We don’t have naan breads and poppadoms. That is something we created for you
THIS is a lifting of the veil on ancient kitchen secrets that are dying out. We are losing our first generation of immigrants in this country from all nations, but particularly from the Indian sub-continent.
Immigration rules have changed so that Indian chefs are not allowed over here. Curry is Britain’s number one dish – if people want to keep curry alive, they need to learn what the home kitchen secrets are. IT MEANS everything to me. What I need is people to understand how my grandmother cooked. This is how we, as Indians, eat at home.
We don’t have a balti or a bhuna, and we don’t have naan breads and poppadoms. That is something we created for you, and enjoy it, but if you want to know how Indians cook at home – really healthy, really delicious family food – then you need to watch this programme. IT’S completely moving. They’ve had to really make that calculated effort to think, ‘These are my nan’s, my mum’s secrets, am I really going to pass these on?’
Indians are really not keen to do that, so it’s very brave and gracious of them. THERE really has. What I would hate is if this was minorities for the sake of minorities. You should only really have talent on TV if they are stretching the audience, if they are bringing something that nobody else could bring.
And what I love is that’s irrespective of sex and colour, isn’t it? So, I am encouraged by it, but you hear about the disparity between male and female, the pay – it’s still like that in many spheres.
In terms of presenters – we need complete equality. But you need to know that you’ve been picked for what you have to say, not because you’re female and you’re brown. usually have a child on your hip. And that is exactly what I did. As soon as my children had a backbone and were able to sit, they would sit on the worktop next to me. Then, I remember for their seventh birthday, we had eight children round, eight camping hobs and we got them all to make a chicken korma.
And they love it, because they’re handling meat and chopping it and adding these colourful spices in.
Boys and girls alike need to know You need to know that you’ve been picked for what you have to say, not because you’re female and you’re brown COMPLETELY. When I go out, they get the pans out and raid my fridge and start cooking.
It’s really important they’re fledged in that way. I think we can be a bit cautious as a nation. You don’t want to give them knives, you don’t want them to handle raw meat, heaven forbid they should handle chilli or a pan!
But you watch them and then suddenly, you have created someone that can live and breathe when they go to university – they can cook. YOU are so right. I’m running my business while I’m travelling around and if the girls can’t find their shoes, even if I’m filming, I’ll get the phone call, ‘Where are my shoes? What time is horse-riding? Where’s the dog food?’
They won’t phone my husband, it’s just the way it is. If you’re giving your life to do TV things, you need to make things that are worth making.
You do spend time away from your family and you should only really be doing that for a story that needs to be
told. Before moving into the food industry, you worked as a barrister. Do you ever have any regrets about giving up the security of that job? I DON’T regret it. I’ve got less security now than I’ve ever had, I’m earning less now than I ever did, but I know that I’m meant to be doing this. You watch this programme and all those contributors could open their own restaurants – really authentic home cuisine. And they should do it, because we as a nation want to taste that. We want authenticity.