Dastarkhān

A dastarkhān (Persian / Urdu: دسترخوان, Tajik: дастархон, Bashkir: дастархан, romanized: dastarxan, Kyrgyz: дасторкон, Hindi: दस्तरख़्वान, Kazakh: дастарқан, Bengali: দস্তরখান, Uzbek: dasturxon, Nepali: दस्तरखान) or dastarkhwān is the name used across Central Asia and South Asia to refer to the traditional dining space where food is eaten.^[1][2][3] The term is a word of Persian origin meaning the tablecloth which is spread on the ground, floor, or table as a sanitary surface for food.^[2][3]

Dastarkhān

Aksakals by dastarkhān
Place of origin	Afghanistan, Bashkortostan, Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Media: Dastarkhān

The Mughal Indian cookbook Dastarkhwan-e-Awadh, which details the Awadhi cuisine of Lucknow, emphasized the importance of the dastarkhwan.^[4]

See also

• Central Asian cuisine
• South Asian cuisine
• Bengali cuisine