Feastsfromeast
MasterChef winner Saliha’s debut cookbook is a ‘treasure trove’ of dishes inspired by her family’s travels in the Indian sub-continent FRIDAY,
BY ELLA WALKER MASTERCHEF champion Saliha Mahmood Ahmed went back to her roots for inspiration for her debut cookbook.
Given that last year’s winner is a trainee doctor hoping to specialise in gastroenterology, it seems reasonable to think the book might focus on healthy eating. But not so much.
Instead, Khazana – which the 30-year-old describes as a “treasure trove” of dishes – combines her Pakistani heritage with the history of the extravagant Mughal empire and Saliha’s own travels.
She started cooking at the age of 10, before food technology at school pushed her on. At 15, she won a schools’ chef of the year competition.
However, spending family holidays exploring the Indian sub-continent, dipping into cuisines along the way, was what really triggered her bug for feeding and eating.
The London-born winner is full of stories of trying goat’s brain curry, which she found “a bit spongy”, and eating sweet potatoes – roasted in ash overnight, split open and topped with spices and lime juice – by the roadside.
She said: “My dad would book up these really long trips. All we knew was whether we were going to a hot country or a cold country.”
Amazing adventure holidays ensued, with the family of five exploring the north of Pakistan, the Himalayan foothills, India, Sri Lanka, Kashmir and “territories that other people don’t necessarily go to.”
It certainly wasn’t a case of the all-you-can-eat hotel buffet. Saliha explained: “My family would even try to avoid breakfasts in the hotels, just so we could get a taste of what the locals were eating.”
One trip saw them visit the Taj Mahal. She said: “Seeing the opulence and grandeur, I began reading about it and discovered this huge contribution the Mughals had to food of the Indian sub-continent.”
The encounter had such a lasting influence that it’s at the heart of Khazana.
Saliha revealed husband Usman, who secretly put in the MasterChef application on her behalf, was “sick of being an aubergine minion” during the recipe-testing stage of the cookbook.
But she added: “The food’s quite sexy.”
She hopes the book will “transport you to a different era”.
Khazana by Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, photography by Kristin Perers, is published by Hodder& Stoughton, priced £35. Available now. Tote bag £12.99 www.hm.com Coat £99 marksandspencer.com Trousers £35.99 www.mango.com Jumper £39 www.topshop.com Tote bag £189 www.kurtgeiger.com