Actor Tara Sutaria in conversation with HTCity opens up about hosting friends and family for Navroz, at her own home for the first time.
Speaking about playing host this time around Tara says, “I’ve been doing a lot of prep with my house help and ofcourse my mum. I love decor and enjoy using fruits and flowers for my tablescape. I enjoy planning the festive menu. Not a lot of people know much about the Parsi community because it’s a small but great one so talking about it excites me, there’s a lot of sweetness to this culture and most people connect to our love for food.”
Sharing what’s on the menu this year for the celebrations the actor says, “We have a dessert called mawa-ni-boi, a fish shaped sweet dish with silver foil that we prepare. In our culture fish signifies prosperity so we have a lot of fish shaped items in Parsi culture to ring in good luck. Even though its New Year and not a wedding, my family prepares lagan nu bhonu on Navroz which translates to wedding feast. This time I’m making Persian inspired dishes like saffron rice with zereshk berries, lamb shanks, all kinds of Parsi food,” says the actor.
About the decor she adds, “Then there’s the ses that we decorate, which is similar to a pooja ki thali from Hindu culture, on a silver platter we keep a lamp, rice, tika and a fish shaped item. There’s a lot of little items that we keep as part of our tradition. ”
She says that family time during the New Year is most precious. “My twin sister Pia and I often travel to different parts of the world, so Navroz is a time where the family comes together. I don’t live with my parents anymore so this year is extra special. The perfect Navroz celebration would be eating, drinking, just having a good time together,” says Tara.