The Muharram special cookie
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad has some popular dishes which are savoured specifically during particular Islamic months. Other than haleem, a specially baked cookie Dum ka Roat is quite popular during the month of Muharram.
The baked cookie is associated with Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is traditionally a homemade cookie prepared in several parts of the country with wheat, sugar, dry fruits and ghee. In Hyderabad there’s a story associated with it. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Seventh Nizam, had offered the roat at Naal-E-Mubarak Alam at Pathergatti for the well-being of his grandson.
Many Muslims distribute roat during this particular month, for the well-being of and prosperity of their family. The demand is maximum around the tenth day of the month, when the mourning procession of Muharram is taken out.
Dum ka Roat has a special taste, with a crunchy crust and soft inside. The ingredients of Dum Ka Roat has semolina, wheat flour, sugar, honey and milk as well as ghee. The cookie has a distinct flavour from the cardamom added to it, and is usually topped with an almond. This bakery whose name comes up immediately as you talk about Dum Ka Roat is Subhan Bakery. The bakery has been credited with popularizing the cookie over the last 45 years.
Come Muharram, you can find customers waiting in long queues from the morning in front of their outlet in Nampally for their share of Dum Ka Roat. As per Syed Irfan the owner of the 70-year-old bakery, they have a special recipe developed at their home which they use to prepare these cookies. Earlier this delicacy was only available during this month, but due to the high demand for the roat they have now made it available at their outlet from Muharram to Ramzan. A few other bakeries in Hyderabad like Pista House and Karachi Bakery and some small outlets in the Old City also prepare this delicacy.
The item should not be confused with another popular dish from Chennai, the Dum Ka Roat Halwa from Basha Halwawala, which is essentially a halwa prepared from semolina, khoya and dry fruits. With the month of Muharram setting in, do grab a pack of these cookies.
Sabyasachi is a food enthusiast and blogs at www.foodaholix.in