Purani Haveli, located in the Old City of Hyderabad, is the origin for this kind of a naan. It is very unique in the shape of a square. You will find on both the sides of the road shops selling this kind of a naan.
The history of this naan dates back to 1851 but the present shop was moved to Purani Haveli around 70-80 years ago. Hussain who started this shop in 1851 was said to have worked as a Munshi(secretary) with the Nizam of Hyderabad. After leaving his work with the Nizam for some unknown reasons, he started this naan shop. Even after his retirement, he was called the Munshi and hence the shop and the dish was called that way.
Munshi Naan makes five basic shapes of the bread. The ‘Char koni naan’ is the most popular. The other shapes of the Hyderabadi Naan are a completely round shape, the oblong or the classic naan shape that we see elsewhere, the star shape, and the pan or heart shape.
Abbasi Naan is another old naan shop close by that’s more than a hundred years old. The other naan shops in Purani Haveli are relatively newer compared to Munshi ‘n Abbasi.
