Why Dum ke Roat is a Muharram-time tradition in Hyderabad

Hyderabad's bakeries bring back the age-old tradition of Dum ke Roat during Muharram. The dry fruit-rich, eggless cookie is in high demand, especially on Youm-e-Ashoora, continuing a cultural practice with historical ties to the Nizam-era

Hyderabad: Yes, it’s Muharram month and time for ‘Dum ke Roat’, the dry fruit-laced cookies that are baked and sold during the month across bakeries in the city.
Baking the ‘Dum ke Roat’ is an age-old tradition in the city bakeries during the month of Muharram.

Over a period of time, a few bakers have started making it available around the year, but most bakers prepare it only during the Muharram month as a traditional practice, though there is no religious significance to the cookie.

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The cookie is prepared with wheat flour, sooji (semolina), vegetable oil, sugar, honey, clarified butter, salt, cardamom, and milk products. “It is purely vegetarian. We don’t use eggs to prepare it,” says Syed Irfan of Subhan Bakery at Nampally.

According to legend, the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, once offered the Roat to the Nala-e-Mubarak Alam near Charminar for the safety and well-being of his grandson, Mukarram Jah Bahadur.

This practice continues to date, and people who take a vow for the safety of their wards break the Roat on the Alam and distribute it to others. Earlier, most families used to prepare dough at home and would take it to nearby bakeries to bake it in the ovens.

“The practice of making the Roat at homes had died down due to busy lifestyle. Noticing this, the bakers started preparing and selling it,” says Mohd Safiullah, a historian.

“The baking involves a fine balance between time, temperature, and ingredients. The duration of baking is what lends the brownish colour, while making it crunchy and soft,” explains Syed Maqbool of Bakewell Cake House.

The demand peaks on the Tenth Muharram, which marks the ‘Youm-e-Ashoora’. “There are queues at all our outlets. People are placing online orders too,” says Abdul Majid of Pista House.

The Roat is also available at Alpha Bakery – Secunderabad, Rose Bakery – Chaderghat, and Karachi Bakery, among other places in the city.