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Kid gosh, chicken Russian pattice, roti. My Navroze 2019 lunch. I had cut open the pattice so that you can see what’s inside |
Dear diary
I recently looked up the meaning of the word ‘blog’ while answering a question for an interview. Here are a couple of interesting answers that I found while doing so.
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Google Dic |
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Cambridge Dictionary |
Navroze Mubarak and to new beginnings
When I asked later K about what she used to have as a kid on Navroze, she did look rather flummoxed. “I would not have breakfast,” she said. She still does not.
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Veg pulao dar (sic), lagan nu istew, kachumber, veg kevab. Parsi veg. K’s Parsi birthday |
On K’s birthay, we had mutton pulav dal and mutton kevabs (sic) in non-veg while my mom and mama in law, who have turned to vegetarianism of varying degrees over the years, had veg pulao dal, kevabs and lagan nu istew (a sweet stir fried root vegetables dish).
I love the Parsi mutton pulao. I find it a tad similar to the biryani of Kolkata, especially in contrast to the high octane Mumbai biryani which is smothered with masala. Some folks put fried potatoes in the Parsi pulao too. They do not do so at Katy’s. Kurush said that his mother, the late Katy Dalal, felt that putting potatoes takes space away from the more important stuff in a pulao. Just as we Bengalis do not, no Parsi boy argues with his mother either. Which means that while the phenomenon known as Dr Katy Dalal is no more, Kurush will not give us alu in the pulao! You get boiled eggs in it though as you would in the ‘special biryani’ of Kolkata. Excellent quality and subtly flavoured rice and mutton which is more tender than the smile of a Parsi granny. The stuff of dreams sweeter than the sugar sweetened milk that the Parsi priest had offered to the king of Gujarat when they came in to Mumbai, in my books.
The ‘common love’ for fish comes with qualifiers in any case. They love sea fish in general barring the boi which we call Parshe. Most Bengalis (not me) are manic about eating only fresh water fish and look down on fish from the sea; and while they are both steamed, in banana leaves, the Parsi patrani machhi (pomfret largely steamed in a green, coriander, chilli and vinegar chutney) is rather different from our maacher bhetki paturi (bhetki usually, steamed in a ground mustard seeds, green chilli, turmeric and mustard oil paste).
Given the price of pomfret in the Shravan markets of Mumbai, where there is a fishing ban in Mumbai, ordering in the patrani machhi and sas ni machhi on Navroz would be too expensive and mutton it was and in my world, that is a good thing!
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Mutton pulao dar, mutton kevabs kachumber. K’s Parsi birthday from Katy’s |
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Kid Gosh |
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Veg cutlet, Khaman pattice (in white) |
Though they liked it when they had it on K’s birthday, they did not want to repeat the lagan nu istew in a week’s space. Which is understandable.
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Kora nu murabba, lagan nu custard |
There was the lagan nu custard too of course. Meant for weddings as the name suggests, but had on all happy occasions by Parsis. I have had versions made by various Parsi restaurants and caterers, but they really ace this at Katy’s. My late father in law was a big fan of their’s.
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An entire tray of lagan nu custard from Katy’s on K’s birthday |
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Chicken Hakka noodles of India. Similar to the Hokkien mee of Malaysia and Singapore. This is from Mamagoto |
And dinner? I called in for the chicken Hakka noodles from Mamagoto which are rather nice. This too was quite Parsi new year appropriate. Let me explain why.
From what I gather, it is (or was) impossible to get a table at China Garden, Ling’s Pavilion (Nanking once upon a time) on Navroze. And, at Dadar, in Gypsy Chinese. Even Kurush and Rhea, regulars at Ling’s, go a day before the new year to Ling’s as Baba cannot guarantee a seat on the Parsi new year. The Parsis love to eat Chinese on Navroze is the secret noone told you about.
Mixed marriages and some Mughal wisdom
My breakfast got me thinking and I remembered my history lessons from school. Specifically about what we had learnt about how the Mughal Emperors would apparently marry Rajput princesses with an aim to expand their empires. I think the Europeans did that too. The British, Russian, Portuguese etc royalty did inter-marry quite a bit. And the folks in the Game of Thrones, but then that is fiction.
I mean look at me yesterday, relishing Parsi delights which I was not even aware of while growing up. Would this have happened had I not married a Parsi? (K, in case you read this, this was not the primary reason of course!)
Perhaps this was a secret that the royalty never shared with us commoners. Their formula of making the kitchen at home more interesting by marrying outside of the clan.
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Make way for miss kaatla kalia |
Recipe for the kaatla kalia (for 2) that I made and this could vary from person to person:
1. Smear the pieces of fish with turmeric and red chilli powder and salt and shallow fry it in mustard oil
2. Heat a tablespoon of mustard oil and then add in a dried red chilli, a fresh slit green chilli and a few whole cumin seeds
3. Add the paste of half an onion, when a bit brown, 1 teaspoon of ginger paste and half of garlic
4. When done, paste of half a tomato (not all add this)
5. Then add spice mix (1 teaspoon of garam masala, 1/2 each of cumin and coriander and red chilli powders and 1/4 of turmeric), add salt and a touch of sugar
6. Mix in and then add fish and then 1/2 a tea cup of water. Bring water to a boil and then reduce the flame and let it cook for 3,4 min and add a bit more water if you need
PS: Best had with pulao. You can add some cubed potatoes to it or fried cauliflower florets
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My Sunday lunch of pulao and kaalia |
Thank you Kalyan, a very happy B'day to K and loads of love and wishes to Mama, teddy, K and you for Navroze. May this year bring you health, wealth and greater prosperity!
@kurush thank you so much for making our special occasions even more special. Amen to that