Parsis are unique in many ways, and cuisine perhaps tops the list. From Salli Chicken to Lagan nu Custard, Parsis sure have an immense variety of food on their plate, and all of it is quite yummy. Hardly are there people, especially in cities like Pune and Mumbai, who haven’t visited an Irani cafe for a bite and enjoyed a quick conversation with the genial Parsi uncle at the counter.
Speaking of Parsis, we had the opportunity to meet mother-son duo, Hilla and Shezad Marolia, at the recently-concluded Iranshah Udvada Utsav 2019 held in Gujarat’s Valsad district. The three-day festival is held every two years to celebrate the Parsi culture and bring together people from the community. It is hosted in the small town of Udvada which holds great religious significance for the Zoroastrians owing to the holy Iranshah Fire Temple located in the town.
This year’s festival saw a host of dignitaries and a number of events for the community to participate in. Among them was a food show hosted by Hilla and Shezad. Hilla is the secret behind the famous Café Farohar in Udvada. The first and only cafe in town is located inside the campus of the Sodawaterwalla Dharamshala that the mother and son manage.
The duo’s journey
For Hilla, it all began at the tender age of 18 when she started her own tiffin service from home in Mumbai. “As a Home Science student, I always had a special interest in cooking,” she tells us. What began with just about 15 tiffins, soon went on to around 150 and ‘Hilla Aunty’, as she is fondly called by one and all, was famous for her culinary skills among her clients.
Soon enough, she shifted to Daman where she opened a small joint and managed it all alone. Meanwhile, her son Shezad took up Hotel Management as his choice of study. “It’s a slightly funny story where, initially, I was an engineering student but left it in the second year to pursue Hotel Management,” says Shezad, who soon got placed in ITC. From there, he went on to become a catering officer in the Merchant Navy where he served for four years. Later, he joined as a sous-chef de cuisine in London and worked there for seven years, shifted to Mumbai again as a catering company manager and travelled to Dubai when he got an offer.
“After all of that travelling and working across the world, mum told me that she had been offered to run the Dharamshala and have her own cafe,” he narrates, adding, “That’s when I decided to quit my job and come back to her.”
Wasn’t it a tough decision to settle in a quaint small town after having seen the world? “Not at all,” comes the answer. The duo believes that while we get all sorts of cuisines in the big towns, it is the smaller ones where good restaurants and special food is not available. “So we wanted to serve in places where people don’t get to eat such food. I love it here,” says Hilla about their Café Farohar which serves authentic Parsi food.
“We only experiment a slight bit of fusion but primarily stick to Parsi food alone,” says Shezad, who is a trained French chef but is picking up on his Parsi food skills once again.
He also does YouTube tutorials and has featured on a show with celebrity chef Ranveer Brar too. The mother-son duo also provides catering services across the country and runs the entire show with just two minds.
At the cookery show in Udvada last weekend, the duo showed the audience some of the Parsi culture’s most treasured recipes — Doodh-nu-Puff, an early morning Parsi delicacy made with milk, spices and a lot of air, famous tea-time snack Bhakras and the all-time favourite Gajar-Meva-nu-Achar.
Doodh-nu-Puff
Serves: 5 small glasses
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(Note: Do not blend it for too long or the puff will taste greasy.)
Gajar-Meva-nu-Achar
Serves: 10-15 people
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(Note: This pickle stays for months. If you do feel that it might be close to getting spoilt, add a little vinegar once in a few months, but ensure to add jaggery along with it or it will taste sour. But before adding, melt the jaggery and cool it down.)
Bhakras
Serves: 10 people
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