Who doesn’t love naan!
Our bookshelf is graced with the one and only Dishoom cookbook! If you don't know about Dishoom, then you're in for a treat. I learnt it late too, don't worry, but it is one of my sister's favorite restaurants in the world, and it hails from London, a place we also call home.
I will get a little more into Dishoom's history and story later on, but for now I want to bring back the focus to the naan itself and its expansive term. This is a labor of love bread. It is easy in theory, but it is not quick. You have to pay it a lot of attention, and be nimble with it. It won't ever be an absolute match to what you know as great naan in the restaurants, because you may not have a wood-fire burning oven or hot pebble stones like a true traditional version, but neither do I. Though, I was happy with how these turned out and it got rave reviews at home, but you can definitely see the small differences from well made naan to homemade versions. It is a versatile dough, that takes a lot of time and effort to bring together, but its end result is worth it for what you go through and achieve.
The naan is a flatbread used in many Western Asia, South Asia, and Caribbean cuisines. The word "nan" translates to bread in my native language, Kurdish. We have Northern and Southern accents, much the same as the English language, which stems from Southern and Northern Kurdistan that spans parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, and other minorities, such as Armenia. It is also the same in the Persian language, a very close relation to us. History will in fact say that the naan bread may have derived from bread baked on hot pebbles in ancient Persia. The word "nan" is pronounced exactly the same way you would say naan. Essentially, they do mean the same thing. We are an Indo-European language, similar to Persian, that has pulled a lot of filler words from the Arabic and French languages. Though there is no similarity with the translation of bread in either of the latter languages or the Iraqi Arabic dialect for that matter. Ours has a significant tie to the flatbread known in the better part of Asia, and now the English language. It is incredible how far words can travel to assimilate with cultures, feeding their way into the old or new languages, even if it becomes simplified in meaning.
The reason I have dived into this explanation so deeply, is because it is a history of my language. This word has become what the English language coined simply as "naan" to refer to the tandoori style only. It is a simple word that is pronounced the same exact way and means the same thing across many languages and dialects. Yet, the Western world heavily believes it is solely an Indian style bread eaten with curries and daals. We didn't have toast or sandwich bread in the 1900s - that's an American invention, so we didn't need to refer to such a thing - but now, we do, and our one word can simply speak to a variety of forms when in conversation, or new words have been founded as part of the new languages. However, the word "nan" used today can subtly always define or refer to the flatbread itself at the same time as other bread varieties. For the Western region, speaking the word "naan" means a very specific thing to you when you are ordering it, or mentioning it in passing, almost simplifying it to be from one place only. Funny how languages work. Hope I didn't lose you!
Dishoom's history is interesting. They've got a big following on social, which is beautiful to see, but they're smart about how they approached their mission and vision. With that, comes success, especially a brand that is highlighting their culture, cuisine and language(s) through food. It is easy to say that good food, good drinks, and a good, beautiful environment will be an instant hit. This is true for Dishoom, on account of my sister's experiences. Their background is not as simple as you think. They serve to bring you cultures intertwined through food to your plate, so that you are open to what lies beyond Hindu traditions and cuisines from Bombay, by way of the Parsis. They're a proper Bombay success story. Parsis are an ancient and distinct community from Iran, that has since over time identified with India. They originally landed and settled in Bombay over a thousand years ago, and as Dishoom puts it "they were enterprising and valued education, and became wealthy and influential through trade in cotton, opium and other goods." It goes without saying that the Parsis are significant to the booming infrastructure of Bombay. The story of the flatbread ties both cultures together in unique ways. Simply because they serve the same purpose, but have hailed from one another's cuisines as a form of bread eaten alone, or with the traditional meal. The naan or nan achieves the same thing, whether you are Parsi, Hindu, Muslim or Christian.
Interestingly, the Parsis since became known as Iranis during the second wave of immigration, establishing cafes, which are still known as Irani cafes, but have long since been disappearing thanks to modernization and capitalism. Iranis would cross to Bombay to escape religious persecution. Not much has changed today, if you really think about it...
These cafes soon became a "fond place in the hearts of Bombayites, regardless of caste, class, religion or race, by providing a cheap snack, a decent meal, or just a cup of chai and cool refuge from the street." Bread is an everyday snack in our cultures, and this is what Dishoom speaks to. It isn't directly mentioned, but the naan, amongst other small dishes, is always an accessible snack, that should be offered or available at all times. Today, there are roughly 25 authentic Irani cafes left, within a century of their existence. Bombay also transforms into Mumbai. It is important to remember that Irani cafes were not just a source of romantic nostalgia, as Dishoom reminds us. They are important to the history and cuisine of India. Colonization created racially exclusive spaces, but Irani cafes changed the discourse, opened by outsiders, but not holding any biases and welcoming all comers. These cafes helped to mix all kinds of people in the same spaces and helped enhance the cosmopolitan culture of the city. It is only right that these shared spaces are known as extremely valuable to life as we know it. It has certainly played a heavy role, and though much injustice still exists, it was already trying to be dismantled from long ago, little by little. This is Dishoom's exact mission. Bringing people together by way of Parsi, Muslim, Hindu and Christian traditions via food and heritage.
The naan, a symbolic bread in Indian cuisine, is a word used across multiple languages, to be the same meaning, but probably more than half the world still doesn't realize that. As I mentioned earlier, it is extremely versatile. It can be dipped in daals or curries, rolled as a sandwich or wrap, simply eaten alone smeared with butter or nothing, or made to taste using sweet or savory ingredients as flavorings. The naan or as I would say 'nan' is what merges the Irani and Hindu cuisine seen at Dishoom. They have brought together two worlds that they have grown up in, and translating their naan into something special between the two. Iranis have had a positive and affluent influence in Indian cuisine and culture, and it goes without saying that this is very well known at Dishoom. They have done well to serve their mission. It is a cumbersome job, but if you're willing to exercise some muscle, time and patience, it can be quite rewarding.
Every culture that has a nan has their own specific touch in the process, but one thing is certain, it is a form of flatbread and it connects a large part of the Asian world, but that is up to the rest of the world to realize it is not just an Indian flatbread...