Dum-ke-Roat, a special cookie of Muharram

Dum-ke-Roat is the dish of the month. It sells like hot cakes during Muharram with people of all faiths rooting for it.


What Haleem is to Ramzan, Dum-ke-Roat is to Muharram. While the syrupy dish did the vanishing act thanks to the initial lockdown, what will be the fate of Roat now. As Muharram, the month of mourning, has set in bakers and restaurants in the city are pinning their hopes on the flat bread to see them through.

Dum-ke-Roat is the dish of the month. It sells like hot cakes during Muharram with people of all faiths rooting for it. With the general slowdown in business due to the pandemic, Roat makers are unsure how the crispy cake will move this season. Moreover, absence of air flights and difficulty in interstate transport is expected to impact the sales. Nevertheless bakers expect Roat to bring in the moolah even if it doesn’t see the usual feverish sales.
Some bakeries plan to sell Roat as an immunity booster by adding a generous dose of dry fruits. As it is Roat contains almonds, cashew nuts, pista and saffron. “We will add more dry fruits by way of health benefits”, says Pista House proprietor Abdul Majeed.

Whatever be its religious significance, the foodies swamp the market to lay hands on the sweet-baked delicacy with the advent of Muharram. Huge rush is seen at bakeries like Subhan Bakery, Karachi, Pista House, Rose and Needs.

Legend has it that the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, once offered Roat to the Nala-e-Mubarak Alam near Charminar for the safety and well-being of his grandson, Mukarram Jah Bahadur. And the practice continues till date. Members of the Shia community and also others take vows for the protection of their wards and offer Roat. But over the years it has become a special dish of Muharram with people eagerly looking forward to the seasonal flavour.

Crunchy outside and soft inside, Roat has a mix of ingredients like wheat flour, sooji, vegetable oils, sugar, honey, clarified butter, salt, cardamom and milk products apart from dry fruits. The art of baking involves striking a fine balance between time, temperature and ingredients “Getting the ingredients in the right proportion and then baking them properly till the brownish tinge appears is important”, says Syed Irfan of Subhan Bakery.

While Roats are up for grabs from day one, demand peaks on Youm-e-Ashoora, the 10th of Muharram. Some households make their own Roats with varying degree of success. “I follow a good recipe and bake Roats at home and they are as good as the ones available in the market”, says Afreen, a housewife.

This time the Roats have gone pricey with a kilogram of cookies coming in the range of Rs 600 to Rs 700. But when it comes to a crunchy bite price hardly matters.

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today 

Dated August 26,2020