Bakarkhani

Lore & Background

A legend attributes the bread's name to Mirza Agha Baqer, a figure sometimes linked to the court of Murshid Quli Khan II—though this connection is historically dubious and not widely accepted. According to the tale, Baqer, a general based in Chittagong, falls in love with a dancer called Khani Begum from Arambagh, who was also eyed by Zaynul Khan, the city's kotwal and the son of a wazir. Zaynul attempts to attack Khani for rejecting him, and Baker intervenes, defeating Zaynul in a swordfight. Zaynul's two companions go and lie to his father, the wazir, telling him that Baker has killed Zaynul. Out of fury, the wazir orders them to put Baker inside a cage with a tiger. Baker kills the tiger and at the same time, the claim of Zaynul's death is found to be false. The wazir, Jahandar Khan, and his son Zaynul then kidnap Khani and set off for South Bengal. The battle continues there as Baker arrives to rescue Khani. In another brawl of talwars, Jahandar accidentally kills Zaynul, after Zaynul inadvertently murders Khani. Khani is later buried in Bakla-Chandradwip (Patuakhali-Barisal). Baker Khan builds a tomb over her grave. The story claims that Bakla-Chandradwip was renamed Bakerganj after him, though historical records do not support this—Bakerganj is traditionally believed to have a different origin. The tragic love story of Baker Khan and Khani Begum inspired the bakers to name his favourite bread Bakerkhani.

Reader's Guide

Bakarkhani holds significance as a distinctive bread of Mughlai cuisine, particularly associated with Old Dhaka. Culinary historian Utsa Ray described it as the 'pride' of the 'gastronomic culture of Dhaka,' and other scholars note that 'Bakorkhoni gives Old Dhaka a unique and distinct culinary identity.' According to Hakim Habibur Rahman, bakorkhoni could not be found anywhere else than Dhaka during the colonial period. The bread spread beyond Bengal through trade and travel during the Bengal Subah, when Mughal Dhaka was a hub for merchants from across the subcontinent and as far as the Middle East and Armenia. It became popular in regions such as Kashmir, Bihar, Lucknow, and Hyderabad. Today, bakarkhani is popular in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Russia. Variations exist, including shukha (dry) naan or roti, and regional types such as the sweet, syrupy porota-like bakarkhani of Sylhet and Chittagong, the thick, doughy Dinajpur version with morobba, and a thinner Kashmiri variant sprinkled with sesame seeds, often eaten hot with noon chai. Dhaka's first bakarkhani shop opened near Lalbagh Fort, and many sellers originate from the Sylhet Division.

Did You Know?

• Dhaka's first bakarkhani shop opened in close proximity to Lalbagh Fort.
• Hakim Habibur Rahman listed three variations: gao-joban, shuki (shukha), and nimshuki.

Mughlai Roots and the Arrival in Dhaka

Bakarkhani traces its lineage to the Mughlai culinary tradition, a body of cooking that entered Bengal when the Nawabs of Dhaka carried their courtly foodways into the region. This thick, spiced flat-bread is one of the bread-based preparations that emerged from that Mughlai influence, and the specific variant known as Dhakai Bakarkhani has been prepared in the city for centuries. Dhaka's culinary identity was further shaped after it became the capital of East Bengal, a period during which Persian, Turkish, and Arabic-influenced dishes gained popularity alongside the existing Mughlai repertoire. The result is a city whose food culture layers multiple Central Asian, Persian, Armenian, and native Bengali traditions, with Bakarkhani sitting firmly within the Mughlai strand. As a flat-bread rather than a rice dish, it occupies a distinct niche in a cuisine where rice is the foundational staple, offering a different textural and aromatic experience to the everyday Bangladeshi meal.

A Bread Within a Broader Mughlai Table

Within the Mughlai kitchen, Bakarkhani is not an isolated item but part of a broader spread that includes kebabs, stuffed breads, kacchi biriyani, patisapta, and preparations of duck and chicken. The Mughlai style is characterised by the generous use of meat and dairy—lamb, goat, beef, and yogurt—combined with mild spices, a profile that distinguishes it from the hotter, more pungent preparations found elsewhere in Bangladeshi cooking. Bakarkhani, as a thick spiced flat-bread, fits naturally into this milieu as a bread component that complements richer meat and dairy dishes. It is most commonly paired with tea, a pairing that echoes the broader Mughlai custom of serving Kashmiri tea alongside korma on special occasions such as Eid and weddings. In Dhaka, where the city's food culture blends Mughlai, Central Asian, Armenian, Persian, and native Bengali influences, Bakarkhani represents the bread tradition of that layered heritage, standing alongside the city's other signature preparations like Haji biryani and Morog pulao.

From Court to Common Table

For many centuries, the Mughlai culinary tradition from which Bakarkhani descends was largely the preserve of the wealthy. Mughlai cuisine, often lavish and expensive in its ingredients and preparation, was out of reach for the majority of people living in Bengal. The Nawabs of Dhaka had introduced this courtly food culture, but its full expression—rich meat dishes, dairy-heavy preparations, and elaborate breads—remained a luxury. Bakarkhani, as a spiced flat-bread from that same tradition, would have been part of that exclusive sphere. The shift came gradually as Bangladesh's economy grew, making the ingredients and techniques of Mughlai cooking more accessible to a wider population. What was once a courtly delicacy became a recognisable part of the city's everyday food landscape. Today, Dhakai Bakarkhani is prepared in Dhaka as a familiar item, often served with tea, a far cry from the centuries when its Mughlai relatives were reserved for the tables of the Nawabs and their circles.

Spice, Oil, and the Broader Ingredient World

Bakarkhani is described as a spiced flat-bread, and that spicing sits within a long history of flavouring in Bangladeshi cooking. Before chili peppers arrived from the Americas, the region relied on black pepper and chui jhal to bring heat to its dishes, and the aromatic profile of Mughlai breads like Bakarkhani would have drawn on those earlier spice traditions as well as the milder spice palette characteristic of Mughlai cuisine. The broader Bangladeshi kitchen works with an extraordinary range of ingredients—two hundred and fifty plant-based elements alone—giving cooks a vast palette for seasoning and flavouring. Mustard oil was the traditional edible oil of the region before soybean oil arrived, and while rice remains the foundational staple across the country, breads like Bakarkhani offer a different vehicle for those spices. In Dhaka specifically, the city's culinary customs draw on Mughlai, Central Asian, Armenian, Persian, and native Bengali sources, and Bakarkhani's spiced character reflects that confluence of traditions layered over centuries of preparation.