Dastarkhān

Dastarkhān
	A Kyrgyz dastorqon being prepared for an afternoon meal (of paloo (pilaf), not pictured) during Nooruz.
Place of origin	Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Suriname, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
	Cookbook: Dastarkhān; Media: Dastarkhān;

A dastarkhwān (Perso-Arabic alphabet : دسترخوان, Kyrgyz: дасторкон, Hindi: दस्��रख़्वान, Kazakh: дастарқан, Bengali: দস্তরখান, Uzbek: Dasturxon, Nepali: दस्तरखान) or dastarkhān, is the name used across Central Asia, South Asia and the Caribbean to refer to the traditional space where food is eaten.^[1]^[2]^[3] The term may refer to the tablecloth which is spread on the ground, floor, or table and is used as a sanitary surface for food, but it is also used more broadly to refer to the entire meal setting.^[2]^[3] The Mughal Indian cookbook Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh, which details the Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow, emphasized the importance of the dastarkhwan.^[4]

Dastarkhwan is a Turkic word meaning "tablecloth".^[1]^[3] It is used in many other languages of the South-Central Asian region such as Balochi, Bengali, Urdu, Sindhi, Hindi, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Dari, Pashto and Nepali.^[5]^[6]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Ken Albala. Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia: Four Volumes ABC-CLIO, 25 mei 2011 ISBN 978-0313376276 p 49
^ ^a ^b Suad Joseph, Afsāna Naǧmābādī. Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Family, Body, Sexuality And Health, Volume 3 BRILL, 2003 ISBN 978-9004128194 p 285
^ ^a ^b ^c Glenn Randall Mack, Asele Surina. Food Culture in Russia and Central Asia Greenwood Publishing Group, 1 jan. 2005 ISBN 978-0313327735 p 39
^ Everaert, Christine (2010). Tracing the Boundaries Between Hindi and Urdu: Lost and Added in Translation Between 20th Century Short Stories. Brill Publishers. p. 75. ISBN 9789004177314.
^ Brice, Nathaniel (1864). A Romanized Hindustani and English Dictionary Designed for the Use of Schools and for Vernacular Students of the Language. Trübner & Co. p. 66.
^ Yates, William (1855). Introduction to the Hindustani Language: In Three Parts, Viz. Grammar, Vocabulary, and Reading Lessons. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press. p. 128.