XINJIANG- There is no other food that better encapsulates the culture and cuisine of the ethnic group in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province than “Naan”, a baked flatbread.

Naan is a leavened, oven-baked (usually using a tandoor) or tawa-fried flatbread. It is characterized by its light and slightly fluffy texture and golden-brown spots from the baking process. 

Naan is found in the cuisines mainly of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Caribbean.

Naan is also the Uyghur bread served all throughout Xinjiang province.

There is plenty of unique food in Xinjiang worth trying, but this local bread is different.

Naan is a daily necessity for locals in Xinjiang. Shops making and selling naans can be found everywhere.

The term “naan” comes from Persian nan, a generic word for any kind of bread. This word was borrowed into a range of languages in the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, where it came to refer to a specific type of bread. The term then spread around the globe along with the style of bread itself.

Photo: A naan shop in the grand bazaar of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang (By Mahnaz Abdi)