# Hindi/Urdu: TaRka and Baghaar



## lcfatima

As far as I know, the cooking technique of tempering is called _taRka_ (_lagaana_) in some places and _baghaar (lagaana_) in other places in the Hindi/Urdu speaking regions. It seems to me that _baghaar_ is used more in Urdu (at least Pakistani Urdu and for Hyderabaadi Indian Urdu speakers), and _taRka_ in Hindi, but I am not sure if my observation is correct. They both appear to be Indic words.

Also, _taRkaari _is used sometimes, I am not sure if this is now the adjective for _taRka_ or just another way to say _taRka_.

Can I have more information about these words, where is each term used?


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## panjabigator

Never heard <baghaar> in my life.  Tell me, is that an aspirated _gh_ or a _ghain_?

In my house, we use <taRkaa>, which is also synonymous for the wee early morning hours.


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## lcfatima

baghaar is aspirated, not ghain in the middle


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## Faylasoof

Actually, for 'baghaar' we use the verb 'denaa' - بگھار دینا - or simply 'baghaarnaa' ( بگھارنا ). Used by native Urdu speakers from both India and Pakistan. Is 'lagaanaa' more of a Punjabi trend?  I've seen 'taRkaa' (as in taRka daal) in menus of Indo-Pak restaurants in the UK - mostly run by Bangladeshis!! So I wonder if it is Bengali. In Urdu-Hindi common idiom, 'taRkaa' also has another meaning = early dawn!  For example, ‘taRke uT-hnaa’ (تڑكے اٹھنا ) = subH savere uT-hnaa (صُبح سویرے  اٹھنا) = to rise very early.  Incidentally, ‘baghaarnaa’ is also used in a completely different sense. If someone is showing off, then we also use this verb as: woh bahut shookhee baghaar raha hai = he is really showing off / flaunting. [ shookhee jhaaRnaa ( شوخی جھاڑنا ) is also used.]  ABout 'taRkaari'  I have no idea. Never used it. But 'tarkaari' as you know is 'vegetables'.


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## lcfatima

Maybe I just invented baghaar lagana based on the fact that one says taRka lagana. I will have to ask.

I didn't know tarkaari meant vegetables, either. I thought tarkaari might mean something to which taRka had been added. But it isn't even a retroflex R on tarkaari?


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## Faylasoof

No, tarkaari = تركاری . No rertroflex R here. I just confirmed that in Punjabi it is indeed 'taRkaa lagaanaa' = bag-haar denaa'.


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## lcfatima

Maine bhi kisi se abhi poocha. Auntie ji kehti hai.n kisi cheez ka baghaar bhi *lagaa *sakte hai.n.


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## Faylasoof

OK! But in both Luckhnow and Karachi we always used and heard 'baghaar dena' from native Urdu speakers. Some variation I guess.


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## BP.

In our home we say _bag-haarna_ e.g. _daal tay-yaar hay, bas bag-haarnay ki kasar hay_. I guess in the rest of the country they rather use _taRka_, since all the cooking shows feature the word.

NaheeN aapa _tarkaari_ has nothing to do with _taRka._ It means sabzi but I've never heard it outside of our household.

Are you sure what you call tempering is _bag-haarna_ and not _dam dayna_ (we don't call it that, something along the lines of _seejna_ or something else)?


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## panjabigator

Do you not pronounce the aspirated <gh> in <baghaarnaa>?


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## Faylasoof

OK PG! This really is the last one before I go. It is like this:بگھارنا . The 'h' is loud and clear. More above in my post 4.


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## BP.

We do. It IS an aspirated g/گ. I write these broken by a hyphen to distinguish گھ from غ and کھ from خ etc.


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## lcfatima

_Dam dena_ is when you cover something tightly to let it finish cooking, and cook it on low heat. Like when you finish cooking the biriani rice which was previously par boiled after you have layered it with the gravy. Or when you slow cook something with the lid on for a long time to tenderize the meat. Edit: removed information about dhungar.

_Baghaarna_ (a new verb for me!) is when you fry spices in oil to release their flavor, then either add in other ingredients, or pour the oil and spices into something else. It is sometimes done at the beginning of cooking, sometimes at the end, sometimes both depending on what the dish is.

You know, I will ask a few more people about baghaar lagaana because sometimes I get wrong answers from regular non-instructor and non-linguist or non-lingophile folk, which is why I pose questions here.


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## Lugubert

This might be the environment for asking what I've tried for years to understand.

In Rudyard Kipling's _Kim_, the dish _tarkeean_ is very significant in one chapter. It seems to be a curry thing. I've danced around tarkaari and taRka, but never pinned down any exact correspondence. Ideas?


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## Faylasoof

Hello Lugubert!   I’ve created a new thread to answer your question here: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1209101If  If for anyreason this link doesn't work go to the thread called Urdu:كھِچْڑی  !


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## Cilquiestsuens

I also confirm that taRkaa is a Punjabi word.... *taRkaa Laana*.....


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## panjabigator

<taRkaa lauNaa>.  <lauNaa> means <lagaanaa> in Urdu.


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## Illuminatus

My mother uses both these verbs.

_taRka lagana_ and _Bagarna_ (just a g) is the way she says it.

_tarkaari_ means vegetables but I haven't seen it being used a lot.


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## panjabigator

Does it mean vegetables in the same that way that <bhaajii> does?  Never heard it before.


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## Illuminatus

Haan. _Bazaar jaa kar kuch tarkaaree le aao._


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## BP.

We call _bhaajee_ _bhujia_. I've heard Gujaraatis et al. calling it your way.


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## Faylasoof

tarkaaree = vegetables (uncooked or cooked); bhujia = vegetables cooked in a certain way - usually fried but can also be steamed and fried mix.


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## lcfatima

Just as a follow up, I was able to ask a few more native speakers and all agreed that baghaar lagana was acceptable.


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