Hyderabad: People will have to shell out more money for buying a naan at the traditional ‘naan ki roti’ bakeries in the coming days as bakers in Hyderabad are mulling to hike the price due to price rise of ingredients used for making the bread.
Naan ki roti, a Persian flatbread, is baked and sold at numerous shops located more particularly in the older parts of Hyderabad. Some of the oldest establishments like Munshi Naan (1851) in Hyderabad are bakeries.
A naan in many shops is sold for anything between Rs 16 to Rs 18 each, while at prominent places it is sold for Rs 20. The main ingredients used for making the naan are maida (flour), along with edible oil, curd, and yeast.
“Price of maida recorded an increase of Rs 600 per quintal on average. It is now sold at a price between Rs 3600 to Rs 4600 a tonne depending on quality. So bakers are exploring the option of a price hike,” said Saleem of Shah Deccan Naan Mahal at Misrigunj. He added that the price hike seems inevitable due to the rise in cost of ingredients, coal and wages for labour.
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“If we don’t increase the size, we have to cut down the size or weight of the naan. On average, each naan weighs 150 grams each, on special orders we have the one that weighs 200 grams each,” said Saleem.
At Purani Haveli, there are half a dozen shops that sell naan in all five shapes — square, oval, round and star and pan or heart. The naan shops at Purani Haveli sell a few thousand pieces of bread every day, with the baking in the tandoor done mostly in the morning and evening.
Khadeem Munshi Naan at Purani Haveli is one of the oldest shops in the city and was started by Mohammed Hussain in 1851. Hussain worked as a clerk or ‘munshi’ in the office of the fourth Nizam, with the shop thus getting the moniker Munshi Naan, according to family members. The traditional naan there has always held a prominent place when it comes to Hyderabadi lunch and is preferred as an accompaniment with the various Mughlai dishes cooked in homes and hotels.
The recipe of the naan is believed to have originated in Delhi and travelled all the way to Hyderabad during the Mughal era.
“The naan is made of maida flour, which is ground well and rolled out with the help of a roll pin. The dough gets flattened, then it is cut into different shapes and baked in tandoor until it turns brownish,” said Mohd Ateeq, a naan baker at Falaknuma road.
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