Mughlai Paratha is a fried bread from Bangladesh. We can find them freshly made at Singapore's Little Bangladesh. This was my first time tasting Mughlai Paratha and it was an interesting alternative to the ubiquitous more common roti prata and murtabak in Singapore.
(Note: I came back here many times since this post.)
There is a Mughlai Paratha station at Boishakhi Restaurant at 18, Desker Road where they make the bread fresh.
The dough made from wheat flour is rolled into thick sheets, spread by flipping like a prata, slathered with shredded vegetable, chili powder, spices and a raw egg, folded like a thick envelope, then deep fried in oil till crisp and golden brown outside.
Mughalai paratha can be filled with chicken or mutton keema but I haven't seen these at Boishakhi Restaurant so far.
Legend has it that Mughlai Paratha was created by Adil Hafiz Usman, chef of emperor Jahangir who ruled the Mughal empire from 1605 to 1627. The emperor was bored with paratha (prata) served to him at every meal and ordered his chef to come up with a new dish.
Chef Usman who was of Arab descent and hailed from (today's) West Bengal came up with Mughlai Paratha which he derived from the Turkish Gözleme (an unleavened stuffed foldover flatbread like a large but flat epok epok).
Today, Mughlai Paratha of emperor Jahangir is a common street food in Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal) and West Bengal where the city of Kolkata is located.
The fried bread is cut into convenient bite sizes and served with a generous heap of shredded raw cucumber salad. There's also a pool of tomato ketchup.
Oh.. I love this Mughlai Paratha. The outside layer was light, fluffy, crisp while inside, the thick folds were moist and softly chewy. The fried bread didn't feel greasy at all. The vegetable filling was savoury with hints of sweet, spicy and eggy. The refreshing cucumber shreds added a nice wet, soft, crunch to the bread.
I am exploring Singapore's Little Bangladesh. We were at Fakruddin restaurant for their signature kacchi briyani and borhani (yogurt).
Written by Tony Boey on 1 Jun 2022
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