Parsi food festival at Novotel is a blast of authentic flavours
Parsi food festival at Novotel is a blast of authentic flavours
Novotel Kolkata presents Parsi Food Festival in association with t2 Where: The Square, Novotel Kolkata On till: March 20 Timings: 7.30pm to 11.30pm Pocket pinch: Rs 1,499-plus per person
TT Bureau
Published 16.03.18, 12:00 AM
“Parsi food has three distinct flavours. The first bite seems sweet, as you chew it gets tangy and eventually the spicy taste crops up. We have tried to keep Parsi classics like Dhansak and Dhan Dal Patio on the menu,” said chef Tehmtan, along with wife Shernaz, who took t2 through each dish.
What: Novotel Kolkata presents Parsi Food Festival in association with t2
Where: The Square, Novotel Kolkata
On till: March 20
Timings: 7.30pm to 11.30pm
Pocket pinch: Rs 1,499-plus per person
Just a few days before the Parsi community gets busy celebrating Navroze (Parsi New Year), Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences decided to come up with a Parsi Food Festival to bring to its guests the flavours from the community’s kitchens. Heading the festival are chef Tehmtan Dumasia, along with wife Shernaz, from Mumbai. The couple specialises in Parsi cuisine and are in the city to curate a buffet menu alongside interacting with guests who’d like to know more about Parsi food.
t2 stepped in one evening to try some Parsi grub, and here’s getting you the food and mood from the evening that followed.
“My wife is a Parsi, and even before marrying her I worked for around six years in Mumbai, where I was deeply acquainted with the cuisine, and hence I make it a point to organise the Parsi food festival around Navroze, each year, no matter which city I go to. The Boomla-no-Patio is my fave,” smiled Sandeep Johri, GM, Novotel Kolkata, who posed for the t2 camera with wife Dilnaz and daughter Sanaya.
“For us the starters were the highlight and, in fact, Cyrus and I filled ourselves with too many starters. That apart, the food was really authentic, and to every Parsi a well-cooked dhan dal is the ultimate comfort, and here it was cooked really well,” said Trista Madan, a homemaker, who was accompanied by husband Cyrus Madan, trustee of the Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s Religious and Charity Fund.
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The guests of the evening —
(l-r) Sudeshna Sen, Lagnajita Chakraborty, Abhishek Dutta, Anubrata Chatterjee, Satrajit Sen and Iman Chakraborty shared the table and some laughter as they relished the spread.
T2 PICKS
Chicken Farcha: A typical Parsi snack, tender pieces of chicken with bone are coated in egg wash and deep-fried for a crisp texture. You won’t stop at just one!
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Gosht-nu Dhansak: Pulao cooked with caramelised onions is served with a thick dal-based curry with tender and juicy mutton pieces, alongside some fresh salad. “This dish is typically eaten on the fourth day of mourning (when there’s a death in the family), but over the years it has become a comfort food for most Parsis as well as non-Parsi people,” explained chef Tehmtan.
Salli Par Edu: “We Parsis cannot do without eggs, and hence we cook it in any way possible. The Salli Par Edu is eggs sprinkled with potato crisps or salli as we call it and cooked in water. The oil from the salli helps cook the egg as well. It’s one of our simplest and most widely cooked dishes,” explained chef Shernaz, as she whipped the dish for us at a live counter.
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Boomla-no-Patio: Seafood lovers will relish this fresh Bombay Duck coated in semolina and deep-fried. Squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice on to it to bring out the freshness of the fish and you’re good to go.
Kolmi-no-Patio: Steamed rice, fresh and thick toor dal that is known as dhan dal, served with a rich, tangy, onion- and tomato-based gravy with juicy prawns to make the ultimate soul-soothing meal. For best results, relish it with your hands.
