Celebration and food go hand in hand. We can’t imagine any celebration without food. Every religion has their own way of celebrating festivals, be it small or big. Parsis celebrate Navroz, which is their way of welcoming spring or celebrating New Year according to parsi calender.
Globally, they celebrate their new year on 21stmarch, but in india it is little different as they celebrate their Navroz in july/aug because this was the time when their ancestors came to India. Mohit Balachandran was sharing an interesting fact that parsis, while having their meal, should have view of their “bed”, so that they can retire immediately for their nap after finishing their meal. Well, we all would love to do the same! Some interesting facts on parsi history beautifully written by Teena can be read here: http://www.mysticfoodiemantra.com/2015/08/khav-piyo-ne-majjeni-life.htmlParsis came from Iran and first settled in Gujrat. The food has influence of not only Iran but Gujrat too and that is the reason we find fish dishes in Indian parsi community. Soda BottleWala is celebrating Navroz festival at both their outlets in khan Market and Cyberhub and offering bhanu or thali which has both vegetarian and non-vegetarian version. We ordered Non-Vegetarin Thali and on the recommendation of Chef Anahita Dhondy Ravaiyyan, a vegetarian dish made from pan fried Brinjal and then baked in oven and stuffed with chutney. It was delicious. 
According to Chef Anahita, "The Patra Ni macchi is a traditional parsi dish that is cooked on the New year day, other than that there is Pulav, Dal, Maghi na Farcha and Ravo and sev”. Patrani macchi is essentially a fried fish, but here they had it baked and it was delicious. Badami Chicken cooked in rich almond, cashew nut and coconut milk gravy was surprisingly delicious and we all loved it. My alltime favorite mutton pulao had succulent meat that was well spiced, mixed with rice. I also enjoyed -Masala ni dar ,a classical parsi preparation of lentil with vegetables, kachumber, brinjal pickle and chicken kevabs. This Navroz bhonu is on till 27th of this month at both of their outlet Khan Market and DLF CyberHub.Khav Piyo ne Majjeni Life!
