Walking by means of the Jaggu Chowk within the slim lanes of Mitha Bazaar in Jalandhar, an previous store that invokes prompt nostalgia and opens a trunk of reminiscences of undivided Punjab is “Gujranwala Sweets” the place 70-year-old girl, Bimla Rani, welcomes prospects with a heat smile and shortly the perfume of freshly ready karah katlama fills the air.

The store is equally well-known for its king-size aloo-poori-chana which the household serves with six forms of pickles — carrot, amla, mooli, kachalu, kaddu (pumpkin) and bhakri ki launji (dried mango pickle). (Express picture by Divya Goyal)

It was Bimla Rani’s father-in-law Burra Mal, a local of Gujranwala, who had learnt to arrange this delicacy from a Muslim prepare dinner earlier than the Partition and since then the household has been preserving the style and heritage of undivided Punjab. After the Partition when he had migrated to Jalandhar, his son Hans Raj (Rani’s husband) took over “Gujranwala Sweets”, the one store making ready “karah katlama” in east Punjab.

Rani, who learnt the recipe from her husband, is now maintaining the custom going and there’s hardly a day when she isn’t seen within the store, supervising the employees to comply with the precise recipe.

So what precisely is karah katlama? The dish is nice and salty, and needs to be savoured piping scorching to expertise one of the best, says Rani. “I only learnt this recipe from my husband which was his family’s legacy. My father-in-law had started making this delicacy in Gujranwala but after Partition he had to migrate to India. But he continued to make it even in Jalandhar and opened Gujranwala Sweets here. Since my husband’s death in 2014, now me and my children are taking care of it,” says Rani.

Katlama is fried, crispy, flaky bread with a number of layers. It finds its origin in Turkey the place bread ready with a number of folds was referred to as “katlama” (or Qatlama). However, later, the bread turned extraordinarily well-liked in Pakistan and one of the best of its high quality began being ready in Lahore, Peshawar, Gujranwala and so forth, utilizing one of the best of the spices.

Eaten collectively, the karah and katlama go away guests with such flavours that folks even journey from overseas to catch the previous style of Gujranwala as soon as of their lifetime. (Express picture by Divya Goyal)

Served alongside katlama (which is made from maida) is karah, the gentle, candy, velvety, gooey sooji (semolina) halwa which is made in pure desi ghee. But what stands out within the karah made by this household is its distinctive color and texture. While the karah is often brown after the sooji is roasted, the melt-in-mouth karah at Gujranwala Sweets is white in color and but totally cooked.

Eaten collectively, the karah and katlama go away guests with such flavours that folks even journey from overseas to catch the previous style of Gujranwala as soon as of their lifetime.

Rani’s son Raman Kheeva, 39, says that it was all resulting from a Muslim chef, with whom his grandfather Burra Mal had exchanged a recipe, that the household obtained this distinctive legacy. “People come from faraway places, including those who have their roots in Gujranwala, to taste karah katlama. My grandfather and a Muslim chef had exchanged their recipes in Gujranwala. During weekends, we sell at least 100-150 plates easily. My mother had learnt the recipe from my father and she has kept it going,” says Kheeva.

The store is equally well-known for its king-size aloo-poori-chana which the household serves with six forms of pickles — carrot, amla, mooli, kachalu, kaddu (pumpkin) and bhakri ki launji (dried mango pickle). The household additionally prepares gur ka halwa on demand. Their different store, in Model Town of Jalandhar, opens solely on Sundays and is closed inside hours as soon as the whole lot is bought out.

“We have never faced any issues about our shop being named after a Pakistani city. In fact, people appreciate that we haven’t forgotten our roots and from where our ancestors started. We also receive several messages from people of Pakistan on social media who wish to visit us once in a lifetime. This legacy dish is now dying even in Pakistan,” says Kheeva.