Comments for Sugar in the Milk: A Parsi Kitchen Story

Piece image

This piece belongs to the series "Hidden Kitchens"

Other pieces by The Kitchen Sisters

Summary: Niloufer Ichaporia King lives in a house with 3 kitchen. She goes to 6 farmer's markets a week. She is an anthropologist, a kitchen botanist, a one-of-a-kind cook, a Parsi from Bombay living in San Francisco. Niloufer is known for her ritual celebrations of Parsi New Year on the first day of Spring, when she creates an elaborate ceremonial meal based on the auspicious foods and traditions of her her vanishing culture.
 

Caption: PRX default User image

Parsi cooking or Persian cooking?

Is not the real Parsi cooking still in Iran being prepared by millions of Persians every day? Or do you mean Parsi/Indian cuisine? Millions of Persians celebrate New Years with traditions and meals that go back to pre Islamic times. Perhaps the Zorastrian/Parsi expats are dwindling in numbers, but certainly not the culture and food of the Persian people. Persians are proud of their pre Islamic culture and cuisine, and they are protective of it.
Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy the story, Zorastrians I am curious about and there is not a lot of info out there about them. I wonder how much they have in common with their brothers and sisters in Iran. Who is really more like the Persians of old, the ones that changed their religion or the ones that left their country many centuries ago? Observing and knowing immigrants here in the U.S., it seems almost impossible for even second generation offspring to not be heavily influenced by our culture and way of life...