That Parsi food is all about sweet and sour flavours is a completely wrong notion, says fifth generation Parsi chef Mahrukh Mogrelia. “Not all our food is sweet and sour. There are a lot of fresh herbs and homemade spices that go into Parsi cooking,” shares Mahrukh, a resident of Nana Chowk in South Mumbai, whose Parsi food pop-ups are extremely popular among her guests. The 49-year-old elegant cook, who has been rustling up delectable dishes since age seven, was in Kolkata to usher in Navroz, the Parsi New Year, with a flavourful week-long festival at The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat.
Parsi chef Mahrukh Mogrelia
The guests were served authentic Parsi dishes including Chicken Farcha, the Parsi version of Kentucky Fried Chicken, lip smacking Mutton keema cooked with sweet onions, tomatoes, chillies and a hint of coriander and shallow-fried Tatrela prawns coated with green chilli, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander and mango-ginger. There was also a wide array of dessert options including the Lagan Nu Custard, Kopra Pak and Sev.
On the sidelines of cooking up a storm, she shared with us a simple yet yummy fish recipe, the ever popular Patrani Machhi. “Fish is considered extremely auspicious by us, and we have fish on all festive occasions,” she says.
So, here is the easy-to-make Patrani Machhi recipe for you:
Patrani Machhi
Patrani Machhi
Ingredients: Ten pieces of any fish, it can be betki or a silver pomfret | Two cups of grated coconut | One cup of chopped coriander leaves | One tbsp cumin seeds | One tbsp sugar | Juice of one lemon | Salt to taste
Prep time: One hour
Method:
● Wash the fish, apply salt and turmeric and keep aside for a while.
● Grind and mix all the ingredients into a fine paste. Take a banana leaf and apply a little cooking oil on it, and put the paste above and under the fish evenly. Then wrap the fish in banana leaf and tie it.
● Sprinkle some vinegar on it before steaming the fish till it is cooked.
● Serve with plain rice and daal or enjoy as it is.
[…] Congratulations to our member Mahrukh Mogrelia […]