Cookbook author Niloufer Ichaporia King tells Kristen about the beguiling, modular cardamom cake she encountered at backyard wedding 40 years ago and has since modified into the one recipe Alice Waters says she can't live without.
Referenced in this episode:
Genius-Hunter Extra Credit:
Special thanks to listeners Numra (@empressmarket), Vlada (@mat.vlada), and Nilufar (@kayhanikitchen) for sharing your favorite cardamom-centric recipes!
Is there a recipe that's stayed with you throughout your life? Tell me all about it at genius@food52.com.
Kristen Miglore (voiceover): Hi, I'm Kristen Miglore, a lifelong genius hunter. For almost a decade, I've been unearthing the recipes that have changed the way we cook. Now on The Genius Recipe Tapes, we go behind the scenes with the geniuses themselves, and we get to hear from you.
This week I had the fortune of talking with Nioufer Ichaporia King, the author of my Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking, a timeless book that won her a James Beard award in 2008. Now, I've already written about Niloufer's Parsi burgers, an ingenious recipe inspired by Parsi kabobs. This recipe fixes the turkey burgers' chronic disappointment by stuffing them so full of chilies, onions, and cilantro that they could not possibly dry out. But each time I talked to Niloufer, she has a way of humbly, elegantly pointing me to the next gem that I should uncover in her cookbook. This time it was for a simply named Cardamom Cake. Only after making and falling for it myself and hooking everyone in delivering distance on its charms, I learned that Alice Waters has said that this cake is the one recipe she can't live without, not the one cake recipe she can't live without. The one recipe, full stop.
And that recipe, along with [the video that shows you how the cake comes together, are all on Food52 today. And you'll notice in each of them that Niloufer shares the credit for the cake with Ragnhild Langlet, a textile artist friend of hers. However, Niloufer has morphed the shape of the cake over the years and added a unique crackly almond topping. Before this interview, Niloufer asked that we talk about crediting sources and recipes when you know them. This theme will sound familiar if you've listened to our recent episode with Preeti Mistry and something that, as someone who makes a living spotlighting the work of others, really resonated with me.
So let's start there. The dreamy, at this point, almost otherworldly sounding place that Niloufer first encountered this cake. Oh, and by the way, on the day we recorded, Mercury must have been in retrograde, and we could not get the audio to fall in line. I think it only adds to the feeling of traveling far away from 2021 in a perfect way.
Kristen: Niloufer, this cake struck me in part because I don't remember ever seeing whole bruised cardamom seeds in a cake before or maybe in any recipe. So, could you tell us the story of how you first encountered this cake?
Niloufer Ichaporia King: It was a Berkeley backyard wedding party in 1987 if memory serves me. They passed this very unassuming cake, and I took one mouthful, and my jaw dropped, and everything changed. It was one of those extraordinary moments in my tasting life. It was wonderful. And I asked the person who made it if she could give me the recipe, and she said, "Yes. I call it my modular cake." Modular because, as she said, "You can increase the size of the cake by going up in thirds for all of the ingredients." and indeed you can. The person who gave this to me was a tall, gorgeous Swedish woman who's a textile artist, Ragnhild Langlet. I must say that cake was a life changer. It's become everyone's favorite.
Kristen: Do you remember what you brought to that wedding potluck?
Niloufer: How can I remember anything when there was a vivid cake carved into my memory?
Kristen: And how has this cake evolved over the years?
Niloufer: The cake has not evolved at all. The original is so perfect; there’s no need to change it. All I added was the crunchy topping.
Kristen: Well, I do think that taking the cake from a loaf pan to a wider, shallower pan and adding a crunchy topping has taken an unassuming cake to a very glamorous cake. You've added a lot of your flair to what was already a spectacular recipe.
Niloufer: Well, that's kind of you to say.
Kristen: It is a cake that looks quite fancy, which often implies something very precious. But this cake seems to be very resilient. Do you agree?
Niloufer: I think so because there are times when I did foolish things, and the cake has worked. Once, I forgot the butter, pulled the cake out of the oven quickly, and stirred in the butter. That cake was not as spectacular as the original recipe but still worked! Once I left out the sugar and didn't know until I baked the cake.
Kristen: That sounds very familiar. Were you able to eat the one without sugar?
Niloufer: No, it wasn't good.
Kristen & Niloufer laugh
Kristen: So some ingredients are essential. Can you tell us more about who Parsis are and their history?
Niloufer: I can give you the short version! The Zoroastrian is the state religion of ancient Persia, and it continued into the 5th or 6th century. Then the Muslim invasion from Arabia forced people to either convert or flee. The people who decided to stay became absorbed into the new Muslim population or remained as an oppressed minority. The people who fled made their way down the Arabian Peninsula to Hormuz. And from there, they went in boats to the west coast of India. India was not a random choice; they had a trading history with the nation. They landed on the coast of Gujarat, and there's an apocryphal story. The ruler of India insisted on the priests in charge of this new group to justify their welcome. The story is that they absorbed sugar into milk, and that's how we could stay without displacing anyone. And so we were allowed to stay. That was roughly around the 10th century, although no one has a firm date. And there we stayed in Gujarat. And in the 17th century, at the founding of Bombay, more Parsis came to Gujarat because we could communicate easily with factions that didn't communicate with each other. Parsis being able to communicate between the Hindus and the Muslims became very useful for facilitating various things, especially trading. We became a significant part of the growth of Bombay.
Kristen: You've said before that this cardamom cake is honorary Parsi; what do you think makes it so?
Niloufer: Cardamom! Quite simply that.
Kristen: Have you ever seen whole bruised cardamom seeds, not ground up, in any sweets before this cake?
Niloufer: Cardamom has sometimes been used that way in India. It was such a surprise actually to know that cardamom was used anywhere in European cooking. I thought only Indians and Middle Eastern people used it; I had no idea that it was vital in Swedish cuisine. I found out recently that Sweden had its own East India Trading Company, which started in the 1700s. It was only for trading; it was not a political arm as it was with the Dutch and the English. So I think that is how cardamom was disseminated through Scandinavia too.
Kristen: And it seems to have stuck in all of these places as well
Niloufer: I guess so!
Kristen: What are some ways that you keep Parsi cooking alive now in your home?
Niloufer: I cook Parsi food whenever the mood strikes me. Parsi are crazy about eggs; we don't eat them that often but we certainly enjoy them when we do Parsi scrambled eggs or Parsi omelets. Eggs perched on all sorts of things like tomato coulis or eggs on spinach. Eggs on potato chips! Everyone thinks that's a joke, but it's quite delicious.
Kristen (voiceover): Hey, it's Kristen. If you're enjoying this conversation with Niloufer and want to hear more of the stories behind iconic recipes like this, click that subscribe button, and you will. After the break, Niloufer tells us about the feast that she plans every year at Chez Panisse for Parsi New Year, which would have just happened were it not for the pandemic and hopefully will again soon.
Kristen: We should probably talk about Parsi New Year because this is the time of year that you would usually be hosting a big feast at Chez Panisse.
Niloufer: Of course! In India, while Nowruz is acknowledged and celebrated with chalk patterns on either side of doors and garlands, it is not a big celebration. There is a division in the Parsi community - one segment celebrations the New Year on March 21st, and most Parsis celebrate New Year in August or September. The second date is a moving day, so I never know the day until I get my sister's greetings. So I can remember March 21st, and while living in a temperate climate, it is nice to have something associated with Spring. So that's the one I celebrate, although my Mother and Father didn't do anything more than acknowledge it.
Kristen: When was it that you did get more into celebrating it?
Niloufer: I started celebrating when I came to the United States, particularly after my first marriage when I came to Berkeley. I had a tiny studio apartment, and we celebrated it every year, an apartment full of people. Around the mid-1980s, I became friendly with Alice Waters, and she and others came to the house for the celebration. By that time, I lived with my partner, soon-to-be husband; we weren't married yet. We started having people over to San Francisco; we would have giant platters of biryani and other foods, and people would wander around the house eating and celebrating. Alice said, "Let's do this at the restaurant!" I thought, no, this is my thing. And then eventually, she persuaded me to do it because she has an accident of being persuasive. And now I see it as a family event because people keep coming year after year to Chez Panisse. So I don't know when the next one would be,
Kristen: Maybe this August?
Niloufer: Maybe this August!
Kristen: I would feel very fitting with the new year.
Niloufer: One advantage of doing it in August is that there is so much more in terms of tropical vegetables than what's available in March. Tomatoes, eggplants, the various gourds like bottle gourds and ridge gourds, etcetera. The vegetables that we use in India that little harder to find in March in the US.
Kristen: Is it meaningful to see dishes or flavors from your childhood or other parts of your life come to fruition in these menus?
Niloufer: It is gratifying. Yes, you're right. And it's always lovely when Parsis keep coming. I always get a little fidgety when I see Parsi names on the list, thinking, oh my God, a lot of this stuff isn't strictly traditional Parsi. They may be very disappointed, or perhaps they will be excited? The ones with imagination are excited, and I think those who expect something they don't get don't come again.
Kristen: What are you most looking forward to doing as the pandemic is subsiding?
Niloufer: Oh, seeing friends, of course, I don't even need to think about that. Yes. I haven't seen my pals for a long time, except sitting on the back steps, down near the garden. But it's all been so constrained. It would be lovely to see other people who have been vaccinated now without our masks. So that is very hopeful. I can't waste it now. Two weeks after my last shot, officially March 11th, I will be like a cork out of the bottle. What about you?
Kristen: That's a good question. I want to see my brother; he’s back in New York. And he was the closest person to us when my daughter was born, the only family around. So it was tough to say goodbye to him when we moved to California. We still Facetime all the time. But, I think that's what I'm most looking forward to is getting the chance for him to come and see how much our daughter is grown in the last six or eight months since he's seen her.
Niloufer: Well, that may not be that far off.
Kristen: And now here are more of our listeners' unique recipes starring cardamom.
Listener Numra: Hello, I'm Numra, the head chef and owner of Empress Market in London. I seek creative ways to explore my British Pakistani identity through the food that I cook. Cardamom is one of my favorite spices, a floral aroma that can lift the most straightforward dish. It takes center stage in Kheer, a Pakistani rice dessert. The scent of simmering cardamom-infused milk wafts through the home in sparks memories of festivities. It marks the anticipation and excitement of family and friends coming together and enjoying the sweet dessert.
Listener Vlada: My name is Vlada, and I come from a small island in the Mediterranean called Cyprus. On the Greek side of Cyprus. It's a tradition to cook or buy this type of braided bread that's called tsoureki. The braid would typically represent the Holy Trinity. Every midnight after church service, my mother and I would buy this bread in bulk and eat it every morning together with eggs. It is so fluffy, soft, and delicious; it is so good with coffee. I hope that you'll like it too.
Listener Niloufer: My name is Niloufer Kahani . I’m a college student and home cook from Northern California. Growing up, my mother taught me how to cook recipes she learned living in Afghanistan. One of my favorite dishes is Sheer Payra, a simple milk fudge my mom would make with cream sugar, and cardamom. You keep the fudge on a low flame and constantly stir until it is thick and holds its shape. I still remember the first time my mother taught me how to know the fudge was ready. You drop a small spoonful of fudge on a cold plate or an ice cube, and the fudge would start to harden. As a kid, I was fascinated. Desserts like this one helped me learn that a simple flavor like cardamom can go a long way in coking.
Kristen: (voiceover): Thanks for listening. Our show was put together by Coral Lee, with support from Emily Hanhan. If you have a Genius Recipe from a cookbook from 2021 or 2007 or 1947, I would always love to hear from you at genius@food52.com. And if you like the The Genius Recipe Tapes, take a second to rate and review, or even just subscribe, if you haven't already. It does help us out. Thank you. Talk to you soon.