Chef at 65: This home chef is serving up Sri Lankan and Parsi food in Kolkata

Born to a Parsi father and a Sri Lankan mother, Nilufer Babaycon has remained rooted to both the cultures. And food had a big role to play. Born and brought up in Kolkata, at the age of 21 Nilufer got married to Rohinton Babaycon, also a Parsi, who worked as a tea planter in Assam. Soon after moving to the tea garden, she started cooking Sri Lankan food for their daily meals. The practice continued and got passed on to her children and grandchildren. Finally, during the pandemic, Nilufer opened her kitchen for orders with the motive to make traditional Sri Lankan and Parsi food available to fellow Kolkatans.

My Kolkata spoke to the home chef to find out more about her journey of finding her passion through cooking.

From salon to plate

In 1977, Nilufer and her twin sister Nirvan began a salon on Theatre Road called Women’s World. “It was a very successful salon. We managed to run it until 2019 and after the pandemic hit, we decided to shut it down,” said Nilufer. Her mother supported the decision and said that she should focus on cooking if that’s where her passion lies. “Also, my husband had retired by then and he was at home. So I realised that was the ideal time to be at home and start my cloud kitchen, Nilufer’s Kitchen.”

Parsi and Sri Lankan menus from Nilufer’s Kitchen

The 65-year old home chef does not remember her first order but she never did any marketing to support her cooking. “It was purely fresh and flavourful food that did my marketing. Someone ordered and made their friends taste, who then started ordering. It was only through word of mouth.”

Preserving traditional flavours

Being a Kolkatan for years, Nilufer observed that most people in the city knew only dhansak when it came to Parsi food. “People were unaware of the variety of dishes this cuisine had. When someone wanted Parsi food, I started recommending several dishes like berry pulao, patrani macchhi, chicken sali, etc. So, when people ask for dhansak, I recommend they pair it up with berry pulao which is a saffron-infused rice with Zereshk berries and pieces of chicken or mutton.” Topli na paneer is another authentic recipe that Nilufer has been bringing on the table. It is a Parsi take on mozzarella cheese where the cheese is made and served in a cane basket. It can be relished with bread with some salt sprinkled on top.

When Nilufer began her cloud kitchen, she realised that there was a dearth of places serving authentic Sri Lankan food. “People could hardly find a cafe or a restaurant in Kolkata that offered Sri Lankan food back then. And in our home, Sri Lankan food was our staple. I started offering some popular curries like Sri Lankan cashew curry, fish and prawn curries, string hoppers (idiyappam), etc.”

A Parsi spread by Nilufer with chicken sali, berry pulao, patrani macchhi, dhansak and more, and (right) Sri Lankan string hoppers and curry

At present, Nilufer is trying to promote Lamprais (or Lampraise), which is a traditional Sri Lankan one-pot rice dish. Rice, along with brinjal and meat curries, seeni sambol (a sweet-spicy onion chutney), fried ash plantain and blachan (spicy and dry roasted shrimp), is steamed in parcels of banana leaf. “Lamprais or Lumprice used to be our picnic food,” explained Nilufer. “We used to make a parcel of rice with three or four curries and steam it all together wherever we stopped.” The dish gained popularity at Nilufer’s Kitchen during the lockdown. Nilufer felt many people ordered Lamprais as it was convenient to steam and could be eaten directly from the banana leaf.

The magic is in the masala

Besides technique and years of experience, Nilufer credits authentic flavours to her homemade spice powders. “I don’t like using powdered masalas from the shops as they lack the original flavours. I prefer to ground them at home.” Packaged masalas are easily available in the market, but the passionate cook likes going to Jadu Bazaar and buying the ingredients herself — something she does for every order. “The dhansak masala I use is sourced from Mumbai. There is a lady who makes it on order. But for Sri Lankan food, I strictly make my spice mix at home. My cousin referred to a packaged masala and I tried that but the aromas and flavours were not up to the mark,” explained Nilufer.

Sri Lankan Cashew Curry and Pepper Prawn Curry made by Nilufer

Cookbook or cookery show?

Nilufer has been maintaining a low profile in the culinary scene of Kolkata with no social media presence, but her flavours and aromas travelled far through word-of-mouth and reached the casting team of MasterChef India. However, she declined the opportunity. “I am happy cooking for my family and customers. At this age, reality shows might be a little too hectic,” Nilufer said.

When asked about her plans for a cookbook, Nilufer said that there are no plans but it might be something she is considering. “My children keep on asking me to write down the recipes. I may consider doing that soon.”

To place an order with Nilufer, contact at 9830360358. (Orders should be placed 24 hours ahead of delivery)