Finding purpose in events, summer condiment experiments and finding flowers everywhere
Find out what I did with my 2kg of sesame seeds...
Hello!
This month has been a little volatile. I have gone from having no work to doing two fully booked supperclubs and catering for a Solidarity Table event curated by Kyinat Motla. Sometimes the transition and volatility of the nature of working freelance is more tiring than the actual work. Ever since I have cooked for my work, it is not something I find stressful. What is stressful is all the non cooking aspects like calendar management, emails, change in seasonality of work pace, advertising myself and constantly needing to be seen. Some months feel like a breeze and some months don’t. The beauty of the city I live in and the work I do still surprises me and last week was the best example of that in recent times.
I met Kyinat at a live podcast recording event where we just happened to strike up a random conversation. A quick few minutes of laughing together led to us realising we had a connection and she told me about an event she was in the process of organising to raise money for Restless Beings working in Palestine for relief. I instantly knew I wanted to help out with the food and after a few conversations I drafted a menu just after I woke up the next day. I am probably part of the many who have felt hopeless in the past few months. Some of my peers and close friends have have been so incredible and immersed themselves in creating change through protests, events, writing and speaking out loud. I, on the other hand, have gone into a bit of a solitary zone and stopped myself from being affected. I have felt utterly overcome by a sadness in losing faith and not seeing how peace will ever be profitable. Meeting Kyinat and working alongside her in being part of this event where people were brought together in a shared belief, a shared love for humanity and spreading some joy in whatever way we can has been so eye opening. Mainly to know that I can do my own little part without feeling a sense of doom every second.
We raised over 2k with this evening event! Thank you to all of you that showed up, ate, performed and held space together. Watch this space for this incredible woman with such a big heart.
Amidst all the busy and non busy moments this month, there is one thing I have made sure I have done: look at all the blooms everywhere. I am lucky because part of my walk into South London Louie (where I am the resident chef) is through Burgess Park. Irrelevant of the park though, something I have incorporated into all my walks is to not look at my phone (unless it is for directions) and to notice all the colours around me. This month has been particularly good for this and I just wanted to share some little snippets of all the small natural things I noticed during all my walks.
Have you ever tried a fish ttok?
A ttok is like a tamarind broth (or in this case, my version was a bit more like a chutney). Making a ttok was always on the cards for hot days in Kolkata. I would always be the one requesting it and even though it was always met with some reluctance, everyone always licked their plates clean once served. You can of course make a ttok with fried lentil pakoras (daal’er bora), or some cubed potato too, but the absolute best is using small fish. Mourola (somewhat like whitebait) or puti (little bit like sprats) are typically best, but in the absence of fresh market fish I decided the best version can be achieved with dehydrated yellow stripe.
I soaked the fish in tamarind (the fresh block), hot water, brown sugar and Bengali panch foron (fennel, fenugreek, mustard, celery and cumin) and then simmered til the consistency was almost jammy. This is a condiment as much as it is a dish and is best eaten cold from the fridge. My only change to this dish (when I make it next time) would be to chop the fish pieces slightly.
This is going to be a part of my June menu on the Kolkata Chinese supperclub as a table condiment and I cannot wait to eat some of the leftovers post the event already!
SWEET AND SALTY BLACK TAHINI
I have been OBSESSED with tahini since I discovered it quite a few years ago. Tahini is not a part of Bengali cuisine but we do use ‘til’ (sesame) in combination with poppy seed and coconut for certain bases. I really love the bitterness that sesame can provide along with its earthy notes when toasted or fried.
This black tahini resulted from me having too many packets of black sesame. I’ll be honest, I thought I was buying nigella seeds so I bought a 2kg packet. But there is no waste in my household so I emptied some of the packet into one of my jars and then wanted to make an aachar type condiment with the rest. This delicious tahini is now going to be on repeat because it is so versatile and I am also OBSESSED with the charcoal, red tinted colour.
Toast all the black sesame on low heat for a few minutes. Then add into a food processor. Blend without adding anything until the sesame breaks up. At this point I added half a cup of thick honey, 1 tbsp salt, two bird’s eye chillies and some melted butter. The aim was to create something that can be used for lathering on toast with nutty sweetness and also used in cooking. This hit the spot.
I made a salad dressing with it the day after using 6 cloves of confit garlic, 1 tsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp of the black tahini and the juice of half a lemon. It was HEAVENNNNLYYYYYYY!!!!!
I’m thinking of starting condiment creating classes - is anyone interested? I truly think creating a condiment is a bit like creating a painting. There is so much freedom but also there has to be a level of restraint. The process of that creation can be the most mindful thing during a busy week. And the end result is edible and delicious.
For now I shall sign out and write to you from Italy next week. I am really hoping for some new hope, some new inspiration (not just in food) and PLENTY of sunshine.
UPCOMING SUPPERCLUB
My next event is the Kolkata Chinese Supperclub and here is the menu which I mainly wrote so I can relive some memories of the food from Kolkata - and shockingly as I was going through the thousands of photos I take during my trips, I don’t have more than 2 photos of the Indo Chinese food I eat there. The incredible restaurants and stalls or the numerous times I have hung out for hours in those places. I guess that just means they are the best sort of times. They live rent free in my head!
