Niloufer Mavalvala

Niloufer Mavalvala

Blogger and cookbook author

https://www.nilouferskitchen.com/
Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Niloufer’s love for food combined with extensive world travel from a young age inspired her to experiment with world cuisines. Niloufer gave her first cooking class at the age of 17; loving the opportunity to meet new people who share her passion for food, she has gone on to conduct many, many more cooking classes in Dubai, the UK, and Canada—where she has lived for the past 25 years. Growing up in a foodie family, her love and passion for food was natural. A self-taught home-cook and culinary teacher, she has authored four cookbooks on Parsi food and won 8 Gourmand awards. She has also received a lifetime award from the Culinary Historians of Canada, inducting her into the Taste Canada Hall of Fame for 2026. Her blog, www.nilouferskitchen.com, has a readership of over 1.45 million. She has written numerous articles published in various magazines, journals, and newspapers—from Delicious Magazine to The Fezana Journal, Hamazor, Huffington Post, The Parsiana, and Jam e Jamshed, among others. She has been a guest chef at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Her mantra is #revivinganancientcuisine one recipe at a time, and she is zealously following her dream of putting Parsi cuisine on the global culinary platform while she continues preserving her ancient heritage for the future generations. Niloufer enjoys travelling, music, and food photography.

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Jamshedi Navroze

Parsi cuisine with Persian influences - Navroze, also known as Nowruz in Farsi, is the first day of the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox, which comes every March 20th or 21st. It commemorates our good fortune in health, happiness, and prosperity. We begin by 'spring cleaning' our homes, preparing a variety of dishes, and setting up a Haftseen table, symbolising nature's bounty. Family and friends visit to share in what we are blessed to have. 300 million people worldwide celebrate this festivity, primarily in the Middle East and Central and South Asia.Every festival has a sweet to offer. Ravo (a type of semolina pudding) being the most common in Parsi homes. The almond and rose cake is typically Persian. We also offer sweet yoghurt, which symbolises good luck and prosperity. Faloodo (also known as Faluda) is an ancient tradition that is a treat saved for Navroze. Ash reshteh is a thick noodle soup, popular among the Persians, as the herbs signify spring, and the noodles represent the numerous paths in life with the hope of good fortune. Fish, rice and lentils are always included on auspicious occasions, considered to bring us abundance and fertility. Ribbon rice is considered a "party dish" that is prepared as a treat, made up of delicious coconut chutney and a prawn curry. The zereshk-berry palau is a fragrant and delicious dish of chicken and rice, with a hint of saffron and orange—it's happiness on a plate!

niloufer mavalvala

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Features & Stories

Behind the Cookbook: The Art of Parsi Cooking

Behind the Cookbook: The Art of Parsi Cooking

Niloufer Mavalvala’s books have helped to bring Parsi cooking to much widespread attention. In this latest Behind the Cookbook feature, Niloufer tells ckbk about the origins of this unique style of cooking and how she came to write The Art of Parsi Cooking (just added to ckbk) and its followups.