The Hindu Business Line : Hot breads

You've heard of plebeian Indian breads like the roti, naan and kulcha, of course. But ever sunk your teeth into the spectacular Agra Ka Paratha? This leviathan of a bread is left to sizzle on a 40-kg griddle till it turns a flaky gossamer gold, making the air redolent with its delicious aroma.

Then there's Nawab Wajid Ali's spectacular multi-tiered Jalebi Paratha with its secret 200-year-old recipe! The Lifafa Paratha — shaped like an envelope with a pocket — is famous in Amritsar, while the pistachio-flecked Gauzban from Awadh — resembling a cow's tongue — is another epicurean delight.

Not to mention the 10-kg Halwa Paratha, which travels with the Nauchandi Mela across Uttar Pradesh and is served with halwa as an accompaniment.

Many such incredible Indian breads were recently showcased at the Festival of a Hundred Breads at the Made In India (MII) restaurant of Radisson MBD Hotel, Noida.

"Indian cuisine is as diverse as its people and geography," says the hotel's Corporate Chef Arun Tyagi, who travelled and researched for the festival for three months. "The festival traces the culinary journey of the humble bread from Hyderabad (with its linkage to West Asia) to the Vijayanagar Empire and its roots in the Telangana, the mighty Mughals and the aristocratic Nawabs of Avadh to the legendary kitchen of Punjab."

Tyagi's assignment was not easy, considering he had to scout for regional cooks who could be "bribed to leave their cities" and help him for the festival.

The chef also had to ferry back special utensils (40-kg griddles, for instance) and unique flours, herbs and spices. His sojourns into the innards of India — nettlesome no doubt — were rewarding nonetheless. "When I was travelling across Banaras, for instance, I came across a street called `Kachori ki Gali'! Now how many Indians know that such a street exists in our country?"

Being a multi-faceted country — textured with a variety of colours, cultures, festivals and languages — Tyagi feels Indian breads too possess an astounding multi-dimensionality. But interestingly, while the recipes of Indian curries — Mughlai, Awadhi, and even Rajasthani — have been documented, the breads' recipes have been passed down purely by word of mouth. And hence, the shroud of mystery that envelopes their provenance. In an evening drenched with culinary history, and plenty of food for thought, we partook of some amazing Indian breads with accompaniments like the flavour-charged murgh kalimirch tikka, the melt-in-the-mouth dorra kebabs, machli ajwaini and kofta naram dil. We also feasted on:

Lal Roti: A Delhi speciality, this bread gets its name from its reddish-brown hue. A sweet, leavened bread, lal roti is also referred to as the sheermal, as it is akin to the bread of the same moniker available in Lucknow and Mehmoodabad.

Agra ka Paratha: The Agra ka Paratha is rarely known outside of Agra. Made in dome-shaped, gargantuan griddles, the bread was presumably discovered by Rambabu of Agra. It uses a gram-wheat-flour combo with a variety of fillings to give it a unique taste. Rambabu Paratha Bhandar in Agra, set up almost a century ago, continues to delight customers with this wonderful bread and even exports it.

Kachori: Banares is renowned for its jalebis and kachoris. The Kachori ki Gali here produces some of the most scrumptious kachoris in the world. Fennel and dhal-flavoured, potato-stuffed or paneer-filled, the result is pure manna.

Double Puri: A unique bread made in Amritsar, this is a double-tiered puri, a wonderful innovation by the city's Kanha restaurant. It is said that such huge crowds throng this eatery for breakfast every morning that in two hours flat the kitchen empties out its produce and shuts shop!

Bakri: Maharashtrian cuisine has some wonderful influences from south and central India. One of the most wonderful dishes of Maharashtra is the Bakri-keema from Kolhapur. A bread made from millet, the bakri teams wonderfully well with the fiery Kolhapuri keema.

Pathri: This exquisite bread from the Mopla community of Kerala is made of rice flour, rolled out like a phulka and smeared with coconut milk and saunf before serving. The sweetness of the coconut milk and fennel give it a wonderful taste.

Mawa Kachori: It is a tradition in Jodhpur that you begin each meal with a sweetmeat. You can't escape from the city's sweet hospitality or Mithi Manuhar as it's called. Mave ki Kachori, Besan ki Chaaki and Maakhan Vade are some of Jodhpur's renowned sweetbread offerings.

Chowranghee Mughalia Paratha: The Mughalia Paratha, sold on Kolkata's Chowranghee Road, has imbibed influences from North India. A deep-fried bread made of refined flour and infused with ajwain, this paratha is a meal in itself and is sold at special roadside eateries.

Mandwa Ki Roti: Mandwa is a grain grown in the Himalayan regions of Garhwal, Himachal Pradesh, and Nepal. This plant requires no water to grow and does not get infected for years. A heat-generating grain, its rotis are ideal for the hilly regions and is eaten after being smeared with ghee and sugar.

Gauhat ka Paratha: Gauhat, a lentil grown in the mountains of Garhwal, is boiled and mixed with chopped onions, coriander and green chillies. This concoction is then stuffed in a Mandwa-flour dough, rolled out and cooked slowly on a tawa.

Pictures by Neeta Lal