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Cooking is similar to a painting — there is no right or wrong, avers an essay at the start of this collection of 51 recipes. Born and raised in Karachi and having lived in Asia, the UK and the Gulf, author Niloufer Mavalvala (pictured) and now in Canada, has put these together for her readers to "enjoy the food your ancestors mastered.” The recipes are from her family, "tried, tested and praised” over the past 200 years, states Mavalvala. Divided into five sections: pantry staples, vegetables and pulses, seafood, chicken and meat, and desserts, the book may jog memories in the Parsi diaspora and enthuse the whipping up of dishes that they ate in India or Pakistan in their growing up years. The World has won The Gourmand World Cookbook Award for 2020 from the Spain-based Gourmand International.
Mercifully, Mavalvala has stayed away from the done-to-death dhansak, but the ubiquitous sali boti puts in an appearance, as does a meat biryani. The pantry staples include an unusual sua pak, a "spiced, dill and ginger spread,” which, according to the writer, has its roots in an 18th century recipe and is synonymous with the winter delicacy, vasanu. Vegetables and pulses include what may be comfort food for many: drumstick curry, keri kanda (mango onion stew) and vaal ni daar (split dry field beans). Mavalvala must be complimented for bringing these lesser known, "unglamorous” dishes out into the open. Desserts include an unusual almond and white gourd (dudhi) preserve cake and the very Western sounding mango macaron torte.  
Each recipe has an introduction listing the special memories that the dish has for the writer, or a short description of a suggested twist to the dish. For instance, she has innovatively adapted the daar ni pori to a daar ni potli, not fully covered with the pastry on one side, making it look like a flat bundle of pulses and nuts. Tips at the end of each recipe include notes to enhance taste, or suggested variations. A glossary of typical items in a Parsi larder includes Mavalvala’s preferences and preparation methods for oils, ginger and garlic pastes and garam masala, among others.
The chef avers that Parsi cuisine was born "over 2,500 years ago,” a claim that many will refute, or ask for evidence. Mavalvala believes that the Parsi love for eggs (per edu) stems from the Persian kuku (thick herb omelette). In fact, she has an unusual twist to one per edu. In her version of kheema per edu, the egg is fried separately and the kheema topped with it, with sali, rather than cooked or steamed on the minced meat.
The somewhat eccentric English transliterations of certain dishes may be an irritant to an Indian purist or a grammar afficionado: sufade for white instead of the well-accepted safed, papayta for potatoes instead of papeta. True blue Indian grannies will balk at the suggestion of eating dahi ni kadhi ("kudhi”) with a spinach and prawn stew [one can visualize a reaction such as "Marréré kor thassé (Mild expletive, that the combination gives one leucoderma)”] or at the addition of brinjals in "Parsi stew,” or the relishing of caramel custard with a rotli and a squeeze of lime. Perhaps these dishes were already adapted when they travelled from Bombay, Gujarat or India to the Karachi of Mavalvala’s childhood home. The author quotes 13th century Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi to explain the varied flavors and influences in Parsi cuisine: "I am neither of the East nor of the West, no boundaries exist within my breast.” 
The photographs accompanying the recipes are attributed to William Reavell, the author, Sheriar Hirjikaka and Natasha Stoppel. The layout of the book is credited to Zara Contractor.
The author’s previous books include tomes on tapas, and on her forays into Moroccan and Persian cooking among others. Active on social media, she conducts cooking classes online and is a regular contributor to the Facebook forum Parsis Exchange Recipes. She runs a website named Niloufer’s Kitchen.
Commendations for The World reproduced on the back cover include one from musician Zubin Mehta who stated that the book is in "good taste,” while philanthropist and businesswoman Zarina Mehta appreciated Mavalvala’s understanding that "traditional food carries a deeper meaning as it is an exploration of our identity and roots.”                                    

FARROKH JIJINA