East Indian maasachi curry that Ghildiyal will be demonstrating

Ghildiyal, who’s been documenting spices, will guide participants on how to cook curries unique to four communities: East Indians, Parsis, Bohris and Kolis. Participants will receive sets of spices — Koli masala, bottle masala, dhansak and sambhar masala, and Bohri kaari masala — for each session, along with a bonus Sunday masala. 

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“I know that among many communities, curry is ubiquitous round the week. But for me, curry means a break from routine,” she explains, musing upon how the concept of Sundays possibly came about as a result of colonial influence. “Sundays are synonymous with special meals that you enjoy together. Curries are also a way to spread flavour. Flavourful curries can be made on a tight budget, too; the slow-cooking process turns the most unpopular cuts of animal protein into something delicious,” she informs us.

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal and Harshvardhan Tanwar

During every session, Tanwar will take participants through a historical background of each community, before Ghildiyal steps in to give them a taste of their culinary culture. There’ll be recipes for vegetarians too, she promises. While for non-vegetarians, she’ll make a Koli prawn curry; for vegetarians, there’ll be her mother’s lentil and coconut curry. “For the Bohri mutton kaari, I’m doing a veg version with cauliflower and potatoes. For the East Indian session, I’ll make a maasachi curry; the vegetarian version has a soya keema-based curry. And, for the Parsi chicken dhansak with mince kebabs, the meat-less iteration is a veg dhansak with cauliflower kebabs,” she reveals.

From: October 9 to 30, on Saturdays; registrations open
Log on to: @nfpexplore on Instagram for registration link
Cost: Rs 1,499 onwards