Parsi Prawn Curry

The 69,000 strong Parsi community of India is special indeed!

 Apart from contributing so much to trade and economy they have added a sense of honesty to business for centuries!

And more importantly they have shown us how to make eggs in a hundred ways .....given us iconic dishes like Salli boti, Patrani Macchi , Dhansak and more , each of these stunning dishes is a celebration of fusion of Persian cooking with Gujrati cooking techniques  !

Like all Indian cultures, the Parsi way of life is one of assimilation. Their language, customs, food are a combination of Persian and Gujarati traditions. 

We love Parsis for their generosity, idiosyncrasies,prominent noses, great hospitality , love for the good things in life- food, alcohol, travel,western classical music , a passion for two-wheelers , a rollicking sense of humour and for making Bombay a great city!

I am lucky to have know N for so many years....she is a great cook who knows so much about every day home style Parsi food.


          


This curry is my favorite , its fool proof and my go to recipe for fish and prawns!

And I must mention this is N's aunts recipe!

 So this  is Freny Mamis Parsi Prawn Curry...
 SERVES 2 

300 g prawns de-veined , washed 

For the curry powder 

White sesame seeds 1.5 tablespoons
Coriander seeds 1.5 tablespoons
Poppy seeds 1.5 tablespoons
Cumin seeds 1 tablespoon
Kashmiri whole dried chillies 7-8 (with seeds removed )

1 tomato
1 onion
7-8 cloves of garlic
A few curry leaves

25g maggi coconut milk powder packet diluted in 1.5 cups of water 
OR
1.5 cups coconut milk fresh or from a can

Lemon juice and coriander leaves to garnish 

2 tablespoons oil (refined oil)

PROCEDURE

Dry roast the ingredients together mentioned under Curry powder on a hot griddle/tawa for 2-3 minutes on very low heat . Once they are just a little toasted cool and blend to a powder in a blender.
Then add the tomato, onion and garlic cloves into the blender and blend with the curry powder to obtain a curry paste.

In  a pan heat some oil , add curry leaves and cook the curry paste for 5-10 minutes . Then add the prepared coconut milk and let it come to a 
boil.

Add prawns cook for a further 5 minutes till prawns are cooked,dont over cook prawns. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and some coriander leaves.

Serve with steamed rice!

Yakh Dar Behesht ~ Persian for Ice in Heaven

This is an exotic, delicate, sophisticated  Persian custard laced with rose water and sprinkled with pistachios and rose petals.Known as Yakh Dar Behesht which loosely translates to Ice in Heaven , I came across this exquisite dessert in an equally exquisite book by Ariana Bundy. Ariana in her book aptly titled Pomegranate and Roses manages to capture the sensual, exotic pleasure of Persian cuisine as well as celebrating the values and traditions cherished by her family in Persia.  

Part memoir, part travelogue, this evocative collection of Persian recipes is a celebration of a vibrant culture and its cuisine. For anyone who enjoys food this book is a must buy with beautiful pictures, wonderful family stories and exotic recipes . 

I re-created Ariana's wonderful dessert in my kitchen and it was excellent so delicate and creamy it transports you to another time and place .....to the walled rose gardens of Esfahan .

 I am truly blessed to have some very wonderful thoughtful friends who always remember to bring me exotic ingredients from their travels so K , thank-you for the lovely persian rose water ....it came to very good use in this recipe.

 Ingredients

Makes 8 individual servings

1 litre / 4 cups milk
75g /3/4 cup rice flour
120g or 3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp rose water
3 cardamom pods lightly crushed
2 tbsp slivered pistachios
rose petals and edible gold leaf to serve (optional....I used silver foil)

Place the milk, rice flour and sugar in a saucepan. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, over a medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken – about 10 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t catch at the bottom by scraping the bottom and sides of the saucepan with your spoon.

Add the rose water and the cardamom pods and continue cooking and stirring until the custard is thick and glossy – about another 2 minutes. 

Pick out the cardamom pods, then pour the custard into ramekins, or one large serving dish. Leave to cool in the fridge for a few hours about 3-4 hours, then sprinkle with slivered pistachios, rose petals and gold/silver leaf if using.