Breads of Pakistan

There are many different types of breads served across Pakistan, from the homemade chapati to the commercially available naan, and the celebratory sheermal. This exhibit will show you Pakistan’s favorite breads and how they are eaten.

Traditionally breads in Pakistan are an uneven or even round shape.

The first mention of a chapati was found in the historical 16th-century document “Ain-i-Akbari” written by Mughal Emperor Akbar’s vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak. However, remains of carbonized wheat grains found during excavation at the historical Indus Valley Civilization site, Mohenjo-Daro, were found to be similar to ones found commonly all over South Asia, indicating that similar breads may have been made and cooked at that time. 

The word chapati originates from the Hindi word 'chapat' which means to slap or flatten, describing the traditional method of flattening the dough ball between wet palms by slapping and rotating until it reaches the desired thinness.  

The dough is prepared much like it is for a tortilla - by mixing whole wheat flour with water, edible oil and salt optionally added and kneaded into a dough, which is then left to rise for 10 to 15 minutes. The dough is then divided equally into rounded portions (pedas) which are then flattened into thin circles with the help of a rolling pin on floured surfaces and cooked on a flat skillet, locally known as a tawa. 

To help the chapati to rise, it is sometimes half-cooked on the skillet, and then moved to a direct flame due to which air bubbles form and fill the bread helping it to rise. It is usually served and eaten hot, fresh off the stove.

To make naan, flour is mixed with active dry yeast, salt and water to make a dough, which is kneaded for a few minutes until it comes together into a ball, and then set aside to rise for a few hours.  

After this, the dough is divided into balls and flattened into circular discs, much like a chapati.

Sometimes sesame seeds are also added to them.

Apart from the yeast and the thickness of the bread, what sets a naan apart from a chapati is that it is baked in a tandoor (cylindrical clay oven heated by fire generated from wood or coal) which produces extremely high temperatures. Hence the name tandoori naan. These days, however, modern ovens are also used to make naans.  

Naans cook rapidly in the fierce heat of the tandoor, and only need a few minutes of cooking time.

The word sheermal comes from the Persian words شیر (sheer) which means milk, and مالیدن (malidan) which means to rub, so literally sheermal means milk rubbed. The incorporation of milk is what sets sheermal apart from the rest of the unleavened flatbreads in Pakistan, and is traditionally made in a tandoor like naan.

Sheermals are rolled out and pricked with a tool in order to ensure even cooking throughout the bread.

Maida (white flour) is mixed with warm milk, sweetened with sugar, replacing the water in a regular naan dough recipe. During special occasions, saffron and cardamom are also incorporated into the unleavened dough mixture.

Once the sheermal is ready, it has a creamy texture and can be enjoyed with savory, spicy curries, or as a dessert accompaniment with fresh malai (cream) or yogurt, or even plain with a cup of tea.

Like sheermal, the taftan is also made with milk and baked in a clay oven, however it is a leavened bread, and eggs and yogurt added to the dough.

In commercial establishments, the dough of each taftan is individually weighed before being rolled out to ensure that size of each bread is proportionate.

Taftaan is cooked and baked in a tandoor, in the same way as sheermal and naan bread.

The final taftaan is flakier and lighter than a regular naan, and often made on special occasions too. Taftan is more commonly used as an accompaniment for savory dishes and spicy curries.