Parsee Paanu

Symbolic, the engraved undivided India's map on brassed eat plate in year 1867

Importance of Zoroastrian Priesthood - Parsi Times According to Firdausi’s Shahnameh, during the prehistoric Peshdadian times (i.e., even before the advent of Asho Zarathushtra) Iranian society was divided

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Homemade Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (227grams/4 Oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup (150grams/ 5.3Oz) sugar
1/2 cup (120ml) sour cream
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1-1/2 cup (204grams/7.2Oz) flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
Must express something to keep getting my recipes.... Thank you.
📌Recipe in first (c.o.m.m.e.n.t ).👇👇👇👇

Sweet chilli sauce

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes.

Creaming the butter and sugar together is generally a technique used for cookies, but doing so in this recipe helps the cakes become light and fluffy.

Step 2: Add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until each fully incorporates before adding another.

Adding the egg yolks one at a time, allows each one to full incorporate easier. It also helps prevent any kind of liquid splatter as the mixer does it’s work!

Step 3: Add the German Chocolate to the boiling water and stir until the chocolate completely melts.

Adding the chocolate to already boiling water allows the chocolate to melt, while preventing the chocolate from possibly burning.

Step 4: Add the melted chocolate to the batter and mix until fully incorporated, about 3 minutes on medium speed.

Waiting for the chocolate to cool before adding to the batter is key, since there are egg yolks in the mixture. Adding boiling chocolate to the mix could very well scramble the eggs and that would not be good.

Step 5: In a separate bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt and sift together.

Sifting the flour mixture helps aerate the mixture and prevent any lumps from forming in the batter. It’s another way of helping us create a light and fluffy cake!

Step 6: Add the flour mixture alternatively with the buttermilk to the chocolate batter.

Add the buttermilk and flour mixture one third at a time, alternating between the two. This allows the ingredients to fully incorporate with the rest of the mixture and prevent any lumps from forming.

Step 7: Mix on medium to high speed for 5 minutes or until everything completely combines.

Be sure to scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure that all of the batter is getting mixed. I typically will pause the mixer halfway through to do this.

Step 8: Whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks begin to form.

It will take about 3-4 minutes for the egg whites to be stiff if you use the stand mixer on the highest speed with a whisk attachment. It will take about 2 minutes to see a real rise from the eggs, so be patient!

Step 9: Gently fold in the egg whites until the batter is smooth.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites. This method will allow the egg whites to retain their volume which results in a fluffy cake.

Step 10: Pour the cake batter into two cake pans and bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes.

The cakes are done when the middle is no longer wobbly and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. A great way to tell if a cake is done is if the edges start pulling away from the cake pan. I always use a thermometer to make sure my cakes are 210ºF before taking out of the oven.

Yatha tamari madad
Sarosh tamari panah
Panah E Muskil Asaan Behram Yazad
Ameen Ameen Ameen

Ancient underground city of Kariz, Kish Island, Iran.

ZTFI Arranges Pilgrimage To Udvada - Parsi Times The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of India (ZTFI) celebrated a memorable pilgrimage trip to Iranshah Atash Behram, Udwada, which greatly resonated with

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Congratulations.

Congratulations to Ervad Rayan Kaizad Kotwal on becoming a Navar. ❤️

OZCF Gala Raises $868,000 For Atashkadeh Construction - Parsi Times In an inspirational display of community spirit, the Ontario Zoroastrian Community Foundation (OZCF) hosted a spectacular gala on 11th November, 2023, at

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Old post
this was written for an issue of FEZANA ... some time ago ... sorry, a tad long, esp with the recipes ...

CELEBRATION OF ALL CREATION:
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GAHAMBAR

The genesis and provenance of the Gahambar – like the genesis and provenance of much else – is shrouded in the mists of time.

The Gahambar as it was observed and celebrated centuries ago, was doubtless vastly different from the Gahambar as it is now understood, observed and celebrated. The essentials, however, remain unchanged. The Gahambar continues to be now, as it was then, a time for the community to come together, to feast, to bond!

The origins and meaning of the word `Gahambar’ or `Ghambar’ vary. According to the Iranians, the word is `Gahanbar’, derived from the Persian, signifying storage of food for the lean winter months. Another version describes the word `Gahambar’ as a time for gathering of food and people. Yet another version places the literal meaning as `the proper season’. Some scholars credit the provenance to the Pahlavi word `Gaasamber’. `Gaas’ (or `Gah’?) meaning time, and `ambar’ meaning the getting together of people. Consensus evidently boils down to: a time for gathering of food and people, in various seasons.

According to some scholars, the Gahambars are said to be instituted by the Prophet Zarathushtra himself, and are stated to be the only `festivals’ mentioned in the Avesta. King Jamsheed is generally credited with having intitiated the Gahambar Ceremony. Intitially agricultural in nature, the Gahambars subsequently assumed religious and social dimensions, as also cosmogonical ones.

Each year celebrates six Gahambars, over a period of five days each. The six Gahambars represent the changing seasons, as also the six stages of the evolution of the Universe, reflecting the six `primordial creations’ of Ahura Mazda:

1. Maidyozarem Gahambar, the mid-spring feast, (Heaven), celebrated from, in terms of the Gregorian Calendar, April 30 to May 4;
2. Maidyoshahem Gahambar, the mid-summer feast, (Water), celebrated from June 29 to July 3 ;
3. Paitishahem Gahambar, the harvest feast, (Earth), celebrated from September 12 to September 16;
4. Ayathrem Gahambar, the herding feast, (Flora, Vegetation), celebrated from October 12 to October 16;
5. Maidyarem Gahambar, the mid-winter feast, (Fauna, Animal life) celebrated from December 31 to January 4;
6. Hamaspathmaidyem Gahambar, the feast of all souls, (Man), celebrated from March 16 to March 20.

Each Gahambar is celebrated over five days. The first four days are devoted to prayers and liturgical services, beginning with the Benediction Ceremony, the Afrin, (Afrinagan, Afrinameh), prayer in love and praise and remembrance of our ancestors. The fifth day is meant for communal interaction and feasting.

Today, to the uninitiated, the word Gahambar generally does mean just that: community get together, over a feast. And rarely is a Gahambar celebrated over five days. However, that does not – and should not – detract from either its significance, or its purpose, or its importance in the lives of present day Zoroastrians across the world. Five-day Gahambars six times a year would perhaps be difficult to observe, in modern times. However, regular observance of the Gahambar, even for a day, would be an excellent way for the community to meet, to bond, to resolve differences, and to share ideas, find solutions to issues, interact, aided by good food, good wine, and camaraderie.

Since time immemorial, the Gahambar commemorates the celebration of brotherhood, (not to forget sisterhood too!!!), of charity, of good deeds, of truth, together with the celebration of All Creation, the different seasons of the year, the Universe itself, and of course, the Creator of All: Ahura Mazda. The Zoroastrian religion does not frown on celebration, and indeed gives an important place to food and victuals. In all our rituals and liturgical services, food for all living beings, food also for the souls (as distinct from the `soul’) holds an important place: [jashan ni chaashni, satum nu-bhonu,(when the favourite delicacies of the dear departed are offered together with the prayers), and the custom of keeping g*i nu daran, kutra no buk, chakli no daano] … etc. Fasting or deprivation has no place in Zoroastrian tenets, and scholars believe that the Prophet himself laid an obligation on his followers to celebrate the High Feasts. Thus, meals in every season are enjoyed in remembrance of the beneficent Creator, who has created such plenitude for the maintenance and health and happiness of every living creature, and also the Archangels. It is believed that the aroma of good food attracts Spiritual Beings, and that during the High Feasts, or the Gahambars, spiritual and physical beings together partake of the victuals laid out.

The Gahambar is also a great equalizer. Rich and poor, learned and not-so-learned, young and old, get together, pray together, sit together, eat together, laugh together, enjoy together. The funding of the Gahambar traditionally has been done by those who can afford it; meals were prepared together by volunteers, and served by volunteers. It is a time for the community to get together, forgetting old grouses and grudges, to reaffirm old friendships, forge new ones, and come together in unity and harmony, for the prosperity and well being of all. The importance of the various acts of piety, including radih (being charitable) and rastih (being truthful) is re-indoctrinated into the minds of all, and one is re-oriented with one’s religious and social roots.

So much for the `food for the soul’. What about `food for the body’? And let’s not knock `food for the body, folks! Lin Yutang, in his wonderfully iconoclastic collection of Essays, `With Love and Irony’, quotes Lord Balfour as `wisely saying’ that “… the human brain is as much an organ for seeking food as the pig’s snout …”, placing robust common sense and practical survival above abstruse, abstract thinking. We Parsees, of course, are great ones for good food!

So, what would the menu of a traditional Gahambar consist of? The good old papeta-ma-ghosh, it appears! Together with the traditional Iranian soup, aush, and the siroj, or fried bread. There would also be kharu-ghosh, ambakalio, kachumbar. And the ajil or lork, i.e. a mix of seven different dried fruit and nuts; pistachio, roasted chickpeas, almonds, hazelnuts, figs, apricots and raisins. Variants could include roasted squash or melon seeds, walnuts, cashews, mulberries, etc.

Nowadays at most Gahambars, one is served the traditional lagan-nu-bhonu, or the sagan-no dhaan-dal-patio, or fish curry-rice, accompanied by bharuchi akuri, bhaji-dana-nu-ghosh, patties, etc. Rarely, if ever, is the service done by volunteers, or even, for that matter, the actual cooking, the preparation of the meal. Nor is every Gahambar necessarily one of the six mentioned above. There is also the khushaali-no-Gahambar, sometimes sponsored by one or several Humdin, for a celebratory purpose, or a Gahambar to commemorate something or someone. There is both precedent and authority for that.

One of the most moving stories related to a Commemorative Gahambar, I have come to learn from my mother, Homai Wandrewala: That of the vaal-no-Gahambar, or the Variav behedin-nu-parabh. This is connected with the historic and heroic Jung-e-Variav,or the Battle of Variav, fought sometime during the late 11th Century, or early 12th century AD. The small village of Variav, near Surat, on the banks of the river Tapti, (now part of Greater Surat), had a largely Parsi Population. A Rajput Price who had suzerainty over Variav, the Raja of Ratanpur, was enraged with the Parsees of Variav, because they defied him, and refused to pay the unjust, excessive tribute / revenue (mehesul), which he would forcibly collect. In order to enforce his unjust demand, he would send mercenaries, (called `garasias’), to claim the mehesul. Generally, these garasias were repulsed by the brave Parsi men of Variav. One day, the menfolk had gone off to a far-off village, for a vaal and toddy party, leaving behind the women and the elderly. It was on that fateful day that the garasias decided to pay another visit to Variav. The women, pre-warned of the impending attack from the clouds of dust across the river raised by the horses’ hoofs, decided to try and repulse the garasias themselves in the absence of the menfolk. Led by a brave lady named Navaz, the women donned their men’s riding attire, put on visors on their faces, and got astride horses with whatever arms they could lay their hands on. Indeed, they fought so bravely, that the garasias were repulsed and started riding back towards the bridge fording the river, when one of them happened to turn around and noticed the earring on the ear of a woman, whose visor had shifted askew during the fight. Realizing that they were being beaten by women, the garasias returned with renewed frenzy. The women, apprehending molestation by the garasias if caught alive, en masse jumped into the river and drowned. The garasias then forcibly collected the mehesul from the elderly folk of Variav, who narrated what had happened to the young men when they returned. It appears that on that day every year thereafter, the men of Variav, to commemorate the bravery of their women, held what they called the vaal-no-gahambar, or the Jung-e-Variav Gahambar, at which only vaal was served. Apparently, this was on roz Ashishvang, mah Ferverdeen. There is some uncertainty as to the historical authenticity of this story. Apparently however, there is mention of the Jung-e-Variav in one of the Disa Pothis (Family Death Register) unearthed by Dr. Sir Jivanji Mody, during his researches. It appears that most families then kept a `Disa Pothi’ which, apart from giving details and genealogies of individual families, also was a repository of much historical information.

As said, generally, the Gahambars are funded by those who can either afford to or wish to, the rich, the affluent, the charitable. Gahambars are also funded by contributions collected from the community at large. While there are funds specially created for the holding of the Gahambars, there are also Gahambars held to raise funds for worthwhile charitable purposes, all over the world, wherever the diasporic Parsees have made their homes. And the charities are not necessarily limited to the country or place in which the Gahambar is hosted, the charitable objective may well be in a different country!

Today, our community is at the crossroads. Divergent views, notions, perceptions - including about what is doctrinally right or wrong - are creating avoidable divides within the community, and from what I can gather, (subject to correction, please!), especially in India, the `mother country’. This is something all of us can ill afford, even those living outside India. We need a unity of understanding, some commonality of perception, and a tolerance of differing views and perceptions, so as to hold together. We need to count our blessings and curb our cribs. We have enough, within our community, for the well-being of all. Perhaps we need to revive the tradition of the Gahambar, holding one at least for half a day, six times a year. Then, uplifted by prayer, soothed by wine, replete with good food, charmed with camaraderie, perhaps – just perhaps – the divisions will not seem so divisive any more, and rapprochement seem not impossible. Perhaps then we can truly reaffirm our basic Faith, even while maintaining our individual identities, so that the ethos and the identity of the Community is not lost in the infighting of individuals.

Jamva chaloji, saune salamati!
*
THE RECIPES

GAHAMBAR NU PAPETA MA GHOSH

Ingredients
1 kg f Mutton (washed and cut into medium sized pieces)
60 g Ginger
20 cloves Garlic
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
6 small Green Chillies
8 big dried Red Chillies
1½ tsp Salt
4 (2″ long) Cinnamon Sticks
13 Black Peppercorns
10 Cloves
8 Cardamoms
400 g Tomatoes (peeled and finely chopped)
750 g Potatoes (cut with skin into medium sized pieces – if desired, skin may be removed.)
400 g Onion (peeled and finely sliced)
8 tbsp Oil
Instructions
Grind together ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, green chillies, red chillies and salt, adding a little water, to form a smooth paste. Set the masala paste aside.
Grind together cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, cloves and cardamoms. Keep this dry masala aside.
Parboil the chopped potatoes until tender. And then deep fry the potatoes till they turn golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan.
Add the onions and sauté till they turn golden brown.
Add the masala paste and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the mutton pieces and fry till they turn brown.
Add in the dry masala and cook for another one minute.
Add tomatoes and 1½ cups of water. Stir well.
Cover the pan and cook over a slow flame till the meat turns tender.
Add the potatoes 10 minutes before serving.
Serve hot with chapattis or crisp bread.

(Note: Nowadays, to save time, and if cooking a small quantity for a nuclear family, the meat can also be baked in an oven – not microwave - or cooked in a pressure cooker, following the same recipe. In such case cook the mixture containing the meat in an oven or pressure cooker, and then the fried potatoes should be added after the meat is cooked, about ten minutes before serving.)

*
AMBAKALIO

Ingredients:

1 kg semi-ripe mangoes (any variety, but for best results and taste, either alphonso, or, even better still, the `bottle’ mango, `batli keri’. In places where no fresh mangoes are available, even tinned slices would do, even of ripe mangoes. Alternatively, even small green, totally unripe mangoes would do. But then add more jaggery, according to taste.)

200 gms jaggery (more, if mangoes very raw and sour. Can use sugar to substitute for jaggery, but the flavor will not be the same. If using sugar, I would suggest palm or cane sugar or raw sugar.)

1-inch piece of cinnamon

6 cloves

6 green cardamoms

6 black peppercorns

3 Bay leaves

200 gms baby onions (optional, according to personal taste)

2 green chillies, slit and seeded (optional, according to personal taste)

2 cups water (approximately)

Salt to taste (coarse salt or rock salt)

Instructions:

Peel the mangoes, remove the seed and slice lengthwise. (Depending upon size of the mango, you can halve the lengthwise slices, as per requirement. Mango should be in chunky pieces, do not slice too thin.)

Pour water in a heavy-botttomed pan. Add jaggery, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns, and cardamoms and cook over a medium flame, stirring occasionally. Once the jaggery has melted, add salt, slit and seeded green chillies, peeled baby onions, and mangoes, and cook over a low flame, stirring occasionally, being careful not to break the mango slices. Cook till a syrupy consistency is achieved, then remove from heat and cool completely.

Serve as an accompaniment to papeta-ma-ghosh.

The ambakalio can be stored in glass jars and refrigerated.

(The ambakalio also makes an excellent accompaniment to the all-time favourite, dhansak, whole masoor, and even to vaal, recipe given below . . . to several other dishes, use your imagination, and taste. And it would also make a yummy and fairly healthy snack for children, spread out on toast and butter instead of jam, or rolled in wheat-flour chapattis.)

*

VAAL

Recipe I

Ingredients

1 cup of whole Vaal (Hyacinth beans), soaked in water, overnight
1onion, sliced thin
1 tomato
Garlic-ginger paste
Jeera-ginger paste
Dhania – jeera powder
Chilli powder
Garam masala
One medium-sized lump jaggery (optional)
Small ball of tamarind paste (optional)
Cinnamon powder
3-4 cloves
Mustard seeds
1 tblspn grated coconut, fresh or dry (optional)
Oil
Salt to taste
Instructions:

In a large saucepan, sauté finely sliced onions till brown. Add mustard seeds, and once they start spluttering, add ginger-garlic paste, jeera-garlic paste. Peel and chop the tomato, and add to the mixture on the flame. Then add the dry masala, salt, cinnamon powder, and cloves. Pour some water into the mixture, and add the whole vaal. Cover and leave to cook over a slow flame. Once the vaal is nearly cooked, add the grated coconut. Mix the jaggery and tamarind in some water, and add the mixture to the nearly cooked vaal. Simmer for a few minutes, and remove from heat. If desired, garnish with fresh, chopped coriander leaves just before serving.

*

Recipe II:

Ingredients :

One cup sprouted whole vaal. (To sprout, soak overnight, then wrap in cloth and hang for about two days, till vaal sprouts. Keep wetting the cloth whenever it gets completely dry.)
Garlic-ginger paste
Jeera-ginger paste
Dhania – jeera powder
Chilli powder
Garam masala
One medium-sized lump jaggery (optional)
Small ball of tamarind paste (optional)
Cinnamon powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Instructions:

Marinate the sprouted Vaal in ginger-garlic paste, jeera-garlic paste, all the dry masala, and salt. Keep aside for about an hour.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and add the marinated spouted vaal. Add a little water, enough to just cook the vaal, and let the vaal cook over a low flame. When the vaal is nearly done, add the mixture of tamarind and jaggery. For this recipe, the vaal should be cooked dry, unlike the earlier recipe, which is a gravy.

Serve with freshly made wheat chapattis and ambakalio.

One other accompaniment which adds greatly to both recipes is onion, broken with fist or hammer, and soaked in vinegar. I personally love green chillies chopped and soaked in vinegar too, along with the Vaal.

***

Vaal:

Ingredients

1 cup of whole Vaal (Hyacinth beans), soaked in water, overnight
1onion, sliced thin
1 tomato
Garlic-ginger paste
Jeera-ginger paste
Dhania – jeera powder
Chilli powder
Garam masala
One medium-sized lump jaggery (optional)
Small ball of tamarind paste (optional)
Cinnamon powder
3-4 cloves
Mustard seeds
1 tblspn grated coconut, fresh or dry (optional)
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

In a large saucepan, sauté finely sliced onions till brown. Add mustard seeds, and once they start spluttering, add ginger-garlic paste, jeera-garlic paste. Peel and chop the tomato, and add to the mixture on the flame. Then add the dry masala, salt, cinnamon powder, and cloves. Pour some water into the mixture, and add the whole vaal. Cover and leave to cook over a slow flame. Once the vaal is nearly cooked, add the grated coconut. Mix the jaggery and tamarind in some water, and add the mixture to the nearly cooked vaal. Simmer for a few minutes, and remove from heat. If desired, garnish with fresh, chopped coriander leaves just before serving.

Recipe II:

Ingredients

One cup sprouted whole vaal. (Soak overnight, then wrap in cloth and hang for about two days, till vaal sprouts. Keep wetting the cloth.)
Garlic-ginger paste
Jeera-ginger paste
Dhania – jeera powder
Chilli powder
Garam masala
One medium-sized lump jaggery (optional)
Small ball of tamarind paste (optional)
Cinnamon powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:

Marinate the sprouted Vaal in ginger-garlic paste and the dry masala, and salt. Keep aside for about an hour.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and add the marinated spouted vaal. Add a little water, enough to just cook the vaal, and let the vaal cook over a low flame. When the vaal is nearly done, add the mixture of tamarind and jaggery. For this recipe, the vaal should be cooked dry, unlike the earlier recipe, which is a gravy.

Serve with freshly made wheat chapattis and ambakalio.
One other accompaniment which adds greatly to both recipes is, onion, broken with fist or hammer, and soaked in vinegar. I personally love green chillies chopped and soaked in vinegar too, along with Vaal.

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