Umea, Sweden May 27th 2023.

 This presentation below was at the Umea Food Symposium on Saturday May 27th, 2023.

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition, won a second Gourmand award, winning "Best in the World" for a cookbook series.

This is the fifth Gourmand Award for our Parsi cuisine, and a huge stepping stone for putting Parsi food culture on the global culinary map.

Awards and certificates will come and go, but the mission is truly motivated by the fact that Parsi cuisine and culture are here to stay and are recognised worldwide. Together, we accomplished this. All of us who love our food culture, our delicious lagun nu bhonu and sagun nu bhonu, and also janam and maran nu bhonu, continue to cook and master it. To all the home cooks, it is you who should be proud of keeping that flag flying for all these years, decades, and centuries. This is for all the people who came before us—our parents, grandparents, and ancestors—who simply carried on. It is all their discipline, determination, and tenacity focused on keeping our "Parsi Pannu" alive.

The presentation was well received. The mention of a unique culture ushers in a new dawn. Let us always be proud of our history, heritage, culture, and cuisine.

Being appreciated is encouraging. This was on social media put up in seconds after the presentation by another speaker from Turkey representing the Gaziantep culture and cuisine.

The honour of receiving an award from Edouard Cointreau

The personalised inscription on the award certificate

My introduction 

Life is a journey one embraces; 

We don't always know where we are going , and that, can be exciting and interesting.

I thought I would be an ambassador's wife, but fell in love and married a banker.

What I did not know then, is that I would be an amabassador for my family and for the Parsi cuisine  and community. My name is Niloufer Mavalvala, I was born and raised in Karachi and now live in Canada. My cookbooks on Parsi cooking, a regional cuisine of India, have won me four gourmand awards for which I am most appreciative. 

(I had not won my fifth award when I was presenting). 

Saturday 27^th May 2023

Umea, Sweden

Parsi cooking, where it all began.

So why Parsi? Pars, now known as Fars, is the historical name for one of Iran’s provinces and was the birthplace of the Persian Empire and its founder, Cyrus the Great (born ca. 600 BCE).  Parsis, or the 'people from Pars’, are the Zoroastrians from ancient Persia who were forced to migrate under persecution and landed up in Gujarat, India. They brought with them their food, culture, traditions, and heritage. They adapted and adopted, and Parsi cuisine was born.

 

Despite Parsi cuisine having originated hundreds of years ago, there was very little published material to share until the 1800s, when the first Parsi cookbooks were officially published. Vividh Vani by Meherbai Wadia, is the most famous and is a handwritten journal released posthumously by her doctor, who may have even been her admirer.

 

#1 To my delight, my research confirmed that the way we cooked and prepared our foods 200 years ago is still very relevant to the way we cook today. Authentic Parsi food must be well balanced. Never overly spicy nor oily, just simply flavourful. The addition of a pinch of sugar or  a piece of jaggery, well-balanced warm spices, and the addition of fruit vinegar, lemon juice or even unripe mango, all help bring out the flavour. Tikkhu, khattu, mitthu, or spicy, sour, and sweet is the trilogy one follows. While there are no dietary restrictions in Zoroastrianism, we are taught moderation, encouraged to avoid gluttony or drunkenness, to respect nature and our planet as well as the plant and animal kingdoms. 

 

Our customs and culture are rich in symbolism. Food, culture, tradition and heritage speak volumes about where we come from and how we exist. It depicts our past and shapes our future. I like to call this our "Parsi panu" about which I speak today.

#2

 

·       These silver utensils are over 100 years old and were part of my great-grandparents' homes.

·       Water, milk, and wine are symbolically filled into the three karasyas (mini-pitchers).  

 

·       In the three katoris (bowls) are a carrot and dry fruit pickle (gajjar mewa nu achar); pickled limes, (limbu nu achar); and a tomato ginger jam (tamota nay adu ni chutney). These represent the tikkhu, khattu, mitthu trilogy I mentioned. 

 

·       The mini afarghanyu is used for light, where the candles stand in for the divo, lit in many Parsi homes. 

 

·       And the soparo is where we keep the sakur, or pieces of rock sugar. I believe that no meal is complete without a grain of salt, and I have pink salt crystals for that purpose.

 

·       Marble, wood, and metal are all elements of nature, as are the water, stone and trees that represent daily life. 

 

·       Flowers brighten everything, and the traditional rose offers its sweet fragrance.

 

 

Flowers hung at the entryway, known as torans, are popular in Parsi homes. While this is a beautifully done, complicated toran expressly made for a wedding, we prepare it with seasonal flowers that are refreshed every day at dawn with fresh flowers to brighten and perfume our homes.

My books begin by sharing inspirational stories about an ancient cuisine that has remained frozen in time. From our grandmothers to our grandchildren, over generations, Parsi cooking has continued to be, in essence, much the same. Wonderfully prepared, simple fare that has flavours and health benefits beyond our conscious knowledge, taken for granted over generations.

It seems Parsis have a food for every occasion and an occasion for every food.

Cooking in banana leaves and infusing the food with its delicious aromas by wrapping and steaming the fish in them is centuries old, but the traditions continue to this day. Patra ni macchi is an iconic dish in our cuisine and much in demand by all our non-Parsi friends when they visit.

During the winter months, when most weddings take place, a thousand people are fed at tables with banana leaves being the “plate”. Typically, the wedding feast consists of seven to ten courses. It is quite an extraordinary experience. Imagine, today, being able to cater like this in New York, London, L. A. or Toronto among others.

Have you tried bhokra before? Possibly the best 'fried' cake you've ever had. Or how about batasas, the centuries-old, simple biscuits of buttery dough and almonds ? Slowly baked, they are a household staple for dipping into a cup of strong, sweet, milky tea flavoured with fresh mint leaves and lemon grass to balance the ying and yang. We call it Parsi choi.

The daar ni pori is a sweet lentil paste wrapped in a hand-made casing that is flaky but hardy enough to transport. This tradition dates to times when people travelled for days to reach their destination. The circular shape is symbolic of the earth, while the distinct outer and inner shells reflect the physical and spiritual worlds we live within.

The open Pori is something I came up with recently, it is similar to a galette. 

At this point, I described the collage at great length, when why and how the foods are served.

I wanted to thank you, Edouard and the Gourmand Awards for the opportunity these awards have opened up for me to pursue my passion of placing our ancient Parsi cuisine on the global culinary map. When one is not a graduate of an internationally acclaimed cookery school nor attached to a big publishing house, one must work harder and smarter every single day to reach the sky. But everyone needs that one person to believe in them. Thank you, Edouard Cointreau, for being that person and allowing me to introduce my cuisine to the world. 

Clarification. While I, represent Canada, the book is officially considered under the category of the regional cuisines of India since 2019, when we won the first Gourmand Award.

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition has won two awards. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers. This book was exhibited at the Alfred Noble House.

                                                The books exhibited at the City Library in Umea Sweden. 

                                    This library has the largest collection of cookbooks in the world. 

 

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is an award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.