QUETTA: As the day draws to a close and the sun begins to set, Nisar Ahmed starts arranging neat rows of freshly baked Afghan bread, or naan, outside his shop in the Bacha Khan Chowk area of downtown Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
It will be time for Iftar soon when Muslims break their dawn-to-dusk fast during Ramadan, and Ahmed needs to be quick to cater to the long line of customers waiting outside his small bakery for a slice of the oval-shaped, crusty bread that’s about four feet long and costs Rs120 ($0.78) per piece. A smaller version of the naan is priced at Rs20 ($0.13).
Traditionally made with whole wheat flour and topped with nigella or sesame seeds, it takes Ahmed and his team of bakers several hours to weigh, knead, and proof the dough before it is ready to be baked in different sizes and shapes.
An Afghan naan shop at Quetta's Bacha Khan Chowk bakes traditional bread for its customers on April 18, 2021. (AN photo)
“During Ramadan, we prepare 325 kgs of yeasted dough and keep it for five hours without being touched to bake the tasty and soft naans for our customers,” Ahmed, 34, told Arab News on Tuesday.
One of only three bakeries in the area, Ahmed inherited the shop from his father in 2000 and has been running the business, along with his brothers, ever since.
The Afghan naan is typically cooked in a tandoor and is one of the staple foods for most Quetta residents who dunk the flatbread in their favorite curries or soups for a hearty iftar evening meal.
Ahmed said that demand for the bread increases five-fold during Ramadan when he bakes more naans than usual.
Nisar Ahmed displays traditional Afghan bread outside his shop in Quetta on April 18, 2021. (AN photo)
“We prepare nearly 700 naans in normal days, but during Ramadan, the demand jumps up to 3,500. We have hired additional workers to bake nearly 1,200 Afghan naans during Ramadan when demand is very high,” Ahmed said.
He credits the popularity of the bread to “quality ingredients and its unique, special shape,” but also to the fact that the naan, which takes “just a few minutes to cook, but tastes just as good if eaten after two days also.”
“We use four types of flour, including the indigenous flour, which keeps the bread soft for more than two days,” he said.
The bread, which was brought to the southwestern Pakistani province by Afghan refugees who moved to Pakistan in the 1980s, has become one of the most popular Ramadan treats.
Customers stand outside an Afghan naan shop at Quetta's Bacha Khan Chowk to buy traditional bread for iftar-dinner on April 18, 2021. (AN photo)
Retired Professor Noor Muhammad Chishti, who has been buying Ahmed’s naans for the past 15 years, says he prefers the flatbread over other foods during Ramadan.
“It’s filled with proteins and is quick to digest for an old man like me,” Chishti, 77, told Arab News.
“The naan makers apply palm and dried fig water on the bread, which makes it long-lasting to eat, and the palm and fig water develop its taste as well,” he added.
Muhammad Waqas, a 38-year-old resident, said the Afghan naan was a “gift” for hungry, fasting residents who prefer to buy the bread instead of baking it at home.
“Everyone is fond of eating tasty and healthy food; thus, many residents of Quetta come here to buy Afghan naan for their iftar dinner rather than baking the roti (bread) inside their homes. It’s a gift during this holy month,” Waqas told Arab News.
Ahmed says he prides himself on the fact that not just local customers but residents from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad travel to Quetta as well to buy his bread, “making it the symbol of traditional food” in the area.
“I feel so proud when customers share their feedback about the bread,” he said. “Some travel from so far for it. This keeps us motivated to stay the best and make Quetta famous in the process.”
