Menus

In any cuisine, familiar or new, there are the perennial questions of what to have and how to put it all together. The menus shown here are divided into two sections—the way my mother and grandmother organized their meals, and the way we do now in San Francisco. My grandmother’s and mother’s menus were more elaborate than ours today, especially when they entertained. Traditional Parsi hospitality requires a lavish succession of extravagant dishes, most vividly demonstrated by the ceremonial banquets served at Navjots and weddings. The wedding dinner menu below is more for historical interest than a suggestion.