Salli Gosht, Patra ni Machi, Pulao Dal and of course, Lagan-nu-Custard – ask a Parsi family what makes Navroz special and the answer is likely to come from the dining table.In Delhi, preparations for the Parsi New Year – to be celebrated on August 15 – are as much about deciding what will be cooked in the kitchen as they are about prayers at the Agiary, the Parsi fire temple. For the community, defined by food traditions passed on from one generation to the next, the Navroz feast is a delicious way of coming home.“Parsi New Year would ideally start with Sagan ni Sev with Mithu Dahi – made of vermicelli, flavoured with cardamom, nutmeg and served with chilled sweet yogurt. Or we cook Parsi Ravo, a sweet semolina pudding,” she says recalling Navroz celebrations in Mumbai during her childhood.By lunchtime, the spread gets richer. There is Pulao Dal or Mora Dal Chawal, served with Parsi Patio – a red gravy cooked with prawns or fish. “We also cook Salli Gosht, a mutton or lamb curry, and Patra ni Machi, fish coated in green coconut chutney, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed,” says Firozi, who is hosting ‘Bhoole Bisre’ at Varq, Taj Mahal in New Delhi for Navroz.Benaifer C Bagli runs Bagli’s Kitchen, a catering service from Sohna Road in Gurgaon, a role she inherited from her mother-in-law Dhun Daraiua Bagli.For Benaifer, lunch means Dhan Dar Patio – plain boiled basmati or jeera rice, yellow toor dal and patio. Chicken Berry Pulao is also a popular dish, she says.Story continues below this adThen comes dessert: Lagan-nu-Custard. Both Benaifer and Firozi insist it is the sweet that must make an appearance on the Navroz table. “With Pallonji sodas we close the meal. The raspberry flavour was my favourite as a child,” Firozi says.Firozi’s pop-up at Taj Mahal leans into dishes she says rarely make it to restaurant menus elsewhere in the city. “We have an à la carte menu – Irani cutlets, Patrani Machi, Chicken Farcha (fried chicken), Salli Gosht, Jardaloo Chicken, Berry Pulao, Dhansak (chicken or mutton with a mixture of lentils and vegetables),” she lists.There is Lagan-nu-Custard and Parsi Mawa cake for dessert.At Benaifer’s kitchen, the menu changes with every function. “This time, we are making Chicken Pulao Dal and Parsi Mutton Puff. We try to do something different every time so the flavours don’t get monotonous.”Adil Nargolwala, president of Delhi Parsi Anjuman says the body’s Navroz feast will feature Chicken Pulao, Bafat nu Ghosh, Masala Daar, Dum Aloo, Bafat nu Paneer.Story continues below this adExplaining the history of how Parsi community moved to Delhi in large numbers, he says, “When the British moved their capital from Kolkata to Delhi, a large number of Parsis who were doctors, businessmen, government officials, moved to Delhi. That is how the initial set of Parsis came to Delhi from then Bombay and Calcutta.”India’s Parsi community celebrates two major festivals in a year. “One is Jamshedi Navroz, which falls on March 21, when we celebrate the spring equinox. It is similar to the Basant Panchami celebrated by Hindus. Then it’s Navroz or Parsi New Year. It’s when our calendar changes and a New Year begins,” says Adil.The community celebrates Navroz in August because it follows the Shahenshahi calendar, which doesn’t adjust for leap years. So, over the centuries, the date has drifted nearly 200 days from its original position, landing squarely in August instead of March.Before the New Year are 10 days of remembrance, known as Gatha days. “This is similar to the Shraadh performed in Hinduism, where we pray for the departed. The 10th day is Pateti – a day of repentance, and apologising for our sins before the new year dawns,” says Adil.Story continues below this adOn the day of New Year, homes are scrubbed and decorated with flowers. Families dress in traditional clothes and head to the Agiary, carrying offerings of milk, fruit and sandalwood. “We worship the fire,” says Adil.Early in the morning, if one passes by a Parsi household, one can hear a distinct sound – chalk powder being tapped out of little wooden box stencils.“We make something similar to Rangoli, called chowk. We also put up toran (decorative flower hanging) outside our houses,” says Firozi.