In this charming volume, an independent food scholar explores her Parsi heritage and provides a wide range of recipes that should prove revelatory even for home cooks used to whipping up a biryani at a moment's notice. Though it shares similarities with other subcontinental cuisines-a reliance on ghee, a taste for curry, a deep affection for vegetables-Parsi food is unique in many ways, hinting at its Persian ancestry with ample use of eggs, while nodding toward Europe through savory custards and rich desserts. Many recipes are both unusual and deeply comforting: onions, young garlic, and leeks turn rich and buttery in an Allium Confit, and Braised Greens, spiked with cayenne, are vegetables gone to heaven. Cauliflower, eggs and grated cheese take a decadent turn in Mother's Wobbly Caulfilower Custard. King even makes organ
meats appealing: Chicken Livers in Green Masala is a luscious take on the underused ingredient, bright with cumin, chiles and coriander. King also has novel uses for goat brains, kid's trotters and tongue, an intriguing challenge for intrepid home cooks. Perhaps most delightful is her brief introduction to Parsi history and culture, which tells both the author's story as an Indian expatriate in Berkeley, and the fascinating background of one of the world's most sophisticated cuisines.
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Reader Reviews
I received my order of "My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking - Niloufer Ichaporia King." I STRONGLY recommend this book. My wife is Parsi, and I enjoy cooking Parsi cuisine (along with many other cuisines, but Parsi cuisine is a favorite) and have a number of books on the subject, so I looked at how she treated some recipies I had already done, Patrel and Dhansak Masala. I've visited where my wife grew up in Bombay on M Karve Road near the Eros theater. There I also enjoyed Goan cuisine (my wife's 'nannys' were Goan and are superb cooks of both Goan and Parsi cuisine). Reading this book made you feel like you were back in Bombay learning a cuisine at the hands of someone who had mastered the cuisine and was gracious and competent enough to be teaching it to you with the clarity and style of a master teacher. Clearly this book is written by a Parsi in America, paying attention to the difficulties of obtaining certain ingredients, noting appropriate substitutions, yet showing the knowledge that could only come from someone who had been a part of the culture in Bombay - maintaining a most authentic result. The book isn't simply a collection of exquisitely presented recipies demonstrating exemplarary versions of those recipies, but the recipies are presented within the cultural context of the Parsi traditions, noting the culinary likes and dislikes of Parsis, what are mainstays of the tradition, etc etc. Delightfully written - a pleasure to read (excellent editing) and a clear presentation of information that I've struggled to get elsewhere. Dhansak Masala is a complex spice mixture composed of dhana jiru and sambhar masala, each complex mixtures in their own right, with endless variations as numerous as there are cooks. I have searched high and low on the internet for these recipies only to find ones far more mediocre than the excellent verrsion she has presented in this book. Her explanation of making Patrel would have saved me endless hours trying to find out that Colocasia leaves are actually taro root leaves. She lays out the techniques in a clear style reminiscent of Julia Child of exactly how to assemble this dish. I know that reading each recipe cover to cover will be a treasure trove of information. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that if you have an interest in Parsi or even Indian or Persian cuisine, this is a must have for your collection. I really couldn't recommend a cookbook more highly. I'm not alone either - she is strongly recommended by Alice Waters, who wrote the forward of this book, famous for her restaurant in Berkeley, Chez Panisse and a major influence to cooks everywhere on the use and incorporation of local fresh ingredients being used in her food preparations. Also Paula Wolfert, who has written an excellent book on Moroccan Cuisine among her many accomplishments, and Dianne Kennedy, whose Mexican cookbook is a classial reference of Mexican cuisine. And other esteemed chefs and editors. I really couldn't be in better company in recommending a book. Finally, my ultimate critic of my cooking, my wife, has been absolutely delighted by the recipies in this book, partiularly the Parsi scrambled egg recipe.
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