Forgotten Foods

Edited by Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, Tarana Husain Khan,

Claire Chambers. Rs 499/-

Picador India

On the heels of Desi Delicacies by Claire Chambers comes another anthology for the desi food lovers of South Asia’s Muslim regions, from Sri Lanka to Malaysia, the Indo-Pak border to Awadh and the many cities of India. Western influences are also highlighted in Forgotten Foods, compiled through the tales of historians, literary scholars, writers, chefs and more. It’s a book more than a cookbook, though recipes are plainly represented, from the Gupchup Shami Kebab of Bhopal to the Yarkandi Pollo of Leh-Ladakh.

There’s such an air about anything forgotten that a lover of history wants to jump right in and recall all that has been lost in time and translation. Forgotten Foods takes you through the culinary memories of the great poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, recounted by his daughter, Moneesha Hashmi, and a recipe for Sarson ka Saag and Spinach. If you have the stomach for it, Siobhan Lambert-Hurley starts off with You Are What You Eat, touching on the highly political issue of beef-eating in India. Her travel writing stories gathered from South Asia’s Muslim community depict how food plays such a vital role in our life, as an identity marker for different religious groups in the continent. The Magic of Hyderabad’s Nahari is a delicious write-up by Ayesha Mualla with a recipe for the lamb trotter signature and the meaning of nahar, literally, as day.

Tarana Husain Khan shows you how Rampur and Bhopal cuisines were ‘separated at birth’. She met over tea with Princess Niloufer of Bhopal and depicts the rezala, which used to be prepared with peacock meat before hunting the regal bird was banned. Take a look at the foodscape of Manipur’s Pangal community by Md Chingiz Khan, an indigenous Muslim from the Northeastern state. And lots more in this anthology that shows the hard work put in by the editors.  

About the authors: Claire Chambers is a well-known writer and literary critic. She teaches Global Literature at the University of York and writes a regular literary column for Dawn newspaper (Pakistan). Siobhan Lambert-Hurley is a professor of Global History at the University of Sheffield. She has authored several books on Muslim South Asia. Tarana Husain Khan is a writer and cultural historian based in Rampur. She has authored the award-winning historical novel, Begum and the Dastan.