what are the main dishes of parsi cuisine?

Answer 1

DHANSAK! Parsi food is healthy and absolutely delicious!

Parsi: descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to the Indian subcontinent over 1,000 years ago to escape religious persecution after the Islamic conquest.

Famous Parsis: Queen's Freddie Mercury and Ismail Merchant

PARSI cuisine adds to the richness and variety of the Indian cuisine. The dishes are famous for their unique flavour. There is a whole range of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes to choose from while planning a Parsi menu. Dhansaak is one of the best-known Parsi dishes and is a favourite for Sunday lunch. This dish is prepared in a different manner in different households and for many the recipe of the special dhansaak masala is a closely-guarded secret. It has a hot, sweet-and-sour flavour, through which should rise the slightly bitter flavour of fenugreek.

DHANSAAK:

Ingredients

Vegetable oil 6 tbsp
Green chilies, chopped 5
Ginger 2.5 cm long piece
Garlic 3 cloves
Bay leaves 2
Cinnamon stick 5 cm 1 piece
Chicken 900 gm
Water 600 ml
Red gram 175 gm
Moong dal, tuvar dal
and masoor dal 50 gm each
Potatoes 2
Eggplant 1
Onions 4
Fresh spinach 50 gm
Fenugreek leaves, fresh or dried 25 gm
Carrots cubed 115 gm
Fresh coriander 115 g m
Fresh mint 50 gm
Dhansaak masala 2 tbsp
Sambhar masala 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Brown sugar 2 tsp
Tamarind juice 4 tbsp
Garlic, sliced 1 clove

Method:

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and fry the green chilies, ginger and crushed garlic cloves for two minutes. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, chicken and water. Bring to the boil then simmer until the chicken is half cooked.

Drain and keep aside. Add the lentils to the water and cook until they are tender. Mash these.

Drain the potatoes and eggplant and add to the lentils with three of the deep-fried onions, the spinach, fenugreek and carrot. Add some hot water if the mixture is too thick. Cook until the vegetables are tender, then mash again with a spoon, keeping the vegetables a little coarse.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the fresh coriander and mint with the dhansak and sambhar masala, salt and sugar. Add the chicken and fry gently for about 5 minutes.

Return the chicken and spices to the lentil and vegetable mixture and stir well. As lentils absorb fluids, adjust the consistency if necessary. Heat gently until the chicken is fully cooked.

Add the tamarind juice and mix well. Heat the remaining oil and fry the sliced clove of garlic until golden brown. Pour over the dhansak. Garnish with the remaining deep-fried onion and the reserved coriander and mint. Serve hot.
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PARSI PRAWNS WITH POTATOES:

Ingredients

Prawns 450 gm
Lime juice 2 tsp
Potatoes 450 gm
Curry leaves 5-8
Oil 2 tbsp
Fresh green garlic
cloves and shoots (chopped) 8
Green chilies 2
Fresh coriander 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

For the masala:

Dried red chilies 6 (soaked in 1 1/2 tbsp malt vinegar)
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Garlic cloves 4-5
Ground turmeric 1/2 tsp
Onion (chopped) 1

Method:

Wash, clean and de-vein the prawns and drain well. Sprinkle these with the lime juice and some salt and set aside. Grind the masala ingredients in a blender until you have a smooth paste, adding more vinegar if necessary.

Mix with the cubed potatoes and marinate for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a pan and saute the curry leaves, garlic and chillies for 2-3 minutes. Add the potatoes and the masala paste.

Saute for five minutes. Add just enough water to cover the potatoes. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are almost done and the gravy thickens. Increase heat and add the prawns.

Cook over high flame for 2-3 minutes until cooked.

Season with salt and sprinkle with the chopped coriander.
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PATRA NI MACCHI

(SPICY FISH WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES)

Ingredients

Fish 800 gm
Groundnut oil 30 ml
Lemons 3
Fresh coconut 100 gm
Coriander 50 gm
Green chilies 6
Garlic 20 gm
Chillies powder 5 gm
Coriander seeds 1tsp
Cumin seeds 15 gm
Lemon juice 60 ml
Sugar 15 gm
Malt vinegar
Salt to taste
Banana leaves to wrap each fillet
Salt to taste

Method:

Clean and wash fish fillets and cut each fillet into two. Make horizontal slits on the pieces. Sprinkle vinegar and salt and marinate for 30 minutes. Trim, wash and wipe banana leaves.

Cut coconut into pieces.

Clean and chop coriander. Wash, slit and remove the seeds from the green chilies. Peel garlic. Now put all these and the remaining ingredients in the mixer to make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Stuff fish pieces with coconut chutney and spread the rest on both sides.

Apply oil on banana leaves and wrap each piece separately.

Steam the wrapped fish pieces for 30 minutes.

Remove fish from steam, unwrap and arrange on a platter and serve with lemon wedges.
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PARSI LAMB CURRY

Ingredients

Tender Lamb 500 gm
Onions sliced 4 large
Potatoes 4
Tomatoes chopped 2
Kashmiri chilies 7
Curry leaves 4-5
Ginger 1" piece
Garlic cloves 10
Grated coconut 1/2
Tamarind water 1/2 cup
Jaggery 1 tbsp
Oil 4 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Coriander seed 1 tsp
Cumin seed 1/2 tsp
Poppy seed 3 tsp
Peanuts 2 tsp

Method:

Make the ginger garlic paste. Heat the oil and fry onions until golden brown. Add ginger and garlic paste and saute on a slow fire for 2-3 minutes.

Roast and grind coriander, cumin, poppy and peanuts. Add the ground masala and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add ground coconut and cook till aroma comes out.

Add lamb pieces, peeled and quartered potatoes and salt, and fry in the masala. Add 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Cover the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally for about 1 hour until a thick gravy remains and the lamb is tender and succulent.

Mix in tamarind water, jaggery and tomatoes. Cook for another 15 minutes on a slow flame.

Serve hot with rice.
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DRUMSTICK DORU

Ingredients

Drumsticks 2
Gram flour 1/2 cup
Tamarind 1 medium-sized ball
Jaggery 1 large ball
Onion 1
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Chili powder 1/2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp
Red chili paste 1 tsp
Green chilies 2-3
Oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the jaggery and tamarind for 1/2 hour in 2 cups water. Squeeze the jaggery and tamarind to remove all juices and remove the remaining residue. Keep aside the liquid.

Fry onions till brown. Add the gram flour and fry it for two minutes. Pour two tablespoon water and stir till it forms into a paste. Now add all masalas, masala pastes and salt as required. Cook for two minutes. Put in the jaggery-tamarind water mixture and chillies and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add drumstick pieces and cook till tender.
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PARSI CINAMMON PULAO

Ingredients:

Basmati rice 2 cups
Water 4 cups
Oil 1 tbsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
Stick cinnamon 1 inch
Salt 1 tsp

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for half hour Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add cinnamon and sugar. Stir continuously till sugar gets brown (do not let it get burnt) on slow flame. Then add the water and salt, when water boils add the rice .

Then let the rice cook on slow flame for about 20 minutes.
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PARSI WEDDING CUSTARD

Ingredients

Milk 6 cups
Yolks 6 eggs
Whites 4 eggs
Sugar 170 gm
Rose water 5 tbsp
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of cardamom powder
Pistachios 30 gm
Charoli 30 gm
Butter for greasing 1 tsp

Method:

Boil milk and sugar together. Let the milk evaporate till its quantity becomes almost half. Remove from flame and let it cool completely.

With an egg beater or a hand blender, beat the egg whites and yolk together till they form a smooth mixture. Now add this mixture to the milk, along with the pista, (pista has to be blanched and sliced), charoli and rose water and blend again till all ingredients are mixed well.

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Grease a baking dish or tray well, with butter. Add the milk mixture into the tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or till done. Remove from oven and cool. Sprinkle the cardamom powder and nutmeg over the custard, if so desired. Cut into 8-10 fairly large portions and serve on a desert plate or shallow bowl.

Serves (8-10)
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AUDH (Parsi Kheer)

Ingredients

Milk extract of 2 coconuts
Sugar 1 1/4 cup
White rice flour 1 1/2 cup
Ghee 2-3 large tbsp
Rose water 5-6 tbsp
Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg 1 tsp
Cardamom powder 1 tsp
Sliced almonds 50 gm

Method:

Keep the coconut milk on low flame. Add to it, sugar, ghee, sliced almonds and the rice flour and keep stirring continuously. When the mixture is about to become thick in consistency and the ghee separates and floats on the surface, put in vanilla essence, rose water and nutmeg and cardamom powders. Mix well and remove from flame. Pour the mixture and level out into a clean dish or tray and cool. Before serving, cut into square portions and serve in desert plates.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

The basic feature of a Parsi lunch is rice, eaten with lentils or a curry. Curry is made with coconut and ras without, with curry usually being thicker than ras. Dinner would be a meat dish, often accompanied by potatoes or other vegetable curry. Kachubar (a sharp onion-cucumber salad) accompanies most meals.

Popular Parsi dishes include:

chicken farcha (fried chicken)
patra ni machhi (steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf)
dhansak (lamb, mutton, goat or chicken in lentil gravy)
sali murghi (spicy chicken with fine potato crisps)
jinga nu pathio (shrimp in spicy curry)
khichri (rice with leftovers)
saas ni machhi (yellow rice with pomfret fish fillets in white gravy)
jardaloo sali boti (boneless mutton in an onion and tomato gravy with apricots and potato strips)
tamota ni russ chaval (mutton cutlets with white rice and tomato gravy)
Also popular among Parsis, but less so elsewhere are the typical Parsi eeda (egg) dishes, which include akuri (scrambled eggs with spices) and the pora ("Parsi" omlette). Main dishes such as those mentioned above are often served with an egg on top.

Traditional breakfasts during the 1930's in Mumbai or in many South Gujarat villages consisted of khurchan (offal meats cooked with potatoes in a spicy gravy), egg dishes (omelette, called for some reason poro), and deep fried, or fried eggs or half-fried eggs. In the agrarian world this would be washed down by copious quantities of coconut toddy, often straight off the tree.

Although in the not so distant past, vegetables were considered a 'poor peoples food', there is a presently a trend towards light eating, no-red-meat and even vegetarianism.

Common desserts (vasanu, literally 'sweet dish') include sev (vermicelli), ravo (semolina). Also popular are faluda and kulfi, both of which are adoptions from the cuisines of the Irani and Urdu-speaking communities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsi_cuisine

Answer 4

this can explain it better than i

Answer 5

Don't know.