It is common knowledge that Parsis have a love affair with eggs. They are well-known for starting their day off with either Parsi akuri, a mix of cooked vegetables scrambled with eggs, or pora pao, an omelette with the same ingredients left uncooked, and then move on to lunch, where the first course is a vegetable topped with eggs – per eedu. It is either well-beaten, frittata-style, or whole, sunny side up.
For the longest time, Parsis lived in communal households and joint families. Family residences were large, spacious structures located in sandy parcels with open areas for chickens to run around (the start of the egg affair?), possibly a goat or cow for milk, and family dogs were common. Ours was no different. My grandfather’s house in Karachi was a stone building that was laid out in a chaotic fashion, with rooms having four doors, some of which opened up to the compound; it was the way of the world then. The fresh cross-breeze was the only source of respite throughout the sweltering summer months.
Few people ever had personal bedrooms, and most families used two spacious bathrooms. The shared spaces often became a hub of activity, while the kitchen was located at the back of the house, with the door left open all day for deliveries from the same reliable fisherman, milkman, baker, and whatever else showed up every day. I recall the excellent fishman, almost considered a family member by daily association, frequently putting the fish in the refrigerator while everyone except an elderly matriarch was at work. It was an exceptional era in which everyone was supposed to be honest and trustworthy.
With a dozen mouths to feed in each family, it was unavoidable to come up with foolproof methods of saving money. The menu for the day was selected based on the eggs available and the fresh seasonal vegetables delivered to our house. Our sweets were likewise primarily milk- and egg-based.
It seems Parsi cooking is well known for including eggs in everything we make. From eeda pak, a gooey, sticky, spreadable halva to strengthen our chests during the winter, and a concoction of milk, egg and brandy called ‘egg-flip’ to even forcing a raw egg down sickly children, Parsis can proudly rattle off a long list of ‘per eedu’, offering a variety to get through the week: papayta (potatoes), tamota (tomatoes), bhoji (spinach), turyu (zucchini), bheeda (okra), and kothmir kanda (coriander and onions), to name a few. It is always an egg-tastic occasion in any Parsi kitchen.
The recipe: Papayta per Eedu (Potatoes Topped with Eggs)
