a brush or a sponge dipped in a bowl of ghee. Rogni Naan goes well with almost everything, be it roasted meat, nihari, chicken karahi or mutton karahi.

SESAME NAAN — Sesame Naan comes in two forms; one with a sprinkling of black sesame called Qalwanji Naan and the other garnished with white sesame, popularly called Qulcha. When out for desi food with a desire to have something different from the usual, home-made desi lunch or dinner, then go for Qalwanji Naan. This black dotted naan accompanied with handis will add a novel touch to your food, for Qalwanji Naan isn’t always available at local tandoors. If hungry for Qulcha, then the best way to have it is to order it fresh from a local breakfast hotel on a Sunday morning. If put to rest, then Qulcha loses its taste, since it also has a tendency to grow hard in a few seconds. If not willing to go out but craving for Qulcha all the same, then take care to have thin broth with it. Boiling Chanaa curry or Paaye are the best dishes to have with a Qulcha so that even if not eaten immediately, its stiffness may melt in the hotsoup freshly taken out of the cauldron.

QEEMA NAAN — Qeema Naan is also a way of replacing monotonous breakfasts. However, it is also eaten in lunches and dinners at times. This Naan too, is usually ordered at local tandoors on special occasions, since it is stuffed with either minced mutton or beef. If you want a Naan for breakfast but are not in a mood of Qulcha accompanied with Chanaa curry or Paaye, then go for Qeema Naan, but don’t trust the tandoor owners with the meat. Buy your meat yourself, properly wash and rinse it at home, add your favourite spices to it and hand it over to the tandoor guys so that they can stuff it in the naan. Like Roghni, this one also assumes a goldish look due to the desi ghee coating. Qeema Naan itself is delicious since it already has meat in it, but some people prefer it with yogurt.

GARLIC NAAN — garlic naan is also the kind of naan not easily available at local tandoors, but always there at every restaurant. Prepared in garlic paste, it is bigger in size as compared to other naans and a bit crispy. The best dish to have with a garlic naan is Chicken Ginger, for the combined aroma of garlic and ginger produces a dish of its kind, great in terms of both smell and taste.

ALOO NAAN — Aloo Naan has more or less the same ingredients which are there in Aloo paratha; onions, coriander, red pepper and salt enmeshed in a paste of boiled potatoes. The paste is then stuffed inside the Naan just like Qeema Naan but doesn’t always taste good as the heavy amount of flour present in Naan overshadows the batter made out of mashed potatoes. Aloo Paratha is always a better option if stuffed potatoes with traditional spices is the target.

BESAN NAAN — save the fatigue of preparing Pakoras separately and buying Naans separately. Visit your nearest tandoor and ask them for a Besan Naan and they will paste the batter used for making pakoras on a Naan and hand it over to you for savouring the collective taste of Naan and Pakora. This batter is prepared in gram floor exactly the way it is made for cooking Pakoras. In the case of Besan Naan, the paste is always applied on the Naan and not inside it.

SIMPLE NAAN — simple naan, the most ordered and eaten naan in Pakistan is surprisingly neither coated with ghee nor sprinkled with sesame. Its low cost gives it the importance it has. Its stiffness, however, demands that it be eaten with dishes like Haleem or Hareesa. The thickness of their curries, coming from the large amount of grains that are grinded into them, makes them quite heavy. As a result, the stiffness of a simple Naan becomes suitable for carrying the thick and gooey curry of Haleem and Hareesa. Simple Naan with these dishes also benefits the dishes in the way that their taste is not lost, either in the aroma of ghee which is central to Roghni Naan, in Sesame Naans which have a taste of their own or in Garlic Naans which even if eaten without any dish, taste quite well.

While these are some of the traditional and common types of Naan, Pakistan now has restaurants which provide a fusion of this desi bread and western food, resulting in eatables like Nutella Naan and Pizza Naan. However, these fancy naans have a varying following. While some see them as an amazing combination of eastern and western cuisine, some label them as elitism entering the ordinary culture.