In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (2024)

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In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (1)

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In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (2)

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In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (15)

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Middle East

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (16)

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Shefali Rafiq

People buy bread from Afghan bakers in the Lajpat Nagar area of India’s capital state, Delhi. The Afghans living in India have introduced their traditional bread, and customers have developed a taste for it.

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  • Deep Read ( 2 Min. )
  • By Shefali RafiqContributor

|Delhi, India

Najibullah heads to the bakery as soon as the birds start chirping. He and his co-workers are among the many Afghan refugees to seek safety in India.

The bread-making starts at 7 a.m. and goes until 8 p.m., with small breaks in between. Afghan naan is different in shape, texture, and taste from Indian varieties. While the main ingredient – wheat flour – is the same, Afghan bakers hand-shape the dough, rather than rolling it out, and their use of a tandoor results in large, pillowy rounds. It is eaten by not only Afghans, but also by Iraqis, Sudanese, and Kashmiris, and now by local Indian customers, too.

Why We Wrote This

Finding asylum is only one step of a refugee’s journey. These bakers brought industrious spirits and a taste of Afghanistan with them to India. Both have helped them fortify a sense of home.

Najibullah says he and his colleagues have no plans to go back to Afghanistan. When asked if they miss their home, he says with a smile, “This is our home now.”

Click the “deep read” button to view the full photo essay.

For Najibullah, the birds act as his alarm clock. As soon as the chirping starts, he leaves his apartment for the small bakery shop in the Lajpat Nagar area of south Delhi. He does not care about the weather or the time, but trusts the birds.

He and three co-workers, Wali Khiri, Shahrukh, and Niamatullah, have been working in the shop for the last seven years. They are among the many Afghan refugees to seek safety in India. Since the late 1990s, Afghan naanwais (makers and sellers of naan, or bread) have been plying their trade in India.

For the four young men, bread-making starts at 7 a.m. and goes until 8 p.m., with small breaks in between. They mix wheat flour with water, yeast, salt, and sugar and set it aside. After this, dough balls are made and weighed so that each one is the same size. The balls are then flattened and kept under a cloth for the yeast to do its work. Then the rounds are shaped by hand, imprinted with a decorative pattern, and sprinkled with water and sesame seeds before going into the tandoor, or clay oven. The men spend the time chatting and listening to Wali Khiri’s jokes – they say he has a great sense of humor.

Why We Wrote This

Finding asylum is only one step of a refugee’s journey. These bakers brought industrious spirits and a taste of Afghanistan with them to India. Both have helped them fortify a sense of home.

Afghan naan is different in shape, texture, and taste from Indian varieties. While the main ingredient – wheat flour – is the same, Afghan bakers hand-shape the dough, rather than rolling it out, and their use of a tandoor results in large, pillowy rounds. The bread is enjoyed alongside curries at meals and eaten plain or topped with butter as a snack throughout the day. It is eaten by not only Afghans, but also by Iraqis, Sudanese, and Kashmiris, and now by local Indian customers, too.

According to Wali Khiri, they are able to sell 500 loaves a day and are doing decent business. After Afghanistan was retaken by the Taliban in 2021, Afghans who had traveled to India for medical treatment or jobs went home, which affected sales. “We would otherwise sell 1,500 breads a day,” he says.

The bakers also sell to small food stalls and local restaurants, with Niamatullah making the deliveries on his bicycle.

Najibullah says they have no plans to go back to Afghanistan. When asked if they miss their home, he says with a smile, “This is our home now.”

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (17)

Shefali Rafiq

Wali Khiri takes the bread out of the tandoor, or clay oven. The tandoor gives it texture and its famous golden color.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (18)

Shefali Rafiq

Shahrukh places dough balls on a board to rest. The balls have been weighed so that each is the same size.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (19)

Shefali Rafiq

Crisp-edged naan, sprinkled with sesame seeds, is stacked in the shop awaiting buyers.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (20)

Shefali Rafiq

Niamatullah carries the bakery goods to restaurants and food stalls on a bicycle.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (21)

Shefali Rafiq

Wali Khiri prepares a long flat naan before putting it inside the tandoor. He has mastered the art of baking bread since coming to India from Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, people tend not to make bread at home, so they rely on bakeries with tandoors.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (22)

Shefali Rafiq

Wali Khiri jokes around with Najibullah as he piles bread in the shop window.

In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (23)

Shefali Rafiq

Local Indians enjoy Afghan food along with traditional Afghan bread made in the bakery.

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In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (24)

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In Pictures: A taste of Afghanistan helps these bakers find home in India (2024)

FAQs

What is Afghan bread called? ›

Afghan Flat Bread is the everyday bread of Afghanistan. It is also called Noni Afghani, Nan-i-Afghan, Afghani Nan or Nan-e Barbari in Persian. Afghan flatbread is baked in a variety of sizes and shapes. Afghan flatbreads are usually made with either all whole wheat or all white flour.

What is Afghanistan famous for? ›

Afghanistan is known for making beautiful oriental rugs. The Afghan carpet has certain prints that make them unique to Afghanistan. Afghanistan is known for its production of Afghan rugs, traditionally handwoven using a number of well-known and highly-prized patterns.

How do Afghans treat dinner guests? ›

Afghans always treat guests with respect and offer the best food they can provide. Meals for guests often include four or five main dishes served with rice. This is Afghanistan's national dish.

Where is Afghanistan located? ›

Afghanistan is located in Central Asia with Iran to the west and Pakistan to the east. Tall, forbidding mountains and dry deserts cover most of the landscape of Afghanistan. The jagged mountain peaks are treacherous, and are snow covered for most of the year.

Why are they called Afghan biscuits? ›

There are many theories in circulation about the origin of the name "Afghan", ranging from the First Anglo-Afghan War to the biscuit's texture and colour being likened to the landscape of Afghanistan, while one theory suggests it was named after the traditional Afghan hat, the pakol.

Is Afghan food healthy? ›

Afghan cuisine features an array of flavorful vegetable-based dishes that are both nutritious and satisfying. Look for options like Sabzi (spinach), Bouranee Baunjan (eggplant), or Kadoo (pumpkin). These dishes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, making them a great choice for a healthy meal.

What is Afghanistan Favourite food? ›

The treasured national dish called Kabuli (or Qabli) Pulao consists of slow-cooked meat in a dome of gently seasoned rice with lentils, raisins, carrots, ground cardamom and nuts. And of course bread (naan) is eaten with just about everything.

What is the old name for Afghanistan? ›

During the medieval period, the northwestern area of Afghanistan was referred to by the regional name Khorasan, which was commonly used up to the 19th century among natives to describe their country.

What is Afghanistan rich in? ›

It is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1,400 mineral fields, containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, lithium, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals.

How tall are Afghan men? ›

Measured and self-reported figures
Country / regionAverage male heightMethod
Afghanistan168.2 cm (5 ft 6 in)Measured
Albania176.6 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)Measured
Albania174 cm (5 ft 8+1⁄2 in)Measured
Algeria169.7 cm (5 ft 7 in)Measured
52 more rows

What tea do Afghan people drink? ›

Kahwah (also transliterated as qehwa, kehwa or kahwa) is the traditional preparation of green tea (Camellia sinensis) widely consumed in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and some regions of Central Asia.

What is considered rude in Afghan culture? ›

The thumbs-up gesture is considered rude and has the same connotation as raising one's middle finger for traditional Afghans. The “o*k” sign with the hand can symbolize the evil eye or something more lewd. Stroking one's beard or pounding a fist into one's hand may signify revenge.

Is Afghanistan is the part of India? ›

In fact, until very recent times, it had a Hindu tribal province which is now known as Nooristan before all of the tribals converted a few decades ago. The Arab invasion of Afghanistan did not happen in a day or year. It in fact took several generations. No, because it was never a part of India or Indian kingdoms.

What is the most common occupation in Afghanistan? ›

Agriculture and forestry. Agriculture and animal husbandry, mainly consisting of subsistence farming and pastoral nomadism, are, in more normal times, the most important elements of the gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for nearly half of its total value. Afghanistan is essentially a pastoral country.

Is Afghanistan close to USA? ›

The shortest distance (air line) between Usa and Afghanistan is 7,312.74 mi (11,768.72 km). The shortest route between Usa and Afghanistan is according to the route planner.

What is the name of the Ethiopian bread? ›

Introduction. "Injera" is an Amharic term for Ethiopian bread similar to pan cake, made usually from teff. Injera is thin, prepared from teff flour, water and starter (a fluid collected from previously fermented mix) after successive fermentations [1].

What is the thin Arabic bread called? ›

Lavash is an ancient wafer-thin, pliable flatbread made of simple pantry staples including flour, salt, water (or milk), and yeast, although some recipes do skip the yeast and rely on old dough to make an unleavened lavash.

What is Arabic bread called? ›

Arabic bread is popular in many countries and is known by the following names: khobz, shami, mafrood, burr, bairuti, Lebanese, pita, and pocket. It is a round two-layered flatbread.

What is the traditional food of Afghanistan? ›

The treasured national dish called Kabuli (or Qabli) Pulao consists of slow-cooked meat in a dome of gently seasoned rice with lentils, raisins, carrots, ground cardamom and nuts. And of course bread (naan) is eaten with just about everything.

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