Lost Parsi Recipes by Chef Anahita Dhondy at SodaBottleOpenerwala

The Parsi community has been a disappearing tribe over the last few decades. Chef Anahita Dhondy, who has been the flag bearer of the Parsi cuisine for the last few years recently decide to infuse some new recipes into the Soda Bottle Opener Wala menu. These recipes come from the traditional Parsi homes which are slowly but steadily being lost to history. But Chef Dhondy’s efforts are making sure that this does not happen.

So on a chilly Delhi afternoon, a group of us sat down at the Dining Room at the Khan Market outlet to experience the best of Anahita’s cooking. One of the first dishes she starts us off with are Kebabs, that too two of them. While the first one is a Mutton Kebab which unleashes two different textures of meat upon the palate, the second one is a Prawn Kebab which has absolutely have me salivating. Although the famous Bombay Duck also makes an appearance with a Green Coconut Chutney, but it’s the next two dishes that has me hooked totally.

The first one is Aleti Paleti, liver and kidneys chopped up into centimeter sized cubes and cooked up in a spicy, zingy masala and then served in between the quintessential Mumbai Pav. Being a Bengali, I have always dived into plates of Liver and Kidney but this one makes for quite good flavours indeed. As Chef Dhondy serves it with some pickled seasonal vegetables, it cuts across the creaminess. The nest dish on my plate is the Parsi favourite Bheja Fry. An absolutely creamy yet subtly flavoured dish, there’s a Khaari Biscuit which cuts across all the creaminess.

There’s also a Granny’s Pulao that is a lovely Mutton with rice along with their classic curries on the plate. But what really impressed me the most are the desserts. While the Malido is a Sooji ka Halwa that can be found at the Parsi Fir Temples, the Chapat or the Parsi style crepes are filled with a Gajar ka Halwa that has me licking my fingers clean. To finish it all off, Chef Dhondy’s Doodh na Puff is a perfect stop to a menu that has me thoroughly thrilled.