Ravo

Niloufer Mavalvala’s recipe for ravo is an homage to her mother, Shireen. Reminiscing fondly about her mother, Niloufer shares, “She loved to cook. Her cakes and ravo—outstandingly delicious—are just hard to recreate. She had the gift of a magical touch!” Food is central to every Parsi occasion, be it a wedding feast or a sombre gathering. “Parsis have a recipe for every occasion, and an occasion for every recipe!”, she says. “While we eat pretty much everything throughout the year, ‘life’ is a celebration in our culture. We like to traditionally serve certain foods on these occasions.”

Ravo is one such example. It is a semolina pudding flavoured with cardamom and vanilla, garnished with kishmish and slivers of fried almonds. Some add nutmeg to it, while others prefer cashews or black currants. Niloufer’s cousin would even add a pinch of saffron. Growing up in Karachi, Niloufer has always eaten ravo prepared with eggs. However, when her aunt from Mumbai would visit, she would make it without eggs. “It was a treat, but it never became part of our regular routine,” asserts Niloufer .

Excluding herself and her brother, Niloufer’s family still frowns upon the idea of calling an eggless ravo, a “ravo”, while relatives living elsewhere have grown up eating the eggless version and prefer to keep it that way. She maintains that this distinction in recipes, however little, is shaped by one’s neighbours, environment, and habits; it is these little details that indicate how cultural identities are tied to food.

With Parsi New Year around the corner, it is a great time to recreate this recipe!