"Everyone in my family likes to eat and cook,” award-winning author, food photographer and culinary instructor Niloufer Mavalvala told Eos during her recent visit to Karachi from Canada, where she is now based.

Niloufer started taking cooking classes while in sixth grade at the Mama Parsi Girls Secondary School in Karachi and was known for her baked delights, particularly brownies and cakes. One reason for her excellence in the kitchen, claims Niloufer, was her father Dr Jamshed Hormuzshaw Wania, who she lost very early in life.

“He used to say that everybody has to eat, so they should eat tasty food,” she said, smiling at the memory. “He also thought that the best test for any chef was to ask them to make scrambled eggs.”

That’s her inspiration behind the simple yet delicious Parsi food that she is known for cooking. “My dishes are well-balanced — they may be spicy but they are not hot, and they are never oily,” she proclaimed. “We Parsis also use sweet like salt to balance the flavours. More often than not, we add a pinch of sugar to enhance the sweetness of vegetables. Just like that, whenever we add vinegar in a recipe, we will add jaggery to balance the flavour,” she explained.

A Parsi twist on the chicken biryani for the upcoming Navroz comes from a renowned chef whose cookbooks have won multiple international awards and accolades

Niloufer recalled that, when she started taking cooking classes in school, she wanted to experiment with different recipes at home, where she already had an exceptional cook in her mother, Shireen. “It took eight years of supervision from my mother before I was allowed to even use a knife,” she laughed. “Until then it was just mixing stuff to prepare batters.”

But once she got past that stage, there was no stopping Niloufer. At 17 years of age, she started cooking classes for eight to 10-year-olds at Karachi Grammar School. Her cooking blog, www.nilouferskitchen.com, came first. Once she crossed a million followers, she ventured into writing and authored her first cook book. “And because it also was so successful, I wrote three more,” she said smiling. All her books have been published in Canada, where she moved after marriage.

“One other reason to write the books is that I feel that food is a culture that binds us all together. The best friendships and bonds happen at the dining table, while breaking bread together,” she continued.

Niloufer’s books have won eight Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, the major global culinary publishing recognition in the world. The World of Parsi Cooking — Food Across Borders, her second book, won the ‘Best of the Best in 30 Years’ award and her latest, The Route to Parsi Cooking — From Pars to India and Beyond, won the ‘Best in the World’ award.

Niloufer has done live cooking demonstrations in Toronto, London and Dubai. During the Covid-19 lockdown, she posted 200 free online classes, over Zoom, to promote Parsi cuisine and the art of cooking. “We Parsis have a dish for every occasion,” she added.

One such occasion takes place on Jamshedi Navroz, when Parsis celebrate the advent of spring, and which is coming up this month. “Jamshedi Navroz is celebrated across the Persian peninsula and beyond, and not necessarily by Parsis alone,” Niloufer pointed out, adding that she feels that rice is one thing that is eaten everywhere. Hence, she likes cooking chicken biryani during Navroz.

“Parsis call the chicken biryani ‘Murghi No Palau’,” she told me before presenting me with a signed copy of her latest book, The Route to Parsi Cooking. “You’ll find the recipe here. Make it your own. Add your favourite spices to it if you feel like it.”

So here it is, from Niloufer’s book…

RECIPE

You need around 500 grammes of boneless chicken and two cups of rice. The chicken needs to be cleaned and washed before being set aside. The rice, too, requires rinsing and setting aside. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius.

In a bowl, take one cup of yoghurt and season it lightly with salt and sugar (to taste). Also keep aside a tablespoon of tomato paste, about a cup of crushed fried onion and 500g of peeled and cubed potatoes, soaking in tapwater.

Heat one teaspoon of oil in a pot and add to it a teaspoon of crushed ginger and garlic each, one finely chopped green chilli, a teaspoon each of salt and cumin powder, one-fourth teaspoon of turmeric powder, two teaspoons of red chilli powder and three-fourth teaspoon each of coriander powder and garam masala [roasted spices].

Stir and cook for a minute until aromatic. Add the chicken and cook for five minutes till it changes colour. Add the tomato paste, onions and potatoes. Stir well and cover with a lid for everything to steam for some seven minutes.

Transfer the chicken and potatoes into a deep 13x9 inch (33x22cm) roasting dish and evenly pour the yogurt all over it. Spoon the raw rice over that. Place a dried bay leaf and two whole green cardamom pods on it all. Now pour in four cups of boiling water with one and a half teaspoon of salt mixed in it already.

Take a wet piece of parchment paper to cover it and seal with foil. Place the dish in a hot water bath in the oven and cook for

40 minutes. After turning the oven off, leave it for another 20 minutes before serving.

The writer is a member of staff. X: @HasanShazia

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 1st, 2026