A new cookbook by Darjeeling Express chef Asma Khan was inspired by seasonal cooking

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: "Monsoon" by Asma Khan

Release Date: April 17, 2025
Host: Andrew Limbong
Guest: Asma Khan, Chef and Founder of Darjeeling Express, Author of "Monsoon"

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Andrew Limbong delves into the culinary world with Asma Khan, a renowned British-Indian chef and the mastermind behind the acclaimed London restaurant, Darjeeling Express. While the primary focus is on her new cookbook, Monsoon, the conversation gracefully weaves through her personal journey, culinary philosophy, and the significance of seasonal cooking.

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Asma Khan’s Journey: From Academia to Culinary Arts

Asma Khan's path to becoming a celebrated chef was unconventional. Holding a PhD in constitutional law, she made a bold career shift in her mid-40s to pursue her passion for cooking. This pivotal decision is explored in depth during the interview.

Asma Khan [07:34]: "No, it wasn't scary. And for anyone who's listening to this and you're in your 40s, please believe in yourself first."

Khan emphasizes that her 40s were the perfect time for such a transformation, highlighting the personal strength and resilience developed over the years.

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The Birth of Monsoon: A Seasonally Inspired Cookbook

Monsoon is more than just a collection of recipes; it's a celebration of seasonal ingredients and traditional Indian culinary practices. Arranged by season, the cookbook guides readers through making everything from basic spice blends to intricate dishes suitable for everyday meals or special occasions.

Asma Khan [03:26]: "Eating seasonal is so important. It's the core of what all our traditional kind of food was."

She argues that modern availability of year-round produce disconnects us from seasonal eating, which has been integral to cultural and spiritual practices.

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Embracing Seasonal Cooking

Seasonality is at the heart of Khan's culinary philosophy. Growing up in India, the monsoon season brought a sense of renewal and hope, a theme that permeates her cooking and writing.

Asma Khan [03:26]: "Food for me is deeply spiritual. It's linked to my identity, my ethnicity, who I am and the things that you cook."

Khan criticizes the carbon footprint associated with non-seasonal produce and advocates for fresh, locally-sourced ingredients that honor traditional eating patterns.

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Accessible and Approachable Recipes

Understanding that Indian cuisine can appear daunting to beginners, Khan has crafted recipes in Monsoon that are both simple and inviting. Her aim is to demystify Indian cooking and make it accessible for all.

Asma Khan [04:41]: "The omelette curry... because everybody can make an omelette even if it's a bad omelette. The gravy is just really vibrant and tangy."

By starting with familiar elements like omelettes and layering them with vibrant spices, Khan lowers the barrier to entry for those new to Indian cooking.

Asma Khan [05:25]: "I'm teaching you how to cook with your senses... I'm telling you alternatives because I understand that, you know, you can't follow a recipe and replicate it completely."

Her approach encourages creativity and personal adaptation, making cooking a more intuitive and enjoyable experience.

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The Modular Approach to Indian Cooking

Khan describes Indian cooking as a modular and orchestrated process, where each ingredient plays a specific role in creating a harmonious dish.

Asma Khan [06:28]: "Each flavor layering is like an instrument. And you're building it up one after the other till it becomes this beautiful melody."

This methodical layering of spices and ingredients ensures depth and balance in her dishes, reflecting the complexity and beauty of traditional Indian cuisine.

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Career Transformation: Embracing Change in Your 40s

Khan shares her perspective on making significant life changes later in life, encouraging listeners to trust their inner voice and pursue their true passions.

Asma Khan [07:34]: "When you believe in yourself, then you understand your second chance."

She underscores the importance of self-belief and resilience, suggesting that life experience equips individuals to embrace new challenges effectively.

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Commitment to Empowerment: An All-Women Kitchen

One of the most inspiring aspects of Darjeeling Express is its all-women kitchen staff. Khan made a deliberate choice to create a space where women of all ages could thrive, challenging the male-dominated narrative in the culinary industry.

Asma Khan [09:04]: "Because we have lost out... the feminine energy in all our culinary traditions has always been the mother, the grandmother."

By assembling a female team, Khan aims to honor and elevate the often-unrecognized contributions of women in culinary arts, fostering a supportive and empowering environment.

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Closing Thoughts

The episode concludes with mutual appreciation, highlighting the depth and warmth of Khan's approach to cooking and life. Host Andrew Limbong expresses his admiration for Khan's work and looks forward to experiencing her culinary creations in person.

Asma Khan [10:17]: "Thank you very much."

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Conclusion

Asma Khan's Monsoon is not just a cookbook but a testament to the power of embracing one's heritage, the beauty of seasonal cooking, and the courage to pursue one's passion at any stage of life. Through her engaging storytelling and practical advice, Khan invites listeners to explore the rich tapestry of Indian cuisine while fostering personal growth and empowerment.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Eating seasonal is so important." – Asma Khan [03:26]
• "The omelette curry... because everybody can make an omelette even if it's a bad omelette." – Asma Khan [04:41]
• "Each flavor layering is like an instrument." – Asma Khan [06:28]
• "When you believe in yourself, then you understand your second chance." – Asma Khan [07:34]
• "The feminine energy in all our culinary traditions has always been the mother, the grandmother." – Asma Khan [09:04]

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the episode, providing listeners with a vivid understanding of Asma Khan's culinary journey, her new cookbook Monsoon, and her inspirational approach to cooking and life.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Today's podcast is nominally an interview about a cookbook, but it takes a surprising turn into a lesson on the benefits of trying new things, especially as you get older. It's with Asma Khan, a big time British chef. If you watch that Netflix show Chef's Table, you might recognize her. She's got a new cookbook out called Monsoon, and it's in part about learning how to cook. And I don't just mean how to cook the recipes in the book, but how to get a feel for the food, how to start making your own decisions about layering spices on the fly. In this interview, NPR's Asma Khalid asks her about how she changed careers in her 40s from getting a PhD to starting a restaurant. And Khan talks about how your 40s are precisely the right time to do something like that. That time for the break.

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[Asma Khalid]

I often think of spring as the season of rebirth and renewal. But for the chef Asma Khan, growing up in India, it was always late summer that replenished the cracked earth and drove down the oppressive heat, because late summer was monsoon season.

[Asma Khan]

But when the rains came, it was as if the earth was blessing you. For me, my father would always tell me that it is about hope and. And believing that all difficult periods will end.

[Asma Khalid]

Asma Khan left India and moved to England with her husband in the early 1990s. And it was only then that she learned to cook. And it was only after she'd gotten a PhD in constitutional law that at the age of 45, she opened Darjeeling Express. That's a London restaurant that has made her into something of a celebrity chef and an authority on Indian food. Asma Khan has a new cookbook titled Monsoon. She walks us through making a proper pot of rice or a basic spice blend. But she also includes recipes for simple midweek meals and date night spreads. She arranges the book by season. And when we spoke, she talked to us about why eating seasonally matters.

[Asma Khan]

Thirty years ago when I came to this country, you only got strawberries at a certain time, you got asparagus at a certain time, and now you have things whole year round. And eating seasonal is so important. It's the core of what all our traditional kind of food was. You know, back wherever your heritage is from, you always ate with the season. Festivals were linked to seasonal food and produce. Harvest festival, spring festival. Food for me is deeply spiritual. It's linked to my identity, my ethnicity, who, who I am and the things that you cook. It should be what is in season, what is fresh, not some jet lagged okra that has been flown across the oceans wrapped in cling film. Refrigerated lorry. Why do you want that carbon footprint on your table?

[Asma Khalid]

I want to ask you about some of the specific recipes in your cookbook because sometimes I will say Indian food in restaurants can seem almost like unapproachably fancy, decorative. And yet you talk about wanting to make this food that you know you can cook at a date night at home. So what is your favorite recipe in here that you would say is an easy first step if you are not familiar with cooking Indian food?

[Asma Khan]

The omelette curry.

[Asma Khalid]

Okay.

[Asma Khan]

Because everybody can make an omelette even if it's a bad omelette. The omelette curry, the gravy is just really vibrant and tangy. It's a tomato based gravy and it's, you know, unlike if you're intimidated by cooking chicken or, you know, dealing with spices and you don't want all that. That's a great way to start. There is a lovely potato dish with poppy seeds in it. Very easy. And there's a rice with orange and kasia bak which is like cinnamon. And once you make rice, I love.

[Asma Khalid]

It because I have Googled how to make rice. And this is embarrassing because my family is South Asian, but I sit there watching these videos, which should be so basic, I think, to make rice. But I. I find it rather difficult to make the right rice.

[Asma Khan]

It tastes, it's not. And the thing. But so, because I've gone through this whole journey of not knowing how to cook, then learning how to cook, I understand what is it that I didn't understand? So I think that is, I've used that to my advantage. So I'm teaching you how to cook with your senses, the way I learned. And even though, you know, if you're somebody who needs instructions, the instructions are there. But alongside with the instructions is the poetry, is the magic. I'm telling you what's happening in your pan. I'm telling you how. How things are going to transform, how you kind of make sure that nothing goes wrong. I'm troubleshooting for you. I'm telling you alternatives because I understand that, you know, you can't follow a recipe and replicate it completely. Obviously, follow the basics, otherwise you're not going to end up with that dish. But just tweak it, tweak it. Do things that make you comfortable, do things that make you smile, make yourself happy.

[Asma Khalid]

You did write that despite your love for the artistry of Indian cooking, much of it is actually quite modular. Can you explain that? What do you mean by that?

[Asma Khan]

Because first of all, for us, food in the east was medicine, was medicinal. So when you start cooking a dish, the first thing you put in are the spices. These are normally whole spices. They are oil, they're oils in cinnamon, there's oils in clove, in cardamom. They get released into that oil. So you build it up so you like an orchestra. Each flavor layering is like an instrument. And you're building it up one after the other till it becomes this beautiful melody. And then you come up with this great dish. It's this kind of layering of it. It's step by step. And you will recognize that modular kind of approach to cooking. Once you cook a couple of things in the book, you'll see.

[Asma Khalid]

So you are not just a cookbook author, of course, you are a chef. And you founded a popular Indian restaurant in London called D. I want listeners to know that you started that restaurant after your PhD in your 40s. I cannot imagine making a career change of that sort. Was that scary?

[Asma Khan]

No, it wasn't scary. And for anyone who's listening to this and you're in your 40s, please believe in yourself first. When you believe in yourself, then you understand your second chance. There's a little voice inside us, a little flickering flame that we ignore because we're trying to, you know, earn enough money to pay the mortgage, you know, doing the things that everyone does. You've got the same kind of car as your neighbor. In this race for life, we ignore that little voice, that flickering flame, that desire to do something else. And I think 40 is really the best age to start. You know, you might have lost loved ones. You've had to leave the city. You've got to. You've been uprooted for other things. So whatever journey you've been through, you've survived. You're powerful. You're so powerful, you don't recognize it for a long time. If I was alone, I would open a box of cereal and just eat it without milk because I would think, you know, oh, I'm just alone in the house. Why will I cook? I want people to cook for themselves. Slow down for a minute. Embrace yourself, hug yourself, feed yourself, nourish yourself.

[Asma Khalid]

Your restaurant is in the Michelin guide for its version of home style cooking. It is also famous for having an all women kitchen staff of all ages. Why did you make that commitment? Why was it so important for you to do that?

[Asma Khan]

Because we have lost out. When you look at around you, not just our cuisine, South Asian cuisine. If you look around everywhere, who are the heroes? They're male chefs and I wish them all success. But the feminine energy in all our culinary traditions has always been the mother, the grandmother. Somehow it's only good enough if they're cooking for free at home. When I wanted to open a restaurant, women in hospitality told me, oh, you're going to fail. I told them, watch me rise. I'm going to set the world on fire. This drives me and this is why I'm so grateful that people are supportive. You know, come to my restaurant, you know, whether they're a celebrity or who they are, every person I'm grateful for because you are allowing us to live our dreams. And hopefully, hopefully one day I will see someone else opening a restaurant, an all female restaurant, and I'll watch her rise and I will applaud.

[Asma Khalid]

Asmaa Khan is the chef and founder of Darjeeling Express in London. Her new cookbook is Monsoon. Asma, it has been such a treat speaking with you and I do hope I can one day travel to your restaurant and enjoy the food in person.

[Asma Khan]

Thank you very much. Thank you.

[Asma Khalid]

Foreign.

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