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| Parsi meal cooked by Farida Nanavaty of Karrylicious Kitchen |
My series #foodocracykitchens is about celebrating food cooked in home kitchens across communities and this instalment is about Parsi food. I do write about the food of the Parsis often, possibly because I am married into the community. I am a Bengali, who lived in Iran as a kid for a year. Married to a Parsi, who is yet to visit Iran herself.
By Parsis, I am referring to the community that traces its origins to Persia, practices Zoroastranism and is said to have to come to India from Iran around 1,2000 – 1,300 years back.
This post is about the traditional Parsi Sunday meal that we had yesterday. No, not dhansak. The answer that might have come to your mind, if you are somewhat familiar with the food of the Parsis.
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| Chicken curry with the 150 year old recipe, rice and kachumber by Farida |
The lunch that we had yesterday was a fabulous Parsi chicken curry rice one. Yes, while dhansak and Sundays are said to go together for Parsis, my wife actually grew up having curry on Sundays. This curry has a base of ground coconut, nuts and spices, the intensity and mix of which varies from house to house.
The Parsis, like the Goans, believe that the curry tastes even better the day after it is cooked, and so we saw when we had the leftovers for lunch today. As they believe does the dhansak, and as the Goans and East Indians believe do the sorpotel and vindaloo.
The Parsis, like the Goans, believe that the curry tastes even better the day after it is cooked, and so we saw when we had the leftovers for lunch today. As they believe does the dhansak, and as the Goans and East Indians believe do the sorpotel and vindaloo.
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| The afternoon after |
The Parsi curry has potatoes just as the Bengali murgir jhol, mangshor jhol and machher jhol do. The chicken in this was very tender. Leg pieces. The aroma of roasted coconut came out the moment one opened the neatly packed boxes.
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| Cutlet, cutless, cutlace |
Farida had sent chicken cutlets too. These are referred to as ‘cutless’ and ‘cutlace’ colloquially. Some say because Parsi grannies could not spell the word cutlet, a dish made by the British. Others say its because the lace-like feel of the egg batter coating. We have had the good fortune of having Farida’s cooking a couple of times before and Kainaz (my wife) fell in love with her cutlets right from the beginning. K tells me that this makes a classic Parsi breakfast along with pav. That’s what I did today after heating the cutlet on a saucepan.
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| Cutlace pav breakfast |
There was salli chicken kheema as well. K calls Farida’s cooking ‘Bombay Parsi’ as it is not as spicy as the Parsi food cooked by another Parsi home chef whose food we are fond of, Marukh Mogrelia of Mahrukh’s Kitchen. Farida is a Bombay girl, while Marukh was born in Navsari in Gujarat and her food has a prominent spice hit which makes it distinct from what have tasted. K says that the food cooked by her paternal grandmother was rather spicy. Food writer and theatre actor, Kunal Vijayakar, who has possibly eaten more Parsi food than most Parsis, says that the Parsi food he grew up eating was a lot spicier than today and that he misses that.
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| Salli kheema/ kheemo |
Rhea Mitra Dalal, who runs Katy’s Kitchen along with her husband Dr Kurush Dalal, ascribes the tempering down of the Parsi palate to the ‘urbanification’ of the community. Less physical labour leading to a more sedentary life and exposure to international flavours through travel, changing the tastebuds of the new generation of Bombay Parsis.
The salli kheema of Farida, like her sali chicken, reminded K & me of the food one gets in Parsi weddings in Mumbai. A bit sweet, a bit sour, savoury and spicy. The potato straws giving it textural contrast and a hit of salt to balance the sweet notes.
Parsis love their ‘continental’ food. A legacy from their exposure to European food through the British and Farida had sent a beautiful creamy mushroom dish which was very addictive and went well with the garlic bread that came with it.
It is not easy to get access to this sort of Parsi food in Mumbai and I doubt if it would be cooked in modern, nuclear Parsi families often as cooking this is labour and time intensive. You do get Parsi food in the few Irani cafes remaining in south Mumbai and if you get invited to a wedding or a Navjyot but that is ‘festive food,’ not home food.
Here’s a big shout out to all the home chefs, who through their efforts, have made such wonderful food available to us during the lockdown. They have spoilt us for all that will follow.
Farida retails her food under the brand Karrylicious Kitchen. An enterprise started by her daughter Karishma Nanavaty during the lockdown, with the latter’s friends asking her to retail her famous chocolate fudge. Farida, joined in bringing in recipes from the family kitchen and together they have won the hearts of many. Showing that one can make fresh beginnings even in the lockdown. How inspiring is that?!
Mumbai based Karrylicious Kitchen has a weekend menu and take ad hoc orders in advance and can be found on Instagram.
Do watch this video to know more:
Do watch this video where Rhea Mitra Dalal speaks of Parsi home cooking:
My earlier story on curries and cutlets and Mahrukh’s Kitchen.
