Indian's powerplants
Romy Gill on regional and vegan Indian food
Early days
I was born and brought up in Bengal. My dad worked in a steel plant and the food I grew up eating was not just specific regional food from there – it was from all over India, because people came from different states to work in the steel plant. My early experience of food was a balance of different flavours from across India.
Regional variations
India is a country where the food differs depending on the different climates. So, much of southern India is near the oceans and coastal. They are focussed on coconuts, the fishing industry and there are a lot of rice-growing areas. Whereas in Punjab, a lot of people are farmers and they grow rice and wheat, so it’s very wheat-heavy and you’ll find a lot of paratha, naan and chapati. Depending on the climate and what’s grown in that region, that will reflect in the food.
Indian food and veganism
My book Zaika is based on vegan recipes, as that was mainly what I grew up eating. It was important in our household that meat was not a necessity. We ate meat maybe once a month, but wholesome, good food on the table was more important. The book was a homage to my mum and it was very much about the food of my childhood. When I came to the UK, I started using seasonal produce. That’s why I call myself a BritishIndian chef, because I use produce from here and bring my background as a self-taught chef and the way I ate. Indian food is very vegan-friendly. People think it’s very ghee-based but it depends on where you are. Creating vegan recipes is easy for me – it’s not a trend in India, it’s the way we eat at home.