The art and desire to make dar-ni-pori may be dead in Mumbai but come to Chicago where the members of the Zoroas Accociation of Chicago get together every year during “Avan” mahino and celebrate with a Dar-ni-Pori bake-a-thon. We had the expertise of our (Late) member Mrs. Freny Mehta of Ahmedabad who taught us patiently how to make the dal, the dough and the “maan” and then bake the poris.

This is how it goes – Nergish Mehta (Freny aunty’s) daughter-in-law starts phoning ZAC members. Some are requested to make the dar (recipes provided), some will bring the raw materials, some will bring rollinhg pins and cookie sheets. Some will bring “masoor”, french bread and kachumber for lunch.
The day of the bake-a-thon starts at 10 a.m. with the first group of members who start making the dough, making rounds of the dar, mixing the “maan”, preparing the poris and starting to bake them. Once the cycle starts it is like clockwork and the poris come out of the ovens and they get wrapped in foil after cooling down.
By lunch time about 40 to 50 members including kids and some brave husbands are participati ng in the bake-a-thon. After lunch the baking goes on till it is time of “chai” and “batasa” and eating up any poris which do not passa quality inspection.

The bake-a-thon continues into the night till all the poris are baked and packed and distributed. We bake anywhere between 500 to 600 poris and raise funds by selling them.
After making the poris for all these years we have become real experts and our poris our shipped throughout the US and sometimes even to Canada. God bless our Freny aunty who taught us so patiently so that the art of making “poris” lives on in Chicago. As far as I’m aware we are the only association in nthe US who make and sell “dar-ni-poris” to raise funds for the Zoroas. Association of Chicago.

Courtesy : Cyrus Aga