The waves of nostalgia and aroma travel together wherever home chef and culinary enthusiast Firozi Karanjia takes her Parsi food. “Our community may be small but our food is very large in volume,” shares the chef whose next stop is The Raintree on St Mary’s Road.
Along with Chef Rashna Morena, Firozi has curated ‘Jashn-e-Bawa’, a food festival that celebrates the community’s culinary heritage through an array of authentic dishes that reflect tradition, nostalgia, and a sense of togetherness.
The idea to take Parsi cuisine on the road began as a quiet mission to keep this lesser-known food culture alive. “Parsi cuisine is getting lost somewhere. Recipes are changing day by day, and ingredients are getting replaced. We wanted to take it to hotels where people come to celebrate and through food, bring the cuisine back to life,” says Firozi.
Besides reviving recipes, the festival, which starts today, aims to raise awareness about the community itself, who migrated to India from Persia, Iran, almost in the 8th century. “We wanted to familiarise our culture through what we do best, food. Once they eat our food, they [consumers] will go back, read, and understand Parsis well,” she adds.
The cuisine carries the subtle fragrance of Iran while embracing the warmth of Indian spices. “Our base and roots are Iranian, but we’ve adapted to the Indian taste and ways over 1,300 years,” she explains. “Take the Patrani Machi for instance. Traditionally, a fish was wrapped in banana leaf and slow-cooked underground with burning coals. In India, with modernisation, we moved the process to a steamer while keeping the spirit intact.”
Remember and revive
The menu for the festival has taken a grounded journey across taste, texture, and time. The customers can expect classics like Patra Paneer, Salli Soya, Chicken Farcha, Sali Gosht, and Kheema par Eedu, ensuring the richness of Parsi flavours is well balanced.
The list also includes “lost” treasures like Ooseh Brinj — a Parsi-Iranian soup that is available on the Parsi restaurant menus — and slow cooked mutton or lamb-based Jardalu Ma Gosh, among a few others. Each dish carries a story that the Chef is excited to narrate at the dining. “For instance, Mutton Dhansak was originally a war-time one-pot meal of vegetables, and meat cooked together to sustain soldiers for days. We try to share such stories with guests as it connects them deeper to what they’re eating.”
While some of these dishes are reimagined, adapted and passed down through generations, the cuisine is so enriching that it creates an almost perfect balance between authenticity and contemporary tastes through passion and precision. The homechef shares, “We keep the traditional techniques alive, by following slow-cooking. But we adapt ingredients based on what’s locally available. We make do with the closest ingredient used in the dish that is traditionally made. It’s not about compromise but is about keeping the soul alive.”
Firozi’s masalas are heirloom recipes, “creating a delicate balance” by including dry and whole spices. “We don’t use much haldi or chili powder but the layers of spice come alive from the base of the dish. The balance of sweet, sour, and spicy is what defines Parsi cuisine. And you can taste all three in every bite,” notes Firozi.
For foodies trying Parsi food for the first time, the chef recommends going through the menu as a story — starting from the welcome drink to the desserts. “Every dish has a distinct flavour. You can tell one gravy apart from the other. And of course one can’t leave without trying the soul of the cuisine, falooda.”
Beyond a happy stomach, Firozi hopes the guests take back “the flavours, the stories, and the culture.”
The festival will be available for lunch from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm and dinner from 7 pm to 11 pm, from today until October 11. Price: `1,699++ for the thali and a la carte as per the menu. For reservations, contact: 9150070921