These foods are a mixture of Sultani, Mughal, Portuguese, British, French, Dutch, Greek, and Armenian traditions. With it was added the style of the cooks and housewives of old Dhaka.

There were many kinds of drinks popular among the people of old Dhaka. Sheerberenj and sheer-e-faluda were two of them. The word 'sheer' means milk as the main ingredient of these drinks was milk.

Sheerberenj was made of half ground fine rice, milk, sugar, raisin, pistachio, rosewater, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. Sheer-e-faluda was made of vermicelli of fine rice, sugar, honey, pistachio, raisin, banana, mango, papaw, saffron, rosewater and ice. The faluda that is available in Gawsia and New Market is a far cry from sheer-e-faluda.

The omelets of old Dhaka are also famous as is the Hajir biriyani. There were many types of biriyanis that was made in Dhaka from the Mughal period. Among them 'torabondi' pilau was the most famous.

It was made of as many as 24 items including four types of pilau or biriyani, four types of breads, four types of kebab, four types of curry with cheese, borhani (a kind of drink), and pickles. Some items were however dropped from this dish in course of time.

Korma, mutton curry, shik kebab, cheese, mint, borhani, sheer-e-faluda, and sweet jorda were served with biriyani. Sometimes tehari, pilau, kacchi biriyani and bhuna khichuri were served in torabondi.

There were many types of breads consumed by the people of Dhaka. Sheermal was one of them. It was made of milk, ghee, flour and some spices. This dish came from Agra in the Mughal period. It was eaten with kebab, korma, and rich curry. These delicious foods are now nonexistent in the kitchens of old Dhaka.

Bakorkhani bread is one of the rare foods that exist from the Mughal period. It is served with sweetmeat or hot dishes. The bakorkhani that is available now is in fact nimshukha bread, not the original one. There were three types of bakorkhani -- gao joban, shuki and nimshuki.

Nun is a kind of bread now available in Dhaka. Other types of breads that were famous in Dhaka are -- bogdadi bread, sohaili parata, bon ruti, khasta (crisp and well-kneaded) parata etc.

Walking along the lanes of old Dhaka one will find little shops with big ovens in the middle and several people working. Some knead the flour to make khami (big round piece of kneaded flour), some make jamla (small balls from the khami), some make two deep straight cuts in the middle of the tiny disk like bread and some stay beside the big oven. This is the regular feature of a bakorkhani shop.

Bakorkhani is made of oil, flour, water, salt, dalda, ghee and cheese. After making small disk-like pieces those are put inside the oven for 10 minutes. Then those are yanked out of the oven with a metal stick and packed for sale.

"Every day I make 5,000 to 6,000 pieces of bakorkhani," said Jainul Abedin, a bakorkhani shop owner. He has two apprentices working with him -- Abdur Rahim and Musabbir.

Abdur Rahim was making jamla while Musabbir was cutting the two lines in the disk-like bread. All three were sweating profusely as the small shop was hot like a furnace.

There are four types of bakorkhani -- made of cheese, khasta, made of sugar and made of salt. The one made of cheese is the best among them. It costs Tk 3 and the others cost Tk 2.

The demand for bakorkhani is very high during the two Eids. At that time the shop owners make 25 to 30 maunds of it each day.