Kefayet Ullah; [Chef]

Unknown (Gastronomy); [Author]

Rohingya recipes

Gastronomy (GAS)

Cooking

Durus kura is traditional fried chicken, one of the more significant dishes in the Rohingya cuisine. In fact, it enjoys pride of place among Rohingya recipes for weddings and other ceremonies surrounding matrimonial rites, where durus kura is traditionally offered to the guests as a means to honour them. It is also reserved for special houseguests on other occasions.

Such is the importance of durus kura, that it is customarily cooked by the bride’s family for their new son-in-law. There is a saying in the Rohingya language which goes ‘zamai kota dusara, durus kura musara,’ which means ‘even if their son-in-law asks them to prepare an ordinary meal, the bride’s family must make durus kura for him’. The tradition requires not one but two durus kura to be offered to the son in law! This custom is still followed by Rohingya families that have migrated to foreign countries and live far away from the Rohingya heartland of Arakan.