Chef Asma Khan gets her determination and fierceness from the same place many of us do our mothers.
Chapati Whole-Wheat Bread
Everyday bread eaten by many families in India and meant to be eaten hot and immediately.
I should not be afraid, Khan says.
I should deal with every challenge without fear and not think that Im going to fail.
And that boldness shines through Khan, 52, in admirable ways.
The Indian-born British chef is one of the worlds most prominent female chefs, and for good reason.
But even boldness was no match for COVID-19, which affected the restaurant world especially hard.
When Khan had to close her restaurant at the start of the pandemic, she was struck with panic.
She wasnt going to wait until after her mother was gone.
I will write so that she sees this book in her lifetime.
Living in Cambridge as a newlywed in an arranged marriage, Khan felt unmoored.
I was in mourning.
I felt everything beautiful in my life had gone, Khan says.
She cooked with me, taught me how to cook.
She understood completely that cooking was my way home.
Because I spent so much time with her in the kitchen, I knew all the aromas.
I knew the techniques.
Id just never done it, so I didnt know how to cook.
She also spent time cooking with her mother-in-law in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
The lessons lit a flame within her that she took back to England.
Despite receiving a Ph.D. in British constitutional law, she knew that being a lawyer would not fulfill her.
Cooking for people, though, and bringing joy to others through food sparked her.
I felt very powerful, Khan says.
In Indias patriarchal society, sons are the heirs, and women cant inherit property.
When a boy is born, theyre celebrated, she says, while a second daughters birth is lamented.
When I cooked, I felt appreciated.
While Khan didnt practice law in the courtroom, she pursued social justice through her career as a chef.
She organized supper clubs in London and enlisted the help of Indian women, including home cooks and nannies.
Im not leaving anyone behind.
All of us are going to succeed equally, she says.
