 |
| Salli per eedu |
Of all my attempts to make the Parsi breakfast favourite salli per eedu so far, today’s was by far the best. Which is why I thought I will tell you what I did to get it right. Give you the recipe in the process (in italics) and an insight into real life cooking, which is different from the picture perfect world of cooking shows.
I woke up, fed the boys. Showered and went into the kitchen. Took out the La Folie sourdough loaf that we had Swiggy’d in earlier from KC Roasters, Bandra, and began to slice it. Little Nimki appeared and climbed onto the work station and headed towards the loaf to sniff. I tried to push him away with my palm and after my third attempt, picked him up and deposited him on the bistro table in the hall, which I call our dining table, went into the kitchen and shut the sliding door.
I washed my hands again and took out three eggs which I had earlier kept in the oven from the fridge (for the temperature to come to room temperature). I had kept them in the powered off oven as the last time I kept them outside, little Nimki (our kitten) knocked an egg on to the floor and smashed it.
Today was my turn to do so! I tried to take all three on my palm at one go and one slipped out of the oven and fell on the working surface and broke.
I looked aghast and then took another egg out from the fridge, kept it aside and began to finely chop an onion, a tomato, ginger and a green chillies (2 tablespoons in total).
Our cleaning lady came to the kitchen at that point and I requested her to clean the mess while I moved to a corner and began making the sali per eedu.
I heated a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan and added the onions and then the tomatoes and a bit of finely chopped ginger. I did an Insta boomerang while stirring this and then posted it.
I suddenly realised that the onions had began to burn, took them off and quickly chopped some more onions and put them in. Standing in a corner and cooking while the cleaning lady cleaned at the other end.
I then got Alexa to change tracks. I had asked her to play Kanye West earlier after watching the David Letterman interview of Kim Kardashian the previous night. A couple of songs down the line I realised that this was not my scene and got her to play Dire Straits instead.
I added a teaspoon of Mangal dhansak masala to the pan and stirred the onion, tomato and chilli in it.
I then added the salli (potato straws) remaining from the salli kheema that Farida Nanavaty had sent us the day before and mixed it with the contents of the pan and spread it out to cover the surface of the pan.
I then took a teaspoon of the garab nu achar (Parsi fish roe pickle) by Zinobia Schroff and mixed it with the contents of the pan till they were infused with strong Parsi culinary flavours.
I then cracked three eggs, one after the other, into the pan. In each case the yolk decided to go on a swim across the pan instead of holding its shape. Organic eggs from Nature’s Basket. I covered the pan with a lid, reduced the flame and put the sourdough slices into the toaster.
The toast was done and I turned off the gas and let the eggs cook a bit more in the residual heat after I sprinkled some sea salt on the egg, coriander leaves and drizzled on a few drops more of Parsi pickle oil.
I took off the lid after 20 seconds, took the pan into the hall, took pictures in good light, cut the contents of the pan into half, put them on K’s and my plates along with toast, shot out a Nespresso espresso and sat to eat.
 |
| The Parsi in the house approved |
One bite and I knew we had a winner. Then I heard K say from the sofa, in between her work call, “this is very good.”
My job was done and hopefully you got the recipe.
Not given to me by a Parsi and hence not ‘authentic’, but turned out rather well.
19 years of being married to one counts for something!
 |
| Finely Chopped Breakfasts |
Do read:
How breakfasts at home together became our thing after the lockdown
The Parsi food that Farida Nanavaty had sent the day before
Lovely. Will try this some day.