Synopsis

The Persians of antiquity were renowned for their lavish cuisine and their never-ceasing fascination with the exotic. These traits still find expression in the cooking of India's rapidly dwindling Parsi population--descendants of Zoroastrians who fled Persia after the Sassanian empire fell to the invading Arabs. The first book published in the United States on Parsi food written by a Parsi, this beautiful volume includes 165 recipes and makes one of India's most remarkable regional cuisines accessible to Westerners. In an intimate narrative rich with personal experience, the author leads readers into a world of new ideas, tastes, ingredients, and techniques, with a range of easy and seductive menus that will reassure neophytes and challenge explorers.

Judith Sutton - Library Journal

The Parsis are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians who fled to India, primarily Bombay, centuries ago to escape the Arab invaders. King, a talented cook with a background in anthropology, grew up in Bombay (Mumbai) and has lived in San Francisco for many years. Here, she offers a wide-ranging, highly readable introduction to her culinary heritage. She describes Parsi cooking as a "magpie cuisine . . . gleeful[ly] borrowing" from other influences over the years. She begins with a brief history of the Parsis and an introduction to her grandmother's and mother's kitchens and then presents more than 150 recipes, both sophisticated and homey, many of which will be unfamiliar even to most Indian-food lovers. The headnotes are informative and entertaining, and the book concludes with a selection of menus, a detailed glossary, a source guide, and a bibliography. Highly recommended.

Biography

Niloufer Ichaporia King is an independent scholar.