Role of bread in Kashmir’s cultural identity

In the picturesque region of Indian-administered Kashmir, amidst its snowy Himalayan landscapes, a unique and ancient bread culture thrives.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, before the first call to prayer echoes through the streets, the kandurs (bakers) of Srinagar are already hard at work, firing up their tandoor ovens. Nestled in the snow-covered Himalayas at the northern edge of India, this disputed region between India and Pakistan is known for its stunning beauty, with snow-capped glaciers, crystal-clear lakes, lush fir trees, and rushing rivers, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Kashmir’s rich history is shaped by Buddhist pilgrims, Islamic rulers, Sikh dynasties, and Central Asian Silk Road traders, who brought their cultures, crafts, and traditions to this historically significant region. Kashmir’s diverse bread culture is a legacy of the Silk Road, the ancient trade route connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. While rice remains the staple food in most households, bread is the foundation of the local economy and community.

Local bakeries produce around ten different types of bread daily, each with its unique rituals and times for consumption. Kashmir’s bread culture, rich in tradition and passed down through generations, may deserve recognition as a UNESCO intangible heritage, potentially rivaling France’s renowned boulangerie tradition. 

“I wanted to capture the daily life of Kashmiris and talk about the one thing that everyone can identify with, a love for food,” Mehvish Altaf Rather said. Disturbed by the prevailing narrative of violence and politics surrounding Kashmir, she decided to explore another facet of local culture to tell a broader story. 

“The identity of Kashmiris is constantly threatened, so bread is part of a culture that we hold onto very dearly,” she explains, emphasizing how the kandurwan, or bakery, serves as a gathering place and cultural hub in Kashmiri society. Kandurs, the traditional Kashmiri bakers, use clay tandoor ovens to bake a variety of breads, a practice similar to those found across Central Asia. The word "tandoor" itself comes from the Persian term “tanur,” meaning oven. Despite its ancient roots, the technique of baking in clay ovens has remained largely unchanged and is deeply embedded in Kashmiri culture. 

“These kandurs are experts in extracting information out of you! The conversation will start with an innocent ‘Did you hear the news?’ and after some raised eyebrows, it will lead to the customer divulging the juiciest bits of news,” says food writer and author Marryam H. Reshii, who splits her time between Srinagar and New Delhi.

“Sometimes when my husband takes more than 30 minutes for what is actually a five-minute job of picking up the morning bread, I know he’s catching up on all the local news at the kandurwan.” 

Reshii, who grew up Catholic in Goa, was intrigued by the bread traditions of her Kashmiri husband, noting how they differed from those in Goa, where Portuguese bread-making techniques blended with local flavors. “India has a very diverse bread culture, but Kashmir’s is wholly unique,” she says. 

In Kashmir, most loaves of bread are baked in an underground tandoor at a kandurwan, whereas in other parts of India, they are cooked on a pan or in an oven. 

By Naila Huseynova