Cooking Like A Bawa – Review (5/5)

Writing a review takes it’s own time. You have to go through proper tasting sessions, make notes, register all the flavours, decode the ingredients and then bring it all together. It’s even more tough when you are doing it for spices, because how exactly do you review spices? Well, this time I had to.

Continuing the 5-series blog with Shelley Subawalla (owner & founder of Zarin’s Secrets), I ordered a bunch of products from chutneys, bhakras to the 4 signature Parsi spices (Dhansak Masala, Curry Masala, Sambhar Masala & Dhana Jeera), I have been talking about ever since the series began. Now, I had the monumental task of reviewing these spices by cooking the dishes and understanding what flavours were at play. However, I faced challenges I wasn’t expecting – Did I cook it right? How can I know what it’s actually supposed to taste like?

Well, I couldn’t. I can’t. But maybe that’s okay, because this review is for a cuisine I am extremely new to, it’s for products which are not easy to review, it’s based on my cooking skills rather than the chef’s in a professional kitchen and most importantly I am sharing an experience from the kitchen which anyone (non-parsi & not an expert cook) would face with these products. So, yes it’s not going to be the same. It will be unconventional.

Dhansak Masala: The masala in itself is quite fine and used for dhansak.

It is pretty much the signature Parsi dish for all Non-Parsi’s; however, getting my hands dirty in the kitchen I realised how simple it is to make! Combining elements from Parsi and Gujrati cuisines it is rich & amusingly sour (raw mango and a generous lemon squeeze on top do the trick). It was quite fascinating to use lentils, vegetables & red meat all in one pressure cooker and end up with a beautiful concoction of the three.

Result – A relatively simple recipe and a few spices, it worked wonders! Though I wasn’t sure if the curry was supposed to be as thick as it turned out but the subtle flavour of spices enhancing the richness of mutton, it can make for some wholesome meals. It took me a few tastings to accommodate my palate to it, I am used to more robust flavours so it wasn’t my favourite dish from the get-go but if you are someone who likes dhansak you should give this homemade spice a try.

Recommendation (Approved by Shelley) – Pair it will caramelised brown rice and make sure you caramelise the onions slowly until they turn beautifully golden brown.

Curry Masala: The Saturday tradition recipe involves the humble curry masala.

Curry rice is a simple dish with soft coconut and curry leaves flavour infused in meat. I cooked this dish with chicken however, as Shelley says you are free to use any kind of protein you like. Prawns, fish, potatoes, lamb, try your heart out! Pair it with white rice for a perfect meal.

Sambhar Masala: Bright rustic orange in colour, it is slightly coarse as compared to other spices and also quite wet. Used in dhansak as well as Masala fish, it is a spice you cannot miss when prepping for Parsi cuisine.

Dhana Jeera: I would call this the underdog of spices which out-shined all others. Used in an array of dishes, I tried Salli Ma Marghi and Parsee Kebabs with it.

Salli Ma Marghi is an appetiser infused with a soft bhuna flavour and sweet notes from caramelised onions. Topped with potato sticks for crunchiness, it’s mild flavour can woo over anyone.

Parsee kebabs were a delight to cook. Even though they didnt quite turn out right in shape, the flavour from dhana jeera mesmerised me. While marinating, I could smell the spices suffusing in chicken mince and after removing the plate from top, the strong waft hit me like a cloud of aroma. I loved paring them with chundo but even on their own, these kebabs pack quite a punch!

Recipes: The recipes weren’t detailed enough for me and had it not been for my mother overmatching me, it could have ended up in a disaster. However, if you are someone who cooks Indian food regularly, you can easily sail through by depending on your experience, and tongue.

Packaging: The sealed packaging caused issues because it had to be transferred to an air-tight container and kept away from water. I would prefer if it already came in air-tight jars making the process easier. The normal packaging is a minimum of 250grams but for someone experimenting in their kitchen, that’s a whole lot of masala! A combo of four spices with smaller packaging would be my suggestion.

Overall, I am not legible to comment on authenticity however as a person experimenting with new cuisines I would definitely recommend getting these spices to your kitchen than stepping out for a meal at the restaurant; because in the end it’s not as cryptic as you thought, in-fact Shelley was right “Its just normal” and quite delicious at that!

Disclaimer: Despite containing inputs from the founder, the review is entirely at my discretion and in no way influenced. The products were paid for by me and charged for & delivered in the same packaging as any other customer would receive. 

Taking Parsi Cuisine To The Kitchen – Review (4/5)

My last meeting with Shelley for this 5-series blog was enriched with a lot of laughter and thought. A beautiful morning kickstarted with breakfast together, I questioned her as to what more I can cover about the Parsi food and culture. After a few perplexed looks, she responded: I don’t really know what else there is to cover, you have already written about all the main traditions involving food. While I still wanted to dig deeper, in the back of my mind I knew that the review will probably end up being split into two parts; so it was best just to talk.

As we began gorging on our breakfast while sipping some coffee, Shelley shared some tidbits about the company. Working from home, she is at ease about the pace of growth and since most of her customer base are Parsi’s themselves she is elated about the response. As I asked her about what made her take this step and the motivation behind it, she gave me an answer that felt…right. Kids are now old enough, so I have time for it and I wanted to take this glamorous, cryptic cuisine to people’s home so they can see it’s simplicity. My goal was straightforward: make Parsi cooking easier and approachable.

As we talked more, she shared how Bawa’s have some super quirky habits which are actually a lot of fun. Someone in the family enjoyed eating banana with dhansak, while another person used to eat jam with curd and I was fascinated by how fun that must be! Tea for Bawa’s is often infused with lemongrass (lilichai) and mint (pudinachai) which is more often than not grown at home. As we were on the topic of family traditions passed down, Shelley shared how her mother taught her to fix extra salt with lime juice and always garnish with lots of coriander (now that’s something I can get behind because despite my mother using flour balls to reduce salt, I am squeezing lemon on top of everything)!

The more we talked, the more I realised how similar things are irrespective of different cultures. Punjabi culture for one has so many similarities; my father loves eating malai with bread and we like to spice up our tea with ginger & fennel seeds. Maybe Parsi culture isn’t as cryptic as I first thought (it’s just not very well known) and Shelley’s response of “it’s normal” was finally making sense to me. So after devouring our food & wrapping up the conversation, we parted ways with her handing over my order and bid adieu for the day.

Disclaimer: The review is entirely at my discretion and not in any way influenced or biased. The products were paid for by me and delivered in the same packaging as sent to other customers. 

The packaging for chutneys was in pearl pet containers and surely they work, but I would have preferred glass jars (though I assume that would make it tougher to ship) in comparison. The bhakras came in perfectly air-sealed packets.

Bhakras – 

A popular tea-time snack in a Parsi households, I was extremely excited about them after hearing Shelley’s stories of her children gobbling them up piping hot. She often called them Parsi doughnuts, so I guess the curiosity was well justified. I had no prior encounters with bhakras but absolutely loved these fried biscuits. The texture was somewhere between a tea cake & a biscuit with a crunchy exterior and chewy interior. Though they felt a little dry to be eaten on their own, I loved gorging on them with my evening tea. Enhanced by an infused saunf flavour, the balanced sweetness won me over.

Chundo –

Quite similar to our usual raw mango chutney, I enjoyed eating this with Parsi kebabs (which you will be hearing more about in the last part). A sweet and spicy mix, the consistency was slightly more sticky. The spices were beautifully expressed amongst the tartness & sweetness of raw mango. I could see myself ordering this again instead of the usual store brought (and preservative inclusive) jar.

Image : Parsi Kebabs with Gajar Meva Nu Achaar

Gajar Meva Nu Achaar (carrot & dry fruit pickle) – 

While Shelley recommended that the achaar goes with everything, it didn’t really appeal to my tastebuds. It had a tartness I couldn’t point out and lots more ingredients which even though maintained shape, I couldn’t figure out. However, the strong flavour might just appeal to you. I for one felt that the ingredients didn’t really come together and stood unilaterally instead of cohesively.

Chutney (coriander & coconut chutney) – 

Usually used for making patrani macchi, I decided to give it a try as an accompaniment. As soon as I opened the jar, a strong waft of coriander with soft notes of coconut bowled me over. However, the texture was quite pasty so it didn’t really work as an accompaniment to our meal. It did add significant flavour to the combination of cheese and crackers, so if you are a coriander fanatic, go ahead and give it a try. Overall, I love the flavour balance in this chutney though not a fan of the texture; I will probably be using it for different recipes.

So, the flavours are definitely strong and different. However, they have me intrigued. Though I can’t make a claim for authenticity since I am no expert of the cuisine, I am assured that the products are natural, preservative free and fresh which gives me quite a satisfaction and leverage for more experimentation with the dishes. The uniqueness of this cuisine might be new to my palate but for now I am enjoying it.

Review continued in Part 5 with insights into the spices and recipes. 

Read Part 3 here.