Chef Anahita Dhondy spills beans on her Parsi roots and culinary heritage

Each of our families play an important role in shaping up our culinary inclinations and it wasn’t any different for Chef Anahita Dhondy of SodaBottleOpenerWala. Even though she grew up in Delhi, her Parsi roots influenced her in more ways than one, even her choice of becoming a chef. The culinary expert was recently in the city to launch her book The Parsi Kitchen- A Memoir of Food & Family. The book captures vivid moments from her growing up years, where the Le Cordon Bleu alumnus doesn’t only share recipes but jots down kitchen memories of her grandmother, food conversations with relatives, and how her mother played an important role in keeping the Parsi fabric intact in her life. We grabbed the opportunity to quickly note down an exclusive Parsi recipe right from the kitchen of Anahita’s grandmother.

Akuri

Ingredients:

3 Eggs,

2 tbsp oil (any),

2 medium sized onions (finely chopped),

2 medium sized tomatoes (finely chopped),

½ tsp ginger- garlic paste,

1-2 green chilli (slit and finely chopped),

1 tsp sambhar masala,

½ tsp turmeric powder,

½ tsp red chilli powder,

1 tbsp butter,

2 slices Bread (any, toasted with butter),

Salt & Pepper to taste,

Fresh Coriander (finely chopped, for garnish)

Method:

1.       Heat oil on high flame, in a non- stick pan.

2.       Add Onions and Chillies (fry until brown)

3.       Add Ginger- Garlic paste, cook all for a few more minutes

4.       Add Sambhar Masala, Turmeric and Red Chilli Powder and toss for a few minutes until mixed well

5.       Add some water if the mixture looks dry

6.       Add tomatoes and stir until the mixture thickens.

7.       Cool or store the paste in a separate bowl

8.       Break eggs in a separate bowl and whip them with salt & pepper.

9.       Turn the burner down to the lowest heat, gently pour the eggs and stir.

10.   Run spatula through eggs until the colour looks similar to the sun at dusk.

11.   Increase heat after 3- 4 minutes and stir faster.

12.   Add coriander to eggs, and stir for 2- 3 minutes until the consistency becomes runnier than scrambled eggs.

13.   Serve with toasted bread smeared with butter.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves 2