Cookbook author Niloufer Mavalvala is on a mission: to revive her ancient cuisine one recipe at a time.
“Our cuisine doesn’t have a flag, an anthem or a country,” said the 2020 Gourmand International Best in the World winner. She was referring to India’s Parsi community, part of the Zoroastrians, who left ancient Persia (now Iran) for the subcontinent between the 8th and 10th Centuries.
“When partition took place, the Parsis were also divided by history,” she added. “Our tiny little community spread its wings and migrated to every corner of the world [but had limited] access to authentic recipes or the joint family system that generally passes down the skills. They were at a loss.”
Traditionally, Parsi cuisine would often feature complicated recipes with elaborate prep work, such as finely chopping herbs, grinding pastes by hand, and making many sauces, chutneys and preserves to accompany meals – something that is particularly difficult for members of the diaspora who are either short on time or can’t find all the ingredients where they are living.
Through her blog Niloufer’s Kitchenand cookbooks like The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders, Mavalvala aims to simplify recipes without sacrificing flavour or authenticity, suggesting alternative ingredients while illustrating how the dishes were customarily served. She also cuts down on extensive steps – and tedious clean-up.
One of her most visually striking special-occasion recipes is shirini zereshk palau (sweet barberry pilaf), where ruby berries stud a bed of glossy, saffron-tinged rice that cradles juicy cuts of chicken. Zereshk is the Persian name for the widely cultivated oblong-shaped berry found particularly in South Khorasan, Iran; and palau (pulao or pilaf) simply refers to seasoned rice cooked in stock. But the word shirini in Mavalvala’s signature recipe serves three purposes.