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I want to tell you about the lunch I had last Sunday.
Red, ochre, and bright pink hues danced across my dining table; all thanks to the spread that decorated it. Farida Nanavaty of Mumbai-based Karrylicious Kitchen had warned me that she would be sending an extra box of love with the order. Well, let’s just say there was a lot more than love in it.
The feast began with fried brain cutlets whose crisp exteriors were deceiving; the minute they made contact with the palate, they melted into buttery soft and creamy notes. Just as I began suspecting that this meal might just outdo every other I have previously indulged in, I was proven right by the salli botti (a gravy of boneless mutton served with crisp potato flakes).
Its velvety textures were the perfect envelope for the sweet, spicy and sour profiles of the gravy. The gravy’s ancestors would nod in approval.
I was full. But the crimson strawberry jam and custard cake wouldn’t have any of these excuses. It demanded to be given its fair share of attention. And I obliged.
Now that I have (perhaps) made your mouth water, let me tell you about the chef who made mine do the same. Farida Nanavaty along with her daughter, Karishma, has been at the helm of Karrylicious Kitchen, delivering 150-year-old Parsi recipe-based dishes to the people of Mumbai.
In the face of fading authentic traditions, Farida is building a .
If I had to confide in you, I’d tell you what a task it was to select just a starter, main course and dessert from the brilliantly-designed menu there (Instagram: @karrylicious_kitchen).
Masala fried prawns (L) and Veg au gratin are some of Karrylicious Kitchen’s specialities, Picture source: Farida
As I scrolled through the colourful album of items, chicken Russian cutlets, fried Indian salmon, Parsi prawn biryani and the prawn patia competed for my attention. And I had to fight off the urge to order all of Farida’s dishes!
Amazement at what this Parsi-born and bred woman has created coloured my opinion. But the more I discovered about her story the more it left me in awe. Three things are of note here – Farida’s recipes are true to her great-grandmother’s secrets; she did not know how to beat an egg until she got married; she will leave no stone unturned in giving her customers fresh and the best food — even if it takes her a couple of days to make a dish.
And no I’m not playing ‘Two truths and a lie’ with you. I assure you about the verity of these facts.
Nostalgia is the by-product of Farida’s cooking. This is what food writer Kalyan Karmakar re-iterated in one episode on his YouTube channel ‘Finely Chopped’ where he sat in front of a table that was lined to the edges with enticing dishes.
It was while scrolling through YouTube on a random afternoon that I came across this gem of content. As I listened to Karmakar narrate the tale of Farida’s chicken curry, it left me intrigued. “A 150-year-old recipe led to this dish,” Karmakar pointed out. And in that moment I knew I had to find the woman who was championing her ancestral magic in her .
Thus began the quest to find Farida Nanavaty.
A Google search was inconclusive. As Farida later told me, “I don’t like being in the limelight. I stay away from advertising about my work. It is all word of mouth.” When I complimented her on this Parsi food empire she has created — all in the small space of her home — she laughed. She then regaled me with how culinary brilliance has run in the family DNA.
But a fun fact is that cooking was not something she had considered. “I had all my meals served to me at the table,” she smiles. It was only after getting married at the age of 19, that she began to test her skills. “Every now and then, my mother-in-law and I would try a dessert together. Lemon souffle was our favourite.”
With time, as she began cooking more frequently, she realised the gene had indeed passed onto her. “My kids would tell me that they loved my food,” she notes. This realisation that when her mother and aunt prepared them was heartening for Farida. And she tapped into this sentiment while cooking.
Pomfret curry (L) and Sagan ni Parsi sev are some of the crowd-pullers at Karrylicious Kitchen, Picture source: Farida
But it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that the passion project blossomed into a small business.
It was around this time that a friend of Farida’s brainstormed and suggested she could channel her cooking skills into something fruitful.
“This would be a nice way of staying occupied, spreading happiness and feeding people wholesome food as many restaurants were shut at the time,” recounts Farida.
Thus she and her daughter could be seen distributing food among the poor and feeding stray animals who were facing the brunt of the lockdown. And soon, before they knew it, Karrylicious Kitchen was receiving love from people across Mumbai.
People would place orders well in advance for the Russian cheese chicken and herbs cutlets, the patra ni macchi (steamed fish topped with chutney and wrapped in a banana leaf), mutton biryani with dhansak daal (mutton cooked in a mix of lentils and vegetables) and lagan nu custard (a Parsi dessert).
‘Perfectly-done and true to detail’ this designation would mark out every dish cooked by Farida’s grandmother and great-grandmother. Though she was born after they passed, her mother and aunt’s stories served as references.
“They would supervise each ingredient. All the non-vegetarian ingredients were cleaned and washed with gram flour and salt or vinegar before marinating, for hours. These were then slow-cooked for the best results,” her mother would tell her.
The desserts at Karrylicious Kitchen are made with love and heritage recipes, Picture source: Farida
Food was a celebration.
“There was no haste to finish ; each dish was cooked with love. I learnt never to compromise in any way while cooking because food binds people. You are almost sharing your energy with the person who is eating what you cook,” she notes.
Growing up, Farida’s summer holidays would be spent with the whole family. For two months, the community would gather, stay, cook and enjoy together. “All the kids would be served their meals before the others and I still remember the aroma, taste, happiness, culinary excellence, fun and frolic in the large home,” she says.
A chicken feast (L) and tiger prawns make for a great Sunday lunch, Picture source: Farida
She notes that even though the kitchen was filled with a large number of women cooking their specialities, there was no hint of competition. It is these memories that have remained in the folds of Farida’s recipe books. “Today, whatever we have achieved at Karrylicious Kitchen is because of our roots and authenticity without which it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Parsi food has enjoyed an itinerant history. Farida underlines how every Parsi home has its own repository of culinary secrets. She gestures towards dhansak. “Each and every home has its own recipe for this dish. And the taste also differs across households, but the taste quotient will be amazing irrespective of which home you eat it in.”
That being said, taste profiles also change across generations. Farida agrees. “When I started cooking I used to stay exactly true to my great-grandmother’s and mother’s recipes. But now I allow myself a little variation, a little additions here and there and a change in technique.”
One example is the strawberry jam and custard cake in which Farida has deviated slightly from the original recipe and added a substitute for the usual milk. Another example is the salli chicken where she has added a few more ingredients and changed the technique of cooking the onions in the masala.
Pomfret curry (L) and Veg cheese bakedish, Picture source: Farida
It is challenging to change recipes that are , she says, adding that she woes the recipes that have been lost simply because they weren’t written down. One of these is khattu gosht (a spicy and sour mutton gravy). “None of us have the recipe. I grew up eating it on Sundays and auspicious days, but now the women in my family do not correctly recollect the exact set of ingredients and hand-pounded masalas that went into it.”
While Farida credits the matriarchs of the family for teaching her about cooking, she says she also learnt another important lesson from them. “Don’t do anything half-heartedly.”
“No matter what time it is, if I’m making an order and I realise at the last minute that I’m short of even one ingredient, I will run to the store and get it. I won’t deem a dish finished until I am satisfied that its taste matches the original version,” she says.
You can order your feast at 8879132817 or 7506192017.
Edited by Padmashree Pande
I want to tell you about the lunch I had last Sunday.
Red, ochre, and bright pink hues danced across my dining table; all thanks to the spread that decorated it. Farida Nanavaty of Mumbai-based Karrylicious Kitchen had warned me that she would be sending an extra box of love with the order. Well, let’s just say there was a lot more than love in it.
The feast began with fried brain cutlets whose crisp exteriors were deceiving; the minute they made contact with the palate, they melted into buttery soft and creamy notes. Just as I began suspecting that this meal might just outdo every other I have previously indulged in, I was proven right by the salli botti (a gravy of boneless mutton served with crisp potato flakes).
Its velvety textures were the perfect envelope for the sweet, spicy and sour profiles of the gravy. The gravy’s ancestors would nod in approval.
I was full. But the crimson strawberry jam and custard cake wouldn’t have any of these excuses. It demanded to be given its fair share of attention. And I obliged.
Now that I have (perhaps) made your mouth water, let me tell you about the chef who made mine do the same. Farida Nanavaty along with her daughter, Karishma, has been at the helm of Karrylicious Kitchen, delivering 150-year-old Parsi recipe-based dishes to the people of Mumbai.
In the face of fading authentic traditions, Farida is building a .
If I had to confide in you, I’d tell you what a task it was to select just a starter, main course and dessert from the brilliantly-designed menu there (Instagram: @karrylicious_kitchen).
Masala fried prawns (L) and Veg au gratin are some of Karrylicious Kitchen’s specialities, Picture source: Farida
As I scrolled through the colourful album of items, chicken Russian cutlets, fried Indian salmon, Parsi prawn biryani and the prawn patia competed for my attention. And I had to fight off the urge to order all of Farida’s dishes!
Amazement at what this Parsi-born and bred woman has created coloured my opinion. But the more I discovered about her story the more it left me in awe. Three things are of note here – Farida’s recipes are true to her great-grandmother’s secrets; she did not know how to beat an egg until she got married; she will leave no stone unturned in giving her customers fresh and the best food — even if it takes her a couple of days to make a dish.
And no I’m not playing ‘Two truths and a lie’ with you. I assure you about the verity of these facts.
Of a 150-year-old legacy
Nostalgia is the by-product of Farida’s cooking. This is what food writer Kalyan Karmakar re-iterated in one episode on his YouTube channel ‘Finely Chopped’ where he sat in front of a table that was lined to the edges with enticing dishes.
It was while scrolling through YouTube on a random afternoon that I came across this gem of content. As I listened to Karmakar narrate the tale of Farida’s chicken curry, it left me intrigued. “A 150-year-old recipe led to this dish,” Karmakar pointed out. And in that moment I knew I had to find the woman who was championing her ancestral magic in her .
Thus began the quest to find Farida Nanavaty.
A Google search was inconclusive. As Farida later told me, “I don’t like being in the limelight. I stay away from advertising about my work. It is all word of mouth.” When I complimented her on this Parsi food empire she has created — all in the small space of her home — she laughed. She then regaled me with how culinary brilliance has run in the family DNA.
But a fun fact is that cooking was not something she had considered. “I had all my meals served to me at the table,” she smiles. It was only after getting married at the age of 19, that she began to test her skills. “Every now and then, my mother-in-law and I would try a dessert together. Lemon souffle was our favourite.”
With time, as she began cooking more frequently, she realised the gene had indeed passed onto her. “My kids would tell me that they loved my food,” she notes. This realisation that when her mother and aunt prepared them was heartening for Farida. And she tapped into this sentiment while cooking.
Pomfret curry (L) and Sagan ni Parsi sev are some of the crowd-pullers at Karrylicious Kitchen, Picture source: Farida
But it was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that the passion project blossomed into a small business.
It was around this time that a friend of Farida’s brainstormed and suggested she could channel her cooking skills into something fruitful.
“This would be a nice way of staying occupied, spreading happiness and feeding people wholesome food as many restaurants were shut at the time,” recounts Farida.
Thus she and her daughter could be seen distributing food among the poor and feeding stray animals who were facing the brunt of the lockdown. And soon, before they knew it, Karrylicious Kitchen was receiving love from people across Mumbai.
People would place orders well in advance for the Russian cheese chicken and herbs cutlets, the patra ni macchi (steamed fish topped with chutney and wrapped in a banana leaf), mutton biryani with dhansak daal (mutton cooked in a mix of lentils and vegetables) and lagan nu custard (a Parsi dessert).
Heritage is the secret ingredient
‘Perfectly-done and true to detail’ this designation would mark out every dish cooked by Farida’s grandmother and great-grandmother. Though she was born after they passed, her mother and aunt’s stories served as references.
“They would supervise each ingredient. All the non-vegetarian ingredients were cleaned and washed with gram flour and salt or vinegar before marinating, for hours. These were then slow-cooked for the best results,” her mother would tell her.
The desserts at Karrylicious Kitchen are made with love and heritage recipes, Picture source: Farida
Food was a celebration.
“There was no haste to finish ; each dish was cooked with love. I learnt never to compromise in any way while cooking because food binds people. You are almost sharing your energy with the person who is eating what you cook,” she notes.
Growing up, Farida’s summer holidays would be spent with the whole family. For two months, the community would gather, stay, cook and enjoy together. “All the kids would be served their meals before the others and I still remember the aroma, taste, happiness, culinary excellence, fun and frolic in the large home,” she says.
A chicken feast (L) and tiger prawns make for a great Sunday lunch, Picture source: Farida
She notes that even though the kitchen was filled with a large number of women cooking their specialities, there was no hint of competition. It is these memories that have remained in the folds of Farida’s recipe books. “Today, whatever we have achieved at Karrylicious Kitchen is because of our roots and authenticity without which it wouldn’t have been possible.”
Parsi food has enjoyed an itinerant history. Farida underlines how every Parsi home has its own repository of culinary secrets. She gestures towards dhansak. “Each and every home has its own recipe for this dish. And the taste also differs across households, but the taste quotient will be amazing irrespective of which home you eat it in.”
That being said, taste profiles also change across generations. Farida agrees. “When I started cooking I used to stay exactly true to my great-grandmother’s and mother’s recipes. But now I allow myself a little variation, a little additions here and there and a change in technique.”
One example is the strawberry jam and custard cake in which Farida has deviated slightly from the original recipe and added a substitute for the usual milk. Another example is the salli chicken where she has added a few more ingredients and changed the technique of cooking the onions in the masala.
Pomfret curry (L) and Veg cheese bakedish, Picture source: Farida
It is challenging to change recipes that are , she says, adding that she woes the recipes that have been lost simply because they weren’t written down. One of these is khattu gosht (a spicy and sour mutton gravy). “None of us have the recipe. I grew up eating it on Sundays and auspicious days, but now the women in my family do not correctly recollect the exact set of ingredients and hand-pounded masalas that went into it.”
While Farida credits the matriarchs of the family for teaching her about cooking, she says she also learnt another important lesson from them. “Don’t do anything half-heartedly.”
“No matter what time it is, if I’m making an order and I realise at the last minute that I’m short of even one ingredient, I will run to the store and get it. I won’t deem a dish finished until I am satisfied that its taste matches the original version,” she says.
You can order your feast at 8879132817 or 7506192017.
Edited by Padmashree Pande