Parsi platter, a melange of flavours

I fondly remember my first visit to Mumbai in the age when it was still called Bombay. We, a group of friends, had gone there to have a look at the city, but came back to Delhi after playing Bridge indoors day after day. There were a few hours of glorious respite from those rigorous sessions, though. And that was when a friend’s Parsi aunt fed us. I still remember her ‘dhansak’, a Parsi must-have dish of meat and mixed dal.

News reports and social media posts about the Parsi community, following the death of industrialist Ratan Tata earlier this month, reminded me of my food-filled days in Bombay. Ever since that visit, I have been a card-holding member of the Parsi food fan club. My fondness took root when I had my first look at (and subsequent taste of) ‘salli boti’ or ‘salli ma gosht’. Meat and potatoes is a great combination — think of ‘aloo gosht’ of North India, or the mutton curry with glistening chunks of potatoes in the eastern meat curry. But a dish of crispy fried potato julienne atop a meat dish is in a class of its own. And, it’s a simple dish to cook, as I learnt from ‘Secrets from the kitchen’ by Bhicoo Manekshaw.

You fry onions with cinnamon, and when the onions turn mushy, add ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin powder and red chilli powder. Add the meat and toss over high heat. Add tomatoes, green chillies, some water, and let the meat cook. Before serving, garnish with fried crispy straw potatoes.

Another great Parsi dish is ‘patra ni machhi’, fish wrapped in banana leaf. I still remember the ‘tilapia fillet’ I once had at the Parsi Anjuman in Delhi. The fish had been steamed in a leaf after being smeared with a sweet-sour-spicy chutney of mint and coriander leaves. And how can one forget ‘akoori’, scrambled eggs cooked in different ways: with tomatoes, with raw mangoes and brinjal, with green garlic, with dry fruits and nuts, and so on.

What makes Parsi food special is the melange of influences. Parsis, followers of Prophet Zarathustra, reached the coastline of Gujarat after fleeing religious persecution in what was then Persia, between the 8th and 10th centuries. The food evolved over the centuries, folding in Iranian, Gujarati, Maharashtrian and European flavours.

Eggs, meat and fish occupy the high table, but there are a few memorable vegetarian dishes, too. Some Parsi chefs tell me that they often substitute the main meat or fish ingredient in a dish with paneer or vegetables when specifically asked for vegetarian food. ‘Dhansak’, for instance, may be cooked without meat, too. You can have ‘patra ni paneer’ — steamed paneer — or ‘khara papeta’, a potato curry. And the book ‘Eat Live Pray — A Celebration of Zarathushti Culture and Cuisine’ tells us that candied turnip was a part of the king’s table during the Achaemenid Empire, also known as First Persian Empire.

Then, there is ‘lagan sara istew’, a sweet-and-tangy wedding special vegetarian dish, the sweetness coming in from jaggery, the sourness from vinegar. Because of the Parsi connection with Gujarat, the food embraced the region’s sweet and sour flavours. For me, Parsi cuisine is all about looks and flavours. The food, I realise, is as understated as the community — and quite as elegant.

Dhansak

Ingredients

Meat 1 kg

Mixed dal (arhar, moong, masoor chana) 2 cups

Ginger-garlic paste 3 tbsp

Red pumpkin (diced) 1 cup

Brinjal (chopped) 1 cup

Methi leaves ¼ cup

Spring onions (chopped) 1 ½ cup

Coriander leaves (chopped) 3 tbsp

Green chillies (chopped fine) 4-6

Tomato (chopped) 1 ½ cup

Curry leaves 3 tbsp

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Kashmiri mirch 2 tbsp

Dhansak masala (available in market) 3 tbsp

Garam masala 2 tbsp

Salt To taste

Oil As required

Tamarind soaked in water A small ball

with a piece of jaggery

Method

Wash mutton. Put in a pressure cooker. Add half the ginger-garlic paste, salt and a pinch of turmeric. Add 5 cups of water and pressure cook for half an hour or till tender. When done, pour the broth with the meat pieces into a bowl and keep aside. In a pressure cooker, add chopped vegetables (except the tomatoes), coriander, green chillies and methi leaves. Add washed dal. Add 8 cups of water. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat when the dal gets soft. In a big degh, heat oil and add curry leaves. Now add tomatoes, dhansak masala and garam masala. When the tomatoes turn mushy, add tamarind water. Add the cooked dal, after passing it through a sieve, into the degh and the broth from the mutton. Let it simmer. Add boiled mutton pieces. It should have a thick, dal-like consistency. Serve with hot rice.