Photo by Jacqueline Walker
I have always felt that while the explicit function of a recipe is to explain how to cook the dish in question, what it has the power to do, implicitly, is to express something about the nature of cooking itself. And so I warmed to Mother Tongue immediately, for Gurdeep Loyal’s recipes express exactly what the premise of the book rests on: that’s to say, they show how one’s culinary inheritance and particular experience of food are always present even when cooking or incorporating the foods of other cultures. And this is resolutely not about fusion, or a kind of self-conscious East-meets-West strategy: it’s about a sensibility and an identity, which authenticity demands be ever present in the food that comes from both. And it is important to stress that this authenticity is the polar opposite of how the term is too often used, that’s to say to denote a fixed-in-time ideal. ”[T]he boundaries of a culture’s cuisine are in a state of constant flux, not set in stone.” writes Loyal in his introduction. “Food is a living form of culture that evolves: its boundaries are fluid, blurred, porous and dynamic.” Please consider that sentence triple-underlined in red! And also “Authenticity is an unending reel of culinary snapshots, an evolving spectrum that captures many transformative moments along flavourful journeys in generations of kitchens.”
Loyal describes himself as "a second generation British Indian food writer and home cook, a descendant of Punjabi farmers and Leicester market traders with big appetites”. Furthermore, he’s travelled around the world eating professionally, as it were, for Harrods and Marks & Spencer (where he was, latterly, Head of Food Trends) and so his palate has been formed by the foods from many cultures. Thus, his recipes have a dynamism that is genuine, personal and flavour-led. Let me name a few from this dazzling and yet warmly inviting bounty of them: Achaari Mango Pulled Pork; Brown Butter, Onion & Cumin Dip; Chaat Paneer Curry Dogs; Masala Brisket Pie; Yellow Chana-Moong Dal with Chorizo Tarkha; Dopiaza Dauphinoise with Za’atar and Crispy Vindaloo Aubergines with Anchovy-Chilli Yogurt. From the sweeter end of the spectrum, I will simply say to you Passion Fruit & Raspberry Rose Victoria Sponge, Saffron Custard Tart with Candied Fennel Seeds & Roasted Strawberries, and Chocolate Chai Pie! And there is so much more to the book than the recipes. It allows you — to draw on an analogy that both Loyal and I favour — new music in the kitchen.
That leaves me to do no more than tell you that the recipe I’m delighted to be sharing with you today is the Kasundi Keema Lasagne Rolls.
Mother Tongue: Flavours of a Second Generation by Gurdeep Loyal is published by 4th Estate on 2 March.
Photos by Jacqueline Walker.
