‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ – A Review

The below book review first appeared in the spring 2019 issue of Hamazor (UK). 

‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ 

(A Review by Dinshaw H. Patel)

The delight of perusing a good cookbook is that it takes one beyond the mere recipe instructions and into the realm of culinary history and ethnography.  Niloufer Mavalvala’s second cookbook, ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’, encompasses all these qualities, and hence, it is a definitive Parsi reference cookbook for both gastronomy buffs and food anthropologists alike. 

The book is meticulously put together with an array of high resolution photographs complementing the written recipes.  The instructions on how to prepare are detailed yet written in simple and understandable language that even the most timid home cook would be able to master.  Plus, the ‘Tips’ on the unique nuances in preparing each item are very useful. This is presented in tandem with a visual glossary of ingredients, the preparation process in a series of images, followed finally by the picture(s) of the completed and garnished, ‘ready to serve’ item.  Hence, ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ would be of much value in the kitchens of professional chefs as well as amateur gastronomic hobbyists.

Yet, what makes this book truly interesting is that each recipe is prefaced with an explanation of  the Parsi cultural practices associated with the food, many a time its nutritional value and its origin, often tracing the recipe’s journey from its birth in Persia to the Indian Subcontinent.

Similar to the French, the Parsis too are a food-focused people.  There is a menu for every occasion, and an occasion for every menu.  While mere eating is an indispensable human activity, feasting on a sumptuous meal prepared in the most exacting way is a cultural trait.  Ordinarily, and in celebrations, Parsis are known for devouring lavish breakfasts, lunches and dinners.  In a way, the Parsi culinary culture reflects the industry and prosperity this small community has enjoyed for centuries on the Subcontinent, ever since they landed on its shores as refugees from Persia.

To highlight the gastronomic ethos of the Parsi community, Niloufer, in the ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’, has thematically grouped the chapters, starting with ‘Mamaiji nu Pinjru ~ Grandma’s Pantry’.  The recipes in this section are rarely found in other cookbooks for they are more like family heirlooms that have orally come down from one generation to the next. However, with mass exodus of Parsis from the Subcontinent to the Gulf countries, Europe, North America and Australasia, these uniquely Parsi culinary foods are gradually heading towards extinction.  ‘Mamaiji nu Pinjru’ revives these endangered foods which are mainly accompaniments, such as uniquely Parsi style preserves, pickles, chutneys and spreads. And without these condiments, no traditional Parsi meal would feel complete.For instance,  ‘Murumbo – Sweet White Gourd Preserve,’ though a staple spoonful companion with several Parsi dishes, is slowly disappearing for those who have migrated from the Subcontinent.  Although, at first glance, items from ‘Mamaiji nu Pinjru’ may seem a bit intimidating by the sheer traditional aura surrounding their names, following Niloufer’s cooking instructions makes this preserve easy to prepare and still as deliciously authentic as from Grandma’s Pantry.

Similarly, there are several recipes under each of the other groupings, such as ‘Mithhu Mohnu ~ To Sweeten the Palate’, ‘Tarkari nay Daar ~Vegetables and Pulses’, ‘Jhinga Machi ~ Seafood’ and ‘Murghi anay Gos ~ Chicken and Meat.’

There is much in the book to satisfy all diets, including lacto-ovo-pescatarian and vegan.  Moreover, in the introduction, Niloufer often cites the nutritional value of the particular food. 

‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ soars on the quality and quantity of its recipes.  Niloufer, in every recipe, emphasizes the importance of attaining the perfect sweet and savory blend to fully gratify the receptors of the traditional Parsi palate.  As she herself aptly puts it; 

"Tikkhu-Khattu-Mitthu” (Spicy-Sour-Sweet) is considered the Holy Trinity of Parsi cooking, and perfecting its balance is the key between mediocrity and perfection in any Parsi dish.

Niloufer Mavalvala, (nee Wania) was born and raised in the cosmopolitan port city of Karachi, which offered a mosaic of ethnic cuisines cooked with fresh ingredients and meats easily available from both land and sea. Moreover, she grew up in a household with expert cooks.  Her mother was her primary guide and inspiration towards her early culinary education;

“My mum Shireen in her own right is an outstanding chef who only believes in perfection … It is with her infinite knowledge and nurturing that I am able to do what I do best.”

Another influence in the Wania household was her aunt, Villie Mehta.  As an expert on Parsi cuisine,  she was very instrumental in “… popularising the food of the Parsis at Victory Stall, the Time & Talents Club.”  In Niloufer’s own words;

“She (Aunt Villie) has been my inspiration.  Sharing our passion for food, teaching and experimenting with new ingredients, she has helped me in so many ways.”

Niloufer sums up the influence her two culinary mentors had on helping her to excel in her career in gastronomy;

“My mother and my Aunt Villie have been the two greatest influences. Mum for teaching me the finer points of cooking with exacting measurements and always pushing me toward excellence. My aunt teaching me the importance of not wasting any part of the fruit, vegetable or meat and being able to create through the mind’s palate.”  

And at her parent’s home lavish lunch and dinner parties were a norm for, as she mentions;

“No one ever left our home without sharing a meal…A perfect hostess (Niloufer’s mother), she loved to entertain and always created different menus for every dinner party she ever had.”

From an early age Niloufer took keen interest in cooking.  It was her passion to shadow her elders in the kitchen while they prepared exquisite meals, working their hands in precision with the skills they had acquired  from their seniors. 

Hence, Niloufer’s culinary training and workshop were in her own home kitchen and it is here through her natural talent, an innate passion for gastronomy, and sheer perseverance,  that she became a truly autodidact chef.

Under the vigilant supervision of her elders, Niloufer, by her mid-teens, had mastered all the necessary cooking skills and knowledge to comfortably perform at all levels of her kitchen’s ‘brigade de cuisine.’   By the age of seventeen, she had become sufficiently proficient in culinary skills to independently hold her first cooking class.

Although ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ exclusively focuses on Parsi cuisine, Niloufer’s culinary repertoire extends far beyond the periphery of Parsi or Indian foods.  From childhood, Niloufer has travelled extensively around the world and, in the midst, her keen interest in gastronomy has led her to understand and learn about food cultures from various regions of the world.  Hence, it is not surprising that several of her cookbooks, recipe blogs and cooking demonstrations have an international flare to them.  Viewing some of the titles of e-books (for example - “Persian Fusion,” “Moroccan,” “French Bistro,” “Spanish Tapas,” “Winter - A party menu,” “Soups,” “Autumn - A fun menu,” “Gluten Free,” etc.), it becomes evident that  her expertise in food culture extends far beyond the borders of the Subcontinent. Even her experiential cooking classes offered from her own home kitchen takes one on a global journey, such as,  Chicken in mustard and balsamic, Mussels in a smoked salmon cream sauce, Harira soup, hors d’oeuvre tidbitsand much more from all corners of the world.  In addition, she frequently writes on gastronomy for the Huffington Post and other magazines.  Niloufer also maintains much presence on social media with food related articles and recipes which has a following of over half a million readers internationally. She has appeared on several television food shows and recently gave a cooking class to “forty enthusiastic foodies” at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, in the U.K. 

With all this knowledge and experience, Niloufer Mavalvala has become a celebrated chef and an authority on Parsi cuisine.  Her first cookbook, ‘The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine’ (2016), was extremely well received with excellent reviews and continues to remain in print.  Between the two books no recipes are replicated and, while ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ focusses on recipes for special occasions, her first book has mainly recipes on what Parsis eat on a daily basis. 

Both,  ‘The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine’ (2016) and ‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ (2019) complement each other and, if Niloufer Mavalvala in the future decides to combine  the two books and arrange them alphabetically into one, it would truly be the first encyclopedic compendium of  Parsi recipes, beginning with ‘Akuri’ from the first book and ending with ‘Zereshk Berry Palau’ from the second book.

‘The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders’ is sold for USD 30.00.  For further information on retail outlets selling the book, visit Niloufer Mavalvala’s web page;

http://www.nilouferskitchen.com   

Comment on Boris Johnson's BURQA remarks.....

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/06/boris-johnsons-burqa-remarks-fan-flames-of-islamophobia-says-mp?CMP=fb_gu

Much will be lost in terms of freedom of expression if Boris Johnson succumbs to the pressures of the holier-than-thou and apologises. 

Boris often gets criticized by the political ‘correcties’ for his tongue-in-cheek expressive style, yet his argument on the face covering burqas is quite valid.  He referred to it as a ‘letter boxes’ while Churchill described the same about a century back as ‘walking tents.’  

When France, entrenched in its jurisprudence of  Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, has banned burqas in public arena and when the most accommodating and liberal Denmark implemented a similar ban, Boris Johnson’s point cannot be flippantly dismissed as being ‘Islamophobic’ or ‘Anti-Mohammedan.’

Banning the wearing of burqas is neither a Right or Left Wing issue.  It is a matter of basic security.  Humans identify others mainly through facial features.  So far yesterday’s attackers of Bookmark Bookshop in Bloomsbury London have not been caught as they were masked.  Did not the terror suspect, Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed escape internal and border surveillance by disguising himself as a woman wearing a burqa?

The banning of burqa in public places is neither an infringement of individual liberty nor does it fall within the realm of bigotry and intolerance.  It is towards the protection of society at large similar to banning masked faces or Ku Klux Klan hoods in public.

Hope Boris does not bow to the pressure from the political ‘correcties’ or get forced by May to retract an opinion too honest for our time.

Happiness & the Ode to Joy

This article was originally written for a local publication.  The central question being examined is whether music can evoke happiness and with specific reference to the iconic Ode to Joy.  

__________

Happiness & the Ode to Joy

By

Dinshaw Patel

“Where words fail, music speaks,” wrote Hans Christian Andersen.

Often music evokes emotions more ferociously than speeches or banners.  Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, who composed the Marseillaise was specifically commissioned to write a piece with such fervour of nationalism that it would “mobilize and incite the French to rally against tyranny.”  Similarly, the influence of music on emotions is also witnessed in auditoriums.  For instance, at the traditional last night of the Proms, the patrons get into an amplified state of camaraderie and belonging during the sing-along of Edward Elgar’s “The Land of Hope and Glory”. 

This melody from Elgar’s march was also adopted by some Parsis as their surrogate anthem replacing the original lyrics with ones more germane.  Often social gatherings were not complete without some pianist or baritone leading the crowd into a joyous chorus with,

Children of the Royal Race of Noshirwan,
Rally round his banner, sing of old Iran
Charity and Ashoi, these are watch-words true,
Mazda Lord of Good Mind, ever will save you,
Mazda Lord of Good Mind ever will save you.

Such is the power of music on human emotions.   But, can it be asserted that music, in general, leads to happiness?  And, more specifically, with focus on “Ode to Joy.”

In layperson’s terms, happiness can be defined as a cheerily uplifting emotion.  However, since music and emotions are connected, can it be argued that because not all emotions are feelings of happiness, melancholic music brings sadness? On the contrary, for those who know the value of a good cry or a cathartic release may find that sad or angry music can bring about happiness indirectly.

This form of happiness is linked to the stimuli through the senses and, therefore, is short-lived and of fluctuating intensity.   However, there is another form of happiness which, rather than being euphoric, is a more permanent state of mind offering a comforting feeling of security, abundance and peace.  The Ode does justice to both cadres of happiness.   

As part of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th symphony, the Ode covers only a third of the complete work and yet, it eclipses the rest. Hector Berlioz called it the “culmination of its author’s genius.”  In recent times, while screams of joy, freedom and hope accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ode wafted from speakers in all corners. It is also the anthem of the European Union.  In many an instance, the Ode has become the signature piece for causes and movements.  Hence, it would not be an exaggeration to state that the Ode to Joy is one of the most familiar compositions in the western musical canon.

Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed the 9th symphony. Yet, in his stubbornness, he insisted on conducting the orchestra and chorus at its premiere.  It is said, “He directed the piece himself; that is, Beethoven stood before the lectern and gesticulated furiously. At times he rose, at other times he shrank to the ground, he moved as if he wanted to play all the instruments himself and sing for the whole chorus."  At the end, he continued conducting though the orchestra had finished.  His disability had silenced all instruments, voices and applause.  For Beethoven, the symphony only existed in his mind’s ear.   

But beyond the spontaneous euphoria that the Ode inspires with the orchestra and voices at their peak, the symphony also gives a message of hope that happiness and joy can be attained when one rids the devils of social divisiveness from within and, instead, embraces comradeship and unity. Without getting into the nuances of the modifications that Beethoven made to Friedrich Schiller’s “An die Freude,” the underlying message stands firm like a statue - when individuals bond in uniting more than dividing, all of humanity will live in perpetual bliss.  With such a prophetic message, the Ode is often referred to as the, “Anthem of Humanity.”   In contemporary times John Lennon in his song “Imagine” gives a similar message that peace and happiness are only possible when geographical and ethnic diversities are deemed irrelevant.

The 9th symphony has been a part of me since vinyl days, yet without any formal training in music, I can only offer a subjective and a nontechnical interpretation.  Yet, as Harvey Sachs in his recent book,  The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824, points out that the symphony "belongs to each person who attempts to listen to it attentively" making it a highly personal experience. He further adds, “Unlike, say, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Beethoven's masterpiece authentically can and perhaps should mean something personal and different to everyone who approaches it.”  A more tongue in cheek comment emphasizing the same point was made by the famous conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler who said,“Trying to nail down the 9th symphony to a definitive meaning is like stabbing a butterfly to an entomologist's wall.”  However, it is only in the choral finale where Beethoven, in communicable language, advocates his message of universal kinship.  The three preceding movements  leading to this message are open to interpretations.

Personally, this colossal symphony takes one on an emotional journey relating the story of human society mutating from a state of dystopia to one of utopia. A message that when fraternal solidarity replaces disunity it brings happiness.  The symphony takes one on the voyage through its four distinct movements. The first with its choppy melodies echoes a sense of chaos and uncertainty.  Reflecting an anarchic state. The type of society where harmonious cohabitation is honoured in the breach than the observance.  As the movement approaches the end, a funeral march comes into play foreshadowing the death of humanity if selfishness and xenophobia are let to flourish.

The second movement gives a sense of order but within the rigidity of a totalitarianism.  Life for humanity becomes a toil of perfunctory existence where obedience and allegiance take over freewill and choice.  As Anthony Burgess aptly put it, “When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.”  

This despair comes to a sudden halt with the beginning of the 3rd movement.  The softness of its harmonious melody continues like an unbroken chain in its multitude of euphonious variations.  It is like the heavens are directing humanity in the direction of never-ending blissful happiness.

The 4th movement mainly encompasses the iconic Ode to Joy.  It is here that Beethoven’s music gives eloquence to Schiller’s poem.  It begins with a grandiose introduction.  It then moves very softly to the main melodic theme of the Ode progressing thematically to louder orchestral variations of the same.  Finally, the instruments allow the vocals to blend putting Beethoven’s fraternal message in a lyrical form.  The following are some examples;

Oh friends, not these sounds!

Let us instead strike up more pleasing

and more joyful ones!

Joy!

Joy!

——-

We enter, burning with fervor,

heavenly being, your sanctuary!

Your magic brings together

what custom has sternly divided.

All men shall become brothers,

wherever your gentle wings hover.

——-

Whoever has been lucky enough

to become a friend to a friend,

Whoever has found a beloved wife,

let him join our songs of praise!

——-

In “Imagine,” John Lennon in the same spirit says;

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for

——

Imagine all the people living life in peace

——

No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world

——

I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

——

Even with a century and a half’s gap between these two masterworks, the message of bliss through universal ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ remains unchanged.

The pleasurable side of the Ode increases on each additional listening.  For those who diligently memorize it from “O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!” till the end will find a private or public sing-along a truly exhilarating experience especially as the instruments and voices blend into making the Ode to Joy a work of multiple genius;

Freude, schöner Götterfunken

Tochter aus Elysium,

Wir betreten feuertrunken,

Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!

Deine Zauber binden wieder

Was die Mode streng geteilt;

Alle Menschen werden Brüder

Europe on $10 a day

Europe on $10 a day

At present it may seem an absolute impossibility, yet in 1978 travelling through Europe on $10 a day was quite manageable.  For intercity travel, I had a 2-month unlimited pass (Eurail) on all Continental trains within Western Europe (‘Western’ in the Cold War context.)  Hence, the $10 per day was towards accommodation, food, local transport, entrance to sights and other miscellaneous expenses.

In places with stronger currencies, such as, the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland and others, occasionally going over the budget was a necessity.  Here my nylon tent came in quite handy to save on accommodation.  Also through friends I had free-stay in the Netherlands and Vienna.   As an interesting side anecdote, between Stockholm and Helsinki the Eurail pass also allowed travel on a sealiner.  The ship departed from each city at 5 PM and reached the other at 8 AM the following morning.  It offered a lavish smorgasbord at an affordable price, shower, swimming pool and sauna facilities plus spaciously reclining seats for sleeping.  The boat became my nightly accommodation while alternatingly daily between these two cities. 

On the other hand, Spain was comfortably affordable.  It was still recovering from the economic ills of its Francoist legacy and I was able to survive on $6 per day.

Hence, at the end it did average to “Europe on $10 a Day” as the title of a then bestseller on travel suggested.

The journey commenced in London.  As UK was beyond the periphery of the Eurail pass, I hitchhiked to Dover and ferried my way to Calais.  Then onwards it was the Eurail pass. 

The countries I travelled through were United Kingdom, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.  I decided to skip Italy as they had just discovered the corpse of their Prime Minister Aldo Moro in the trunk of a car. The police and the army, in their pursuit of the Red Brigade members and sympathisers, were randomly harassing, interrogating and arresting many young travellers.

In a way it was not a vacation but an autodidactic journey.  It was my first visit to Europe’s greatest museums and art galleries.  I saw my first Tosca (which was also my first opera) at the Wiener Staatsoper and followed the entire Schubert Festival season at the Wiener Musikverein with maestro Karl Bohm.

There were also many thrills.  It was a creepily exciting feeling on the lonely deck of the midnight boat from Denmark to Sweden when through the fog I saw the blurry silhouette of Hamlet’s castle when sailing past Elsinore.  I could practically imagine the king’s ghost on the roof of the fortress uttering, “Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night…”  The other exciting memory is jumping from a sauna into the coldest lake imaginable in northern Finland and repeating the process several times.  Yes, and nightly skinny-dipping in the Mediterranean after evening after evening of binge drinking and partying in Sitges, Spain.

Now follows the pictorial essay of Europe on $10 a day.   

PRISON NOTEBOOK (A fiction by Dinshaw Patel)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1541379519/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495034283&sr=1-1&refinements=p_27%3ADinshaw+Patel

(Paperback can be purchased directly from AMAZON)

Sam is a compulsive writer. Convicted for killing an intruder in his home, he writes the ‘Prison Notebook’ from his cell in solitary confinement. This is the second time in his life that he is imprisoned. Over fifty years earlier, he was in a juvenile jail falsely accused of raping his sister. In-between the two terms, he lived a hermit’s existence in the forest. There he decrypted god to discover serenity in the world of existential nihilism. From earliest days solitude remained his desired companion. He equates societal living with slavery where essence supersedes existence and turns living “into a numb, perfunctory experience.” The ‘Prison Notebook’ is a compilation of anecdotes drawn from the protagonist’s life. A tale is woven by connecting the dots from his childhood through to the end of his life. Each chapter title is a countdown to his seventieth birthday. On the same day, he plans to kill himself. For Sam, death is a transformation into a state of oblivion that alone can offer “ultimate freedom.” The story is nameless and placeless symbolising Sam’s own unadulterated psyche. He never mentions any character by name. There are two separate individuals in the book that he refers to as the “boy.” His own name too is only revealed by the author of the epilogue. The location where it transpires is similarly unknown. Yet, given that there are references to Genet, Orwell, Shakespeare and the Bible, it can be deduced that the events take place in some country in the western hemisphere. The ‘Prison notebook’ is a novel questioning the foundation of cultural values imposed by society.

Bicycling from London to Paris (2015)

Bromptoning from London to Paris
(Saturday 12th to Wednesday 16th September2015)
The route was between two iconic sights – from the London Eye to Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris.
After five days, approximately four hundred kilometers and over two hundred thousand pedalling rotations, I completed the journey that had dominated me for the past several months.
En route there was a stream of breathtaking scenery, quaint towns and gastronomic delights.
Yet, upon completion, when asked, “What was the best part of the trip?” My facetious but truthful reply was, “when cycling downhill.”
-------------
Except for the inconvenience of pelleting rain on the last day or over exhausting myself cycling one hundred and twenty kilometers at a stretch in one day, it went without any disruptive mishaps or annoyances. Much credit goes to the Brompton bicycle for its reliability, manoeuverability and functionality. A piece of masterful engineering and design. It performed flawlessly. No punctures with the Schwalbe Marathon tires, smooth gear changes through its combination of Wide Range gear hub and a two speed derailleur system and a rattle free performance. Folded, it is two feet by two feet by one foot. The light weight (13 kilograms) Brompton fitted perfectly in a suitcase to carry it as normal luggage across the pond.