Parsi food is about seasonality, simplicity and balance. It’s a trifecta of respect, honour and tradition. To the past, the present and the future. To the ingredients you are using, the spices you are grinding and the people you are eating with.

For Niloufer Mavalvala, founder of Niloufer’s Kitchen, it’s about family. Being born into a Parsi family, “we ate Parsi food on a daily basis”, although “we ate other cuisines at home, this was generally for dinner parties and on special occasions” she comments. Parsi dishes were the home-grown factor of her childhood; with fond memories attached to community events, known as ghambars, where Parsi food was served one dish and course at a time, to a long table filled with friends, family and neighbours.

“Growing up eating it, and being surrounded by it - we all ended up taking it for granted” and it was only until she migrated to the West that Niloufer realised how much she missed it. “I was cooking other cuisines… pasta, stews and roasts… for myself and my family… but I always had Parsi food ingredients ready to use in my fridge, freezer and pantry” and often craved her home-cooked comfort foods, including Dhansak - Niloufer’s favourite, and which recipe features in her first cookbook. “I’ve loved it since I was a child; it holds the best Sunday lunch memories. My mother prepared the best Dhansak in the world, hands down” Niloufer states, who is proudly documenting the culinary culture of Parsi Food (through her unique cookbook series) and working hard to preserve them for the next century.

“I love trying new cuisines and learning about the history behind them,” Niloufer says. Something she has loved since she was young and now attributes to her evergrowing and unsatiable appetite for food, which is reflected through her brand and ethos.

Through documentation in both culture and cuisine, Niloufer, who has published four incredibly successful cookbooks, is educating a new generation about the wonders of Parsi Food. “My Fourth Cookbook: The Route to Parsi Cooking; From Pars to India and Beyond expresses the sentiment, age, and era of the food. Parsis have a natural affinity for all things joyful, and this cookbook depicts our culture, customs, and idiosyncrasies in a lighthearted and delightful manner” while “preserving the past for the future” through “old recipes that tell tales through cuisine”, and coming complete with “incredible facts, and humorous anecdotes”. A must-read and must-have for any foodie fan.

Niloufer prides herself on having learnt “more than any school could offer”, as her self-taught cookery skills continue to impress the culinary world. “I have no formal education in cooking, but under the watchful eye of both my mother and my aunt, who both had distinctly different methods of cooking, one precise and the other not” has managed to create her own distinct style that is beautifully captured in her books - one that is complete in both the joy of cooking and entertaining in style. “I am fortunate that I can do both: follow a recipe and create from my heart without fear of failure.” And it’s not just the public that have noticed Niloufer’s talents. Le Cordon Bleu is among many esteemed establishments to have given Niloufer a platform to continue educating and inspiring through Parsi dishes, and the future looks bright for both Niloufer and the expanse of Parsi food in different countries.

Encouraged by her Father, Niloufer’s passion for cooking started to blossom around age 17. “Until recently, every family in our community was defined by their professions. We have always had a history and a reputation for producing excellent doctors, accountants, educators, and lawyers”. But “on the homefront… families who cooked exceptionally were recognised for their culinary specialities”, including her own family. “My mother, who was a perfectionist by nature and meticulously wrote down her favourite [recipes]” left Niloufer with a “treasure trove” of recipes to continue growing and spreading not only her family’s legacy but her cultures too.

But for Niloufer, this backlog of recipes, although sparks joy and excitement, as she falls back in love with her cuisine through the new-found experiences of those around her trying her recipes for the first time, also bears the heavy burden of lost loved ones. “We [used to have] my Dad’s Caramel Custard every single night for pudding” she says, but after losing her Dad at a young age, she was unable to make the dish for years. “I can now happily enjoy it with him in my heart”, she says. These recipes that Niloufer holds so dear are more than just a recipe - they are a moment and a memory captured within a bite that transports you to another time and place. Her vulnerability, sorrow and successes are interwoven through the pages of her books and steeped in each dish. Her “labours of love” as she calls them, “published to share with the world” and they are as moving as they are delicious.

Although her books all differ, the base stays the same. Like all good Parsi dishes - the base is key. “The very basis of our recipes - elements that are the holy trinity of Parsi cooking - all define Parsi cuisine”. These are ingredients that balance the tikkhu, khattu, and mitthu (spicy, sour, and sweet) and are religiously stocked within Parsi households. Simple ingredients all working in perfect harmony; ones easily found in any supermarket across the world.

Fresh, crushed ginger and garlic, warm spices including cinnamon, black pepper, cloves and cardamom, garam masala, freshly crushed tomatoes, jaggery and onions all feature heavily across Parsi recipes, with fresh mint, coriander and green chillies. With bonus ingredients of lemon, curry leaves, tamarind, vinegar and raw mango. “All these ingredients create the base for stews and curries” Niloufer comments. “One starts with the ginger-garlic paste and the whole warm spices. [Then] fried onion and tomatoes are added with protein: (like lamb, mutton, goat or chicken. Seafood like fish and prawns are a favourite. Traditionally, beef and pork were avoided) and vegetables, which are then cooked in either water or coconut water-milk to make the gravy. We would serve these with rice, or a rotli-flat wholewheat bread, specific to each dish”. Parsi food requires a “well-stocked vegetable drawer, pantry and a little preparation” Preparing the onions and ginger and garlic in advance - keeping them in your fridge or freezer - “saves time and effort” and is a key part of ensuring the easy inclusion of Parsi dishes in a modern household.

“Parsi cooking was to be shaped by history” she comments. And it’s that exact philosophy that is constantly conveyed through Niloufer’s cookbooks. “These recipes are not to be used as perfect, exact tools, but rather as guidelines resting in our kitchens to be balanced and steered toward our taste buds.” Through simple adaptations “the spice, the salt, the sweet and the sour in our dishes [can] be fine-tuned and perfectly set up for our family and friends”.

A leaving remark from Niloufer herself that sums up her recipes and her love for Parsi food and the reason we fell in love with her, her recipes and love for Parsi food is this: “The love and affection with which a dish is made makes it even more perfect”. And if you haven’t tried Parsi food before, we highly recommend trying one of Niloufer’s recipes. You won’t regret it.

Discovering Parsi Food with Niloufer's Kitchen

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