Muharram: Dum ke Roat back in demand in Hyderabad

Highly popular during the Islamic month of Muharram, the delicacy has traditional significance.

Hyderabad: The smell of aromatic ghee and butter combined with sugar and nuts is making its presence felt again in city bakeries. Hyderabadis’ favourite and popular cookies ‘Dum ke Roat’ is back on bakery shelves after almost a year.

Highly popular during the Islamic month of Muharram, the delicacy has traditional significance. The crispy cookie — almost the size of a tea saucer – is prepared with wheat flour, sooji (semolina), and vegetable oil, sugar, honey, clarified butter, and salt, cardamom, and milk products. It was missing in action in most bakeries due to Covid-19 concerns among the public and now it has made a comeback with a bang.

---

“All precautions are taken to ensure hygiene while preparing the cookie. Also, it is neatly packed to avoid direct contact while dispensing,” assures Syed Irfan of Subhan Bakery at Nampally. The popular eatery did not increase the price given the prevailing financial turmoil caused by two consequent lockdowns in the State.

Several bakers don’t see any profit in making the Dum ke Roat during this season with many citing the financial crisis and rise in prices of dry fruits and other products.

“In the last few days, the prices have skyrocketed due to the situation in Afghanistan. Price of almonds increased by a couple of hundred rupees in last three days, it could be due to the uncertainty among wholesalers about the import of the stocks in coming days,” says M A Majid of Pista House.

The story goes that this type of cookie was offered to mourners in the Muharram procession by the Nizam. In the run to the 10 days of Muharram also known as Ashoora, people make a beeline at the bakeries to purchase the cookies.

Mohd Zaker of Baba Bakery says that the pricing depends on the ingredients used in preparing the cookie. “If the ingredients are of top quality, the pricing is high usually,” he revealed.

Laxminarayana Rathi, president of Hyderabad Kirana Merchants Association says right now stock of dry fruits is available. “Going ahead, depending on the situation in Afghanistan, we will know how imports will be impacted,” he said