Parsi Cuisine at Inaugural Event at the Dar-E-Mehr in Pomona, NY : Sheroo Kanga’s Malido

  Inauguration of the Dar-E-Mehr in Pomona, NY. The food served was delicious and one of the delicacies was Sheroo’s Malido.

Malido Sales from 2013 – 2016 and for this event are an on-going fundraising effort by Sheroo that speaks of the dedication and loyalty of the Kanga family.

Fresh Malido Trays were made by Sheroo for over 600 people. That in itself is a record!. Having made Malido myself for our local ZAGBA association for a modest 60 people crowd, I know what is involved and how much work it takes! Kudos to Sheroo for doing this.

Some words from Sheroo Kanga on how and why she started to make the malido:

    “After coming to the US in 1975, I missed the ceremonies of the muktad days.  Most of my family members, (me being the youngest sibling) passed away after I came to the US and unfortunately, I was not able to attend the muktad prayers for my dear ones.  Therefore, (somewhere between 1996 and 1999) when ZAGNY  (Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York) started the muktad prayers, I was very happy.  Fortunately for me, I was also on the ZAGNY Board as Joint Secretary at that time.  This gave me the ideal opportunity to get very involved in organizing and arranging the muktad prayers each year. The gathas were also being recited at other four homes within our tri-state area, so people who lived far from the Dar-e-Mehr got a chance to attend the prayers closer to home.  

This is when I started to learn how to make malido and after getting the right recipe, from late Mrs. Nergis Adi Unwalla’ s cookbook “An Adventure in Exotic Parsi Indian Cooking by Nergis Karanjia and Nergis Unwalla.  I took time to perfect it.  Ever since then, till to date, I have been making malido and donating it to the hosts families and for the prayers at the Dar-e-Mehr.   Sometimes, if asked, I also cater it for congregation lunches, as I did for the Inaugural Day.”

Sheroo Vispi Kanga lives in New Jersey with her husband Vispi Dorab Kanga. They are both very active in ZAGNY (Zoroastrian association of Greater New York) and both have served several three year terms on the ZAGNY Board of Directors, in different capacities, since 1980.  Sheroo very actively participated in the fund raising efforts for the newly inaugurated Dar-E-Mehr building, to serve the needs of the Zoroastrians in the Tri-State area.