Prawn Kebabs from The Parsi Cookbook

Parsi: From Persia to Bombay

Welcome to another new edition of The Flavor Files! I’m thrilled you’re here, and if you haven’t signed up yet, let me nudge you to join the group.

Hello,

I’m over the moon to share a new favorite cookbook of mine with you, Parsi: From Bomaby to Persia. It’s a book I’ve quickly fallen in love with and cooked out of a lot.

Bombay (Mumbai), where I was born and grew up, owes a lot to the Parsi community. Whenever I visit, I look forward to visiting my favorite spots like Cafe Irani, Kyani & Co, Yazdani Bakery and Restaurant, etc. I was overjoyed when London-based Chef Farokh Talati’s cookbook landed in my mail. The book is a beautiful tome and celebration of Parsi culture and life, containing over 150 recipes.

As I opened Farokh Talati’s book and flipped through the pages, my nostalgia went into overdrive. I quickly remembered the crunchiness of khara biscuits, mawa cakes studded with nuts, and warm plates of bun maska with kheema (buttered toasted buns with spiced ground meat) when I stopped by the bakeries near St. Xavier’s College (where I got my undergrad) in South Bombay. This is a book that made me smile often and now sits perched proudly on my cookbook shelf.

I wanted to share so many recipes in this book with you, and there is no doubt that I’ll cook out of this book a lot. The pages for Quince and Rose Paste, Boozy Caramel Custard, Akuri, Mawa Cake, Chicken Farcha, and many others have been marked enthusiastically to be cooked. But today, I’ve picked the Prawn Kebabs/Kolmi Na Kavab and the accompanying Masala Paste/Peesalo Masalo to share with you. The masala paste is worth the time; the joy of onions slowly caramelized until they almost turn jammy, mingled with the scent of warm spices, is a pantry staple, I didn’t think I needed until now. Make a big batch and stick it in your freezer, and whenever you need a jolt of sweet, spicy onion flavor for a stew, curry, soup, or whatever, this will come in handy.

While kebabs might evoke images of skewers and fiery grills, there are kebabs like chapli kebabs, shami kebabs, and these prawn kebabs that skip the grill and are cooked by frying. This recipe uses a boiled potato along with the prawns themselves as the binding agents. Once the kebabs are shaped, they’re tossed in semolina and lightly whisked eggs to help create a gorgeous golden brown, threaded texture on the fried kebabs. The kebabs are succulent and, honestly, difficult to share. We enjoyed them on their own, and the leftover kebabs were served the next day as sliders with a spoonful of mango achaar.

Parsi: From Persia to Bombay: recipes & tales from the ancient culture. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Copyright © 2022 by Farokh Talati (Amazon/Bookshop)

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Have a great week,

xx

Nik