Imaginatively tweaked, these Parsi vegetarian
recipes promise to be toothsome
For many, a Parsi vegetarian may seem an oxymoron; those who have opted not to partake of non-vegetarian fare have often had to face incredulous reactions. However, with increasing awareness of the benefits of a plant based diet, for both health and the environment, many meat eaters are turning to vegetarian fare. Canada based cookbook writer and home chef Niloufer Mavalvala has, in The Vegetarian Parsi: Inspired by Tradition, expanded the horizons of Parsi cooking. These recipes from her book have been reprinted here with her permission.
To cater to the tastes of diehard non-vegetarians, Mavalvala has shared two recipes from her earlier book.
Top, from l, 1st row: Lemon loaf cake; rice tossed with chutney Photo: William Reavell; mushroom and peppers;
2nd row: cauliflower cheese cups; carrot akuri; makai paka All other photos: Niloufer Mavalvala
CARROT AKURI
Serves 6
Oil (2 tbsp)
Onions (500g)
Carrots (500 g — grated)
Green chillies (4 — finely chopped)
Cumin (½ tsp)
Salt (1 tsp)
Fresh coriander (a cupful — finely chopped)
Raisins (50 g)
Nuts (150 g)
For the bechamel white sauce
Salted butter (57 g)
Flour (2 tbsp)
Warm milk (1 cup)
Heat the oil and pan fry the chopped onions until golden brown. Add the carrots, chillies, cumin and salt.
Cover and gently simmer until just soft and the oil separates from the vegetables. Add the coriander. Cook another five minutes and keep aside.
To prepare bechamel white sauce, in a saucepan melt the butter, add the flour, cook for three minutes stirring constantly, then add the milk. Stir with a whisk until it comes to a boil. The sauce should be thick.
Mix the white sauce with the vegetables, return to the stove, add the raisins and nuts, stir well, return to the stove and heat through. Serve hot with crusty bread.
CAULIFLOWER CHEESE CUPS
Serves 6
Makes 12 cheese cups
Cauliflower (1 — medium to small head)
Jalapeno cheese (1 cup — grated + ½ cup for filling)
Eggs (2)
Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Cut cauliflower into chunks. Place cauliflower and grated jalapeno cheese in a large food processor and pulse until pieces resemble little pebbles.
With the food processor still running, add the eggs until well combined. Grease a muffin pan with butter or oil. Place cauliflower and cheese mixture in each mold and press mixture to sides with a spoon to resemble small cups.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a minute or two before loosening edges with a blunt butter knife.
Place on a serving platter and spoon the remaining half cup of cheese into the cups. Top each cup with a small dollop of tomato or mango chutney. Serve immediately.
MUSHROOM AND PEPPERS
Serves 6
Oil (1 tbsp)
Potatoes (250 g — cubed)
Mushrooms (500 g — quartered)
Green pepper (1 large — cubed)
Small hot green chillies (4 — slit or chopped)
Turmeric powder (½ tsp)
Cumin powder (1½ tsp)
Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
Curry patta (12 leaves)
Coconut water (50 m)
Combine
Yoghurt (1 cup — thick)
A dash of salt
Honey (1 tsp)
A handful of fresh coriander
Cube the vegetables as evenly as possible. Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes, cook for 10 minutes until golden brown. Add mushrooms and green peppers.
Sprinkle turmeric and cumin powders, mustard seeds, salt and curry patta. Give it a good toss and pour in the coconut water. Bring to a boil and cover the pan.
Lower the heat, simmer for 10 minutes until cooked through. The liquid should have evaporated. Remove from stove and cool until lukewarm.
Add the combined yoghurt mixture and the fresh coriander leaves. Return to a low fire, uncovered, to gently reheat.
Serve with crusty bread or naan to mop up the delicious gravy.
MAKAI PAKA
Serves 6
Whole ears of corn (5 — flame-grilled, cut into 4 pieces each)
Chestnut flour (2 tbsp)
Ginger paste (1 tsp)
Garlic paste (1 tsp)
Turmeric powder (¼ tsp)
Cumin powder (½ tsp)
Red chilli powder (½ tsp)
Green chillies (4 — fresh)
Coriander leaves (½ cup —fresh)
Salt (3/4 tsp)
Sugar (a pinch)
Lemon juice (2 tbsp — fresh)
Coconut milk (400 ml)
Grind together the flour, ginger, garlic pastes, turmeric, chilli and cumin powders, green chillies, coriander, salt and sugar. Add the lemon juice and some of the coconut milk to the paste.
Heat the oil and fry the paste for a few minutes. Add the remaining coconut milk and stir it with a whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat, and cook for 30 minutes. Now dunk in all the roasted pieces of corn, cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. Taste for salt and lemon.
Serve hot.
Traditionally, this is served with a millet/bajra or corn/makai roti. However, it can be eaten with rice as well.
RICE TOSSED WITH CHUTNEY
Serves 6
Basmati rice (1½ cups)
Water (3 cups)
Salt (1 tsp)
Yoghurt (1 cup)
Salt (1 pinch)
Sugar (1 pinch)
Coconut and coriander chutney (454 g)
Cook 1½ cups basmati rice in three cups of cold water. Boil till the water evaporates. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and allow it to steam for 20-22 minutes.
In a bowl, stir the yoghurt with salt and sugar. Toss it into the cooked rice. Stir in the chutney, a large spoonful at a time, until combined.
Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh red chillies.
Prepare the chutney by grinding together coconut, green chillies, coriander and mint leaves and green mangoes. Add lemon juice, jaggery and salt to taste.
LEMON LOAF CAKE
Makes a 900 g loaf cake
Wet ingredients
Combine
Yogurt (1 cup)
Eggs (3)
Sugar (1 cup)
Zest from 2 lemons
Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
Dry ingredients
Combine
Flour (1½ cup — sifted plain)
Baking powder (2 tsp)
Salt (3/4 tsp)
Oil (½ cup)
For the syrup
Sugar (1/3 cup)
Fresh lemon juice (1/3 cup)
Limoncello (3 tbsp — optional)
Grease a 900 g loaf tin 23 x 13 x 6 cm/13 x 9 x 2” and line it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
In an electric beater at low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Once smooth, with the beater on, add the oil in a gentle stream. Fold it in with a spatula to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a skewer pushed into the center comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before turning out the cake.
Place on a platter, brush with warm syrup, and gently pour the rest over the cake to allow it to soak.
Serve with a cup of Parsi choi.
To prepare the syrup cook the sugar and lemon juice on a low flame till completely dissolved. Add the limoncello and boil for a minute before brushing it over the warm cake.
Thai fish (left) and tandoori roast gos
THAI FISH
Serves 4
Whole fish (1 kg — surmai or rawas)
For the marinade
Mix together in a bowl
Sweet chilli sauce (8 tbsp)
Fish sauce (6 tbsp)
Thai red birds eye chillies (3-4 —finely chopped)
Tamarind paste (1 tsp)
Palm sugar (4 tsp)
Freshly crushed ginger (1 tsp)
Freshly crushed galangal (1 tsp)
Vegetables (red and yellow peppers, leeks, and green onions — finely sliced)
Wash and pat dry the fish and slit open both sides. Rub with salt and sesame or peanut oil and set aside for 10 minutes.
Rub half the marinade generously on the fish and cook in a preheated oven at 350°F/180°C for 20-30 minutes till done. The fish can be cooked on a grill too.
In a pan, heat one teaspoon of sesame or peanut oil. Very quickly saute thinly sliced vegetables of choice — red and yellow peppers, leeks and green onions on a high flame, keeping them crisp. Pile onto a serving plate.
Boil down the remaining half of the marinade until it is a sticky sauce. Pour over the fish and serve immediately. Alternatively, toss the remaining marinade into the prepared vegetables and top the fish with it. Cook this together with the fish. The skin of the fish will not be crisp if using this method.
TANDOORI ROAST GOS
Serves 8
Leg of lamb (3 kg — washed and patted dry)
The Marinade
In a bowl mix together
Thick yoghurt (1 cup)
Garlic cloves (4 — freshly grated)
Freshly ground ginger (1 tbsp)
Freshly grated lime zest (1 tbsp)
Fresh lime juice (1/4 cup)
Salt (2 tsp)
Red chilli powder (1½ tsp)
Coriander powder (1½ tsp)
Cumin powder (1 tsp)
Turmeric (½ tsp)
Garam masala (1 tsp)
Mustard powder (½ tsp)
Rub the marinade all over the leg of lamb, massage it in and leave overnight in the fridge. Bring back to room temperature before cooking.
Place the roast on a very large sheet of foil in a large dish with sides. Preheat the oven to 375°F and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Turn the roast over. Reduce the temperature to 350°. Bring the sides of the foil up to cover the meat completely, making a "tent” of the foil to allow the steam to escape. Cook for another three hours. Check if the lamb is done. It should be really soft and coming off the bone. Let it stand covered for 10 minutes before serving.