Where it comes from
Nan pyar entered Burmese teahouse life through Indian migrants and became a breakfast institution, especially across Yangon and Mandalay. Bakers slap the dough against the walls of a hot clay or metal oven so it puffs and blisters in minutes. Most often it is torn and dunked into pe pyote, a bowl of buttery slow-cooked yellow peas, marrying Indian bread-making with the Burmese love of legumes at the start of the day.
On the plate
Soft and chewy with a faintly smoky char from the oven, it pulls apart in fluffy, buttery shreds. Dunked in the savory brown peas it turns rich and hearty; dusted with sugar it becomes a simple, comforting sweet.
How it works
Yeast fermentation produces gas that, trapped by the developed gluten, makes the bread puff and turn airy in the oven's fierce heat. The high wall heat sets a thin crust fast while the inside stays soft, giving the bread its signature blistered, pillowy texture.
Variations
Butter-sugar nan pyar, plain nan pyar with brown peas, with mutton curry, sesame-topped version
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓20 min active · 90 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 110 min
Mix flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and water into a soft dough.
- 260 min
Knead until smooth and elastic, then cover and let it rise for about an hour.
- 310 min
Divide the dough into balls and rest them briefly.
- 45 min
Roll or stretch each ball into a teardrop or round shape.
- 55 min
Slap the dough onto the inner wall of a very hot oven or griddle it in a hot pan.
- 65 min
Bake until puffed with charred, blistered spots.
- 71 min
Brush the hot bread lightly with butter or oil.
- 82 min
Serve warm with slow-cooked brown peas, or with butter and sugar.
