New Year Binge

With festive traditions changing over the years to accommodate modern lifestyles and more families preferring to eat out,Navroze is a busy day for Parsi restaurants,and customers keep coming back till a couple of days later. Ask Darius Dorabjee,whose restaurant in Camp — Dorabjee’s — prepares a special Navroze menu every year. On Thursday,the entire menu had sold out by 3 pm. However,looking at the menu’s success on Thursday and because several people missed out on the feast,Dorabjee’s will offer the same menu again on Sunday.

With lip-smacking delicacies such as chicken and mutton dhansak,salli boti and more,the Navroze menu promises to be a treat not just for the Parsi community,but for anyone who enjoys the cuisine. For those who enjoy fast food,there is chicken farchas,a predecessor to fried chicken,which Dorabjee’s cheekily refers to as the Parsi “Kentucky fried chicken”. “The chicken is first marinated,cooked slowly,then dipped in beaten eggs and deep fried. This is a nice starter,” he says. Dhansak,an iconic Parsi preparation,is dal cooked with a variety of vegetables in a typical Parsi blend of masalas,using sambar and dhania-jeera combinations. Served with brown rice and chicken or mutton kebabs,dhansak is a meal in itself.

King’s,another Parsi restaurant in Camp,will also continue its Navroze menu till Saturday. The menu features dhansak,chicken farchas and masala pomfret fry,as well as the restaurant’s speciality — Patrani Machhi. “Pomfret is covered in a green coconut chutney,wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed to make the dish,” says Feroza Pithawalla,manager of the restaurant.

The restaurant’s chelo kebabs and salli boti,and marghi are also famous traditional Persian fare. While the chelo kebabs are long mutton kebabs served with saffron rice,salli is a mutton or chicken preparation cooked in a tomato and onion gravy,and sprinkled with a crispy julienne of potatoes.

At Vivanta by Taj in Koregaon Park,the executive chef has designed a Parsi menu with rarer dishes such as prawn patio,bhindi paridu and a poha kheer. “We’ve learned these recipes from Parsi cooks and made them as authentic as possible,” says Chef Sachin Joshi. The prawn patio is a sweet and sour prawn curry with the typical taste of vinegar with onions,tomatoes and a little bit of sugar to set off the combination nicely.

The bhindi paridu is simple bhindi dish covered in beaten eggs and then baked. Adding a traditional touch to the festival,the chef will also serve mitthu dahi,or sweet yoghurt with vermicelli. “Traditionally Navroze feasts start with the mitthu dahi because it is considered auspicious,” he says.

For those who wish to end their Parsi culinary journey on a sweet note,both Vivanta and Dorabjee’s will serve the traditional lagan nu custard. “This is a rich custard with lots of dry fruits served on special occasions such as weddings or lagans,and that’s where the name comes from,” says Dorabjee.

Apart from the custard,Chef Joshi will also serve a traditional kheer made from poha,or beaten rice. “This is something a lot of Parsis eat,and is quite different from the regular kheer,” he says.