Niloufer Mavalvala’s books have helped to bring Parsi cooking to widespread attention. In this latest Behind the Cookbook feature, Niloufer tells ckbk about the origins of this unique style of cooking and how she came to write The Art of Parsi Cooking (just added to ckbk) and its followups including The World of Parsi Cooking.
For those unfamiliar with Parsi cuisine, it stems from a culmination of Persian and Indian cuisines. It is what migrants from Pars (hence Parsis), a region of ancient Persia inhabited by followers of Zarathushtra or Lord Zoroaster, also known as Zarthostis and Zoroastrians, embraced and adapted to when they landed in India. Eating local produce meant creating a variant, which slowly evolved into a unique and distinct cuisine. The addition of spices and coconut, both plentiful, were introduced to their cooking. India was being colonised, and the food was influenced by them over the years. The Portuguese gave us vinegar, the British gave us custards, and the Dutch introduced us to biscuits that we call batasas.
As a young girl, my memory of growing up with delicious meals is vibrant. I only enjoyed eating Parsi food, and everything else seemed to be extremely foreign to my palate. My parents often took us on family holidays to other countries, and while I loved everything about that, I struggled to ever enjoy a proper meal. Back home, my mum continued to prepare other cuisines that they fancied, but fortunately it was only for dinner parties, and I was allowed to enjoy simple everyday Parsi cooking. Food was important in my family, and I had a hearty appetite to relish it. Our table conversations were often about what to cook next.
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