Warq-E-Nuqra 

A Touch of Silver Leaf

In tune with UpperCrust’s 25th anniversary celebrations, Gautam Anand traces the history of edible silver foil, regally known as warq or vark, with recipes to try

Sometimes known as vark, warq is a fine filigree foil sheet of pure metal – usually silver, sometimes gold – used to decorate South Asian confectionery and food. Though edible, silver and gold are entirely flavourless. Of course, an ancient Egyptian would propose that the ingestion of edible silver leaf and gold leaf would grant the consumer healing properties. No doubt it is in echo of this sentiment that silver foil of this kind was manufactured and introduced to Indian sweets in the first place.

Warq isn’t just prized for its beauty or its healing properties. Some trace its use in food to ancient times, when Ayurvedic texts recommended it for its medicinal and purifying properties. Others credit the Persian tradition of gilding food with the introduction of warq to the subcontinent. What is certain, however, is that the art of bedazzling dishes with warq was perfected in the decadent delicacies of the Mughals, with kingdoms from Hyderabad to Lucknow to Rampur incorporating the foil into their courtly cuisines as well.

Silver was used largely in currency, too, with the rupee the preferred currency in the Mughal Empire because of its consistent weight and purity, and reliability in trade. The empire’s currency also included gold coins called Mohur and copper coins called Dam. The Mohur was usually equivalent in value to 15 silver rupees. The silver value of the rupee maintained a stable relationship with gold until the early 1870s. It was recognised across the empire’s vast markets. The silver rupee introduced by Sher Shah Suri was the precursor of the modern rupee.

Here is a story from an era gone by, on how warq came to be popular in the royal palaces of the Mughal dynasty, how the allure of silver filled the senses and how it evolved to warq as we know it today, used as celebratory decoration. 

Prologue

 Shab-e-vasl thee, nehar ka kinara tha,

Bagal me sanam the’, chandni Samaa tha 

Khuda meherbaan tha…

 ‘It was a night-time meeting, on the banks of the moonlit canal,

Romance was in the air with my lover by my side, yes,

Even the gods were smiling’.

(A poor translation from the original Persian by me)

 It was a dream that frequently recurred in the fantasy world of Padshah (Jahanara) Begum.

Jahanara had been in love with a commoner named Mirza Najabat Khan and had confided her feelings to her mother Mumtaz Mahal. Unfortunately, Mumtaz Mahal died before she could plan for her daughter’s marriage. Her father’s melancholy and the internal sibling war within the family took a toll on Jahanara’s happiness. If Jahanara favoured her brother Dara, the other sister Roshanara sided with Aurangzeb. Jahanara and Roshanara were rival sisters, diversified in their nature. If Jahanara was kind-hearted, Roshanara was crafty. It was the internal feud among siblings that was the start of the decline of the Mughal Empire.

Surrounded by controversy, conspiracies and tragic loneliness, yet Jahanara made her mark in Mughal history, remembered as an accomplished princess. Builder, ship owner, astute businesswoman, patron of the arts and culture and precious objects, metals, fabric, Shiraz wine and above all else, the dazzling embellishments or garnishes on dishes, whence every creation was a masterpiece. Why hurry over beautiful things? Why not linger and enjoy them? She would often say. The Era of Mughal garnishes and presentation hence peaked under her watchful gaze.

Amongst the noble metals of India, the allure of silver especially was evident in her collectables and patronage. Silver, she found, was the most poetic and Jahanara’s personal world was draped with silver, from her apparel to jewellery, and above all, warq e nuqra (silver leafing on food).

Silver for her was an expression of beauty, romance bordering on sensuality. She often stated:

‘Gold represents power, wealth and torment.

Bell metal is heavy, auspicious and is riddled with superstitions.

Thus silver it was to be’.

 Chandni Chowk

This was certainly visible in her creation of the world’s first luxury street, in what was the Mughal Capital of Shahjanabad. She had a deep love for the chowk which was an octagon with sides of one hundred yards and a long canal in its centre (Faiz Nehar). To the north, Jahanara built a caravan serai (roadside inn) and a garden and, to the south, a bath. On certain nights, the moonlight reflected pale and silvery from the central pool and gave to the area the name Chandni Chawk (Silver or Moonlight Square). This name slowly displaced all others until the entire bazaar, from the Lahori Gate to the Fatehpuri Masjid, became known as Chandni Chawk (chowk).

The grand inaugural dinner was hosted on a full moon under a silver and white marquis shimmering with silver zardozi. Whilst the foods on offer were plenty and were embellished with silver warq the magnum opus of the evening was the Chandi Qaliya (whose recipe we share below) delicately topped with flavoured khoya marbles, lovingly covered by warq e nuqra. Served with bakarkhani and motia pulao.

Chandi ka warq or silver leafing on food is a beautiful example of India’s nazakat (delicacy) and nafasat (purity)! The word ‘warq’ has been derived from Arabic language meaning leaf. It is believed that the use of gold and silver in Indian delicacies dates back to the period of Ayurveda. Scientifically, silver acts as an effective anti-bacterial coating and increases shelf life of the product.

If you are planning to visit a confectionary store, you are in for a silver treat. It shouldn’t be surprising that the delicacies are studded with edible silver sheets, locally called as chandi ka warq. It is also used to cover idols across the country. The chandi ka warq shops at Chowk have been able to survive and thrive even in the 21st century. Lucknow, Delhi, Hyderabad, Undivided Punjab, amongst others, are major centres for warq production because of its predominant position in the Mughal era and cuisine thereafter.

In Lucknow, while walking down from Akbari Darwaza in the Chowk area, one can witness the sound of constant hammering. This is by the warq makers. Rassiullah, a warq karigar from Irshad Warqwale’s shop explained the intricacies of the craft to us when we visited the Chowk. These thin sheets are achieved through hammering of a small piece of 9 gm silver inside a leather pouch which is placed over granite stone. In total, 165 layers of silver strips are placed between layers of leather and hammered for over 5 hours. When these papers are peeled away, the silver foils are revealed. For this reason, edible silver leaf is incredibly fragile and sensitive to human touch, breaking into smaller pieces when coming into direct contact with skin. What makes this pure silver specifically ‘vark’, however, is its application in the production and manufacture of sweets. In South Asia, a candy seller of this kind will offer products with warq laid atop or rolled over. In addition, such a seller might also offer dry fruits and spices combined with silver leaf specifically made for the purpose. A particular delicacy is the application of warq onto mounds of saffron rice on platters.

Chandi ka warq is not only used for covering rice or desserts like kheer, phirni, shahi tukda but also other items like paan, chyavanprash, dry fruits, veg & non-veg dishes. It is also an important ingredient in sevai, a popular dish during Eid. Indeed, more often than not, silver is used in sugar balls, betel nuts, cardamom and other spices. It is not uncommon for spices to be altogether coated in silver and it is often deemed a blessing as such.

Walk into any Indian sweet shop around Diwali and you’ll discover mountains of milky sweets piled behind the glass, decked out in pastel colours and glimmering squares of precious metal. Chandi ka warq is commonly found on sweets such as barfi, badam ki jali (an almond biscuit-like treat), and qubani ka meetha (an apricot sweet). Gold, or sone ka warq also exists, but is less common. Besides sweets, warq is often pressed onto paan, an elaborate breath-freshener and mild stimulant made of mixed spices and areca nut wrapped in betel leaves.

Owing to its sheer popularity, the government of India has issued some firm food safety and product standard guidelines for manufacturers. This is to ensure that it is thin enough to be edible. The craft of making warq involves precision and perfect eye-hand coordination while hammering. The importance of medieval Indian cities in the preservation of this extremely tedious art, is second to none and we wish that these fankaars keep enhancing our delicacies for ages to come!

In recent years, however, the efficiency of machine-made warq has put traditional artisans out of work, with some predicting that manual warq-making may die out altogether. Another dubious modern innovation: the proliferation of fake warq in the form of super-thin aluminium foil. While traditional silver warq is safe to consume, these modern imitators are not.

If in doubt as to the warq’s legitimacy, give the surface a little rub. If powder comes off on your fingers, it’s aluminum foil. If, however, your fingers emerge clean, it’s legit.

How warq is made 

Warq starts its life as a pure metal dust that is placed between parchment sheets. These sheets are then pounded until the dust collates together to form a kind of foil. This process generally takes a couple of hours.

The traditional method of manufacturing warq used ox gut or cowhide instead of parchment sheets, wherein the particles of metal dust were pounded between their manifold layers. It is, in fact, easier to separate the silver leaf from the tissue of these animals than it is to do so from parchment paper, hence this method was so popular for so long.

India has, however, a vast vegetarian population not suited to the consumption of meat or products created through animal cruelty. Despite issues with the ethics of the product in a country like India, worldwide consumption of warq is at around 275 tons annually.

Today, many manufacturers of warq have switched to the use of more modern technologies, evolving the production of silver leaves throughout India, Germany, Russia and China. Such technologies include beating the silver particles over sheets of black, special treated paper or, alternatively, using polyester sheets for the purpose. These latter sheets are coated with food-grade calcium powder – playfully nicknamed ‘German plastic’ – and are used as a lasting alternative to ox guts and cowhide.

  Still, despite the fact that the method of manufacture has seen plenty of change in recent decades, there are still concerns about the ethical acceptability and food safety of warq. Not all of the silver used in the production of warq is pure silver, nor is it all hygienically prepared. Up until very recently, the ox-gut method was the go-to and it still is in some places. Due to this grinding effect of the hammering, some animal intestine becomes part of the silver which is then sold in bulk and is thus inseparable. Awareness of this fact brought about a significant decline in the usage of warq in sweets throughout India and other South Asian countries.

 FAQs on Silver Warq

Is silver warq healthy?

While silver warq does not have any nutritional value, it is not necessarily bad for you if prepared in the right way. An ancient Egyptian would have you believe that the consumption of a metal leaf in this way was a holy act, that it would bring you close to spiritual nirvana.

 Is silver warq veg or non-veg?

Prior to 2016, it was still legal for silver warq produced in India to be made using the old method. This involved hammering silver dust between sheets of ox gut or cowhide for a couple of hours until it was formed into a sheet. This methodology is now illegal in India owing to growing concerns surrounding the large vegetarian population.

 How do I use silver warq?

Due to the fact that silver warq is essentially flavourless and lacking in nutritional value, its principal value and usage seem to be the fostering of an atmosphere of decadence. Silver warq is, then, best utilised as a decoration on foods and confectionery products.

 Beauty and silver warq

Silver’s antimicrobial power has been hailed for thousands of years. Historically, it’s been used to heal wounds, soothe burns and replenish skin issues. Utilising the metal’s natural capability to nourish and restore skin is what makes our silver skincare so effective. Some of the benefits of silver for your skin include:

Anti-inflammatory - reduces redness and swelling of acne and blemishes.

Repairs tissue - targets wrinkles and fine lines by stimulating tissue regeneration.

Powerful antioxidant - combats free radicals to reduce oxidative stress, which can cause premature ageing.

Soothing agent - can help settle rosacea, psoriasis and eczema.

How does silver work?

The silver ions penetrate bacteria and bind to the cell wall so that no substances can enter or leave the cell. These positively-charged silver ions bind to the oxygen receptors that bacteria use for respiration and metabolism, disabling them. Much like iron, silver is a powerful carrier of oxygen. When it comes into contact with an infectious microbe, it releases an oxygen ‘burst’ which kills pathogens. Silver penetrates bacterial cell membranes, preventing the bacteria from replicating and growing.

 Is silver harmful?

Being in contact with silver is not harmful to humans, consider the silver jewellery that many people wear on a daily basis. When using silver topically, it’s important to make sure that the product is of the highest quality and to understand the type of silver that it contains. That’s why we would never recommend anything other than true silver hydrosol. ARgENTUM only uses silver hydrosol of the highest grade. ARgENTUM comes from the symbol Ag, derived from the Latin argentum and Sanskrit argunas for “bright”.

 Silver for the soul

Beyond its healing powers, this cosmic element is tonic for the soul. Embodying the moon’s energy, silver cools and reflects. Time spent with this energy inspires connectivity, both to your inner self and the world around you.

In Ayurveda’s ancient chakra system, silver is associated with the sixth chakra, or ‘third-eye’. This chakra is the centre of your intuition, where you access your higher self. Self-reflection is a key part of creating more openness in this chakra, an aspect represented in silver.

Gifts of silver in many cultures are given as a symbol of trust, wisdom and love. In antiquity, they were even given to protect against evil.

   I conclude with this poetic verse on the silver leaf:

Jiski khushboo se mehek utthe fizza

Jiski rangat se bhi aa jaye maza

Ho nafees aur lazeez har luqma

Zaiqa iska ho har ek se juda

Khaa ke ho jaye khush jo mehman

Hum sajate hai warq e nuqra se hind ka dastarkhwan

‘The aroma of which pervades the air,

A sight, which adds to its flavour,

Aesthetic and appetising in every morsel,

With a taste unmatched and unique,

Prepared just to please our guest, is the meal,

That we garnish proudly with silver leaves at our table of India.