In his debut cookbook, head chef of St. John Bread & Wine, Farokh Talati, gathers together a selection of classic Parsi recipes from his travels through India and time spent in the kitchen with family, revealing them here for you to discover and enjoy at home.

This is a delicious one-pot wonder, packed full of amazing flavours yet unfussy and simple to make. My version of a pulao is made exclusively with vegetables you may have at home in the freezer, but feel free to express yourself or, if needs be, empty the fridge - there are no hard-and-fast rules on which vegetables you can use. I also make versions of this pulao with chicken breast, meaty white fish and even prawns. Just cut the meat into small chunks (leave prawns whole in the shell, which add more flavour) and add them to the pan at the same time as the spices and rice.

Ingredients

Method

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients (bearing in mind the rice will triple in volume once cooked). Add the star anise, cardamom, cloves and cassia bark or cinnamon, and allow to fry in the oil for one minute, until fragrant.

2. Add the onion and cook for about three minutes, until it starts to turn light brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a further one minute, stirring everything together so that it cooks evenly. Once the onions are golden, add the caraway seeds and cumin seeds and stir them through the onion for one minute.

3. Add the vegetables, chillies and rice and fry for a further two minutes, then add the tomato, garam masala, dhansak masala, saffron, turmeric and salt. Fry for a further two minutes.

4. Add 2 1/4 cups of water and stir everything together, pushing the rice under the water (the vegetables can poke above the water, but the rice needs to be submerged to cook properly). Increase the heat to high, bring the liquid to the boil, then place a tight-fitting lid on the pan to stop the steam escaping. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook for five minutes, then reduce the heat again, to medium-low, and cook again for five minutes. Finally, reduce the heat again to the lowest setting and cook for a final five minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the lid on the pan, allowing the rice to absorb the steam for 10 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked through. For the rice to cook perfectly, the lid must stay in place all through the cooking and resting period.

5. Remove the lid from the pan and take in all those wonderful aromas. Stir through the coriander and serve with spoonfuls of pickled turmeric, lemon wedges and thinly sliced red onion.

Serves 4.

Here is a typical Parsi café-style omelette, based on my favourite breakfast in Mumbai at Café Colony in the Parsi colony at Dadar. A well-seasoned, cast-iron or non-stick frying pan is essential for making the perfect omelette, so it comes away from the pan in one piece.

Ingredients

Method

1. Heat the ghee or oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the onion, along with the ginger-garlic paste, chilli and salt. Allow to sizzle for two to three minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Add both the masalas and the turmeric and stir together for another 30 seconds to allow the spices to release their flavour.

2. Pour in the eggs and quickly mix all the ingredients together in the pan. Gently stir the eggs with a spatula, bringing the egg mixture from the bottom of the pan to the top, and allowing the runny egg from the top to seep to the bottom. Once that egg has lightly set, agitate again. Continue this process for a further one minute, until you have a semi-set, custard-like wobble on the top of the mixture, then sprinkle the cheese and the coriander over the top.

3. Now it's time to flip your omelette - you must let the omelette know you are in control and that you mean business. Have a plate ready to the side. Firmly hold the frying-pan handle and give the pan some firm nudges, jiggles and taps to loosen the omelette from the bottom. Then, using a spatula, fold the omelette over on itself, encasing the cheese and coriander (I bring 3 o'clock over to 9 o'clock so that the pan handle is not in the way when I turn the omelette). Bring the pan to the plate and invert the pan over the plate, turning out the omelette in one quick and confident motion.

4. To serve, squeeze a healthy wedge of lemon over the top and add a sprinkle more coriander and a few slices of raw red onion. Serve hot buttered roti or toast on the side.

Serves 1 hungry soul.

These sweet, soft and crumbly biscuits, lightly spiked with cardamom, are somewhat reminiscent of shortbread. Traditionally, they don't contain lemon zest, but I find it imparts uplifting qualities. Go out of your way to make or find ghee for this recipe, as it really enhances that irresistible, biscuity flavour.

Ingredients

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a food processor or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the ghee or butter, icing sugar, lemon zest and yoghurt until pale and fluffy. This stage can be done by hand with a mixing bowl, wooden spoon and some elbow grease. Add the remaining ingredients and gently combine everything with your fingertips, until they form delicate crumbs - take care not to be heavy-handed at this stage as a lighter touch will give a more delicate biscuit.

3. Divide the mixture into 16 equal pieces (about 20g each) and form each piece into a ball in the palm of your hand. Gently press so that it's ever so slightly flatter than a ball, then place it on the lined baking tray, spacing the biscuits a few centimetres apart.

4. Push either a pistachio or a halved almond/cashew into the centre of each biscuit and bake for 30 minutes, until very pale golden (like shortbread). Serve with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Makes 16.

I will leave you in the capable hands of Terry for this pudding - a chef and a recipe from the far-flung reaches of the northern hemisphere. Buttermilk is a wonderful ingredient - its creaminess and acidity give the pudding a soft texture and tangy flavour. At a pinch, you could use a thick-set yoghurt if you can't get hold of buttermilk. If you use fresh mango rather than mango pulp from a tin, make sure you use a very sweet, ripe mango, otherwise the flavour won't come through.

Ingredients

Method

1. Soak the gelatine leaf in cold water for five minutes. Once the leaf has softened, remove it from the water and allow any excess to drip off. Place the leaf in a saucepan with 80ml of the cream, and the sugar and lemon peel.

2. Place the pan over a low heat, and warm, stirring continuously, until both the sugar and the gelatine leaf have completely dissolved and the cream is hot enough that the first wisps of steam are visible. Once you are at this stage, turn the heat off and allow the cream to cool for five minutes.

3. Remove the lemon zest.

4. While the cream is cooling, whip the remaining 80ml of cream with the vanilla extract or seeds in a large mixing bowl until it forms soft peaks and the texture is soft and airy (too much whipping, even by a few beats of the whisk, can stiffen the cream too far, which will make it harder to fold all the parts together without lumps appearing). Set aside.

5. Pour the warm cream and gelatine mixture into a large mixing bowl, ensuring none of it remains in the pan. Add the buttermilk and mango and stir it all together to combine.

6. A spoonful at a time, fold the mango and buttermilk mixture into the whipped cream until fully incorporated and uniform.

7. Where you go with your mixture from here is up to you. You can set it in one big mold or a few smaller ones, to turn out to serve. Or spoon it into glasses or small dishes as individual servings to eat just as it comes, with a spoon. (Although there is something quite pleasing about a wobbly pudding on a plate.)

8. Not every dessert needs a decoration, but if you want to add flourish, top with berries or slices of mango.

Serves 4.