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Sejal Sukhadwala

@sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social

61 followers 9 following 85 posts

London food writer. Author of The Philosophy Of Curry (British Library Publishing). Working on an Indian food dictionary for the past decade or so. I often write about Indian food history, culture and restaurants.

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Reposted by Sejal Sukhadwala

Eating Beagles 🎱 @eatingbeagles.bsky.social · 1d

Big fan of jalebi funnel cake.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 1d

Oh. My. God. That looks incredible.

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 1d

I’m seeing so many cakes, cupcakes and cheesecakes in ‘Diwali flavours’ or ‘mithai flavours’ this year - basically just regular cakes with saffron/ cardamom/ pistachios/ rosewater added. Is this a thing now.

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 1d

Wow, very autumnal!

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 1d

Sounds great

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 2d

That is true apple-ing

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 2d

Look out for the very many Apple Days coming up in the next ten days or so across England - a great way of supporting orchards (and eating and drinking apples and apple-y things).

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you, will give it a try.

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 3d

I have a press release about a beautiful new restaurant in Jaipur "with 350,000 hand-pressed mirrors, no artificial light or windows - lit only with candles." Restaurateurs, this is one way of saving on your electricity bill.

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 3d

Sometimes :) Love niche, nerdy stuff, but you have to wonder who it's for - who's listening, who's interested? Is it just a dialogue between people who've spent too long reading on some obscure topic that nobody else cares about?

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 3d

Academia can be laughably niche

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 3d

"We'd like to lead Indian food history seminars."
"On which topics?"
"Um let's see... how about something very, very niche, like Kayastha cuisine of Lucknow that few people have ever heard of, and advertisements for asafoetida in Tamil Nadu in 1920s?"
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Food History- Joint Session (November)

A joint session looking at the Kayastha Culinary Culture in Lucknow & commercialisation of the spice asafoetida in Southern India.

www.history.ac.uk

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 5d

Masala dosa in the Royal Free Hospital canteen. How cool is it that a major London hospital has a live dosa station where, on Wednesday lunchtimes, a chef cooks hot, fresh dosa right in front of you? All the food is absolutely delicious.
(Photos taken and shared with permission).

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 6d

Aha!

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 6d

I discovered there's such a thing as 'firekraut' - spicy version of sauerkraut. Which makes it... kimchi?

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 7d

Sad to hear that Sri Owen has died. Her Indonesian cookbooks, in particular her Rice Book, are true masterpieces. RIP.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 7d

Looks impressive - nice presentation

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 7d

There seem to be a growing number of Indian gastropubs in London. The main difference with 'desi' or Indian pubs is that these are owned by second or third generation Indians and that's reflected in the more eclectic menus; and the clientele is younger and more diverse.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 8d

Pakadarpana (The Mirror Of Culinary Skills)

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 9d

I’m reading food-centric Indian mythology and came across this marvellous first sentence in one of the stories…

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 9d

It cracks me up that you can get Maggi noodles in more and more Indian restaurants in London now. And Maggi noodles with tadka.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 10d

Thanks. Yes after enjoying near-perfect health all my life, I’ve had a few unexpected health issues so had to take a couple of years off. It’s a daily battle kinda thing, but I’ve gradually started getting back to work (to totally changed social media and food media scenes).

Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 10d

True. I haven't been able to go in the last couple of years due to illness, must go next year.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 10d

There aren't enough (any?) food history festivals in the UK as far as I know, so I'm excited to virtually attend the inaugural Serve It Forth, which takes place online on 18 Oct and is organised by some top British food historians (and great podcasters): serveitforthfest.wixsite.com/info/

Home | My Site

serveitforthfest.wixsite.com

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 11d

I'm intrigued by all these 1- and 2-episode deep-dives into individual Korean dishes that regularly drop on Netflix. The latest is K For Kimbap. I'd expect something like this on Amazon Prime which is a bit 'wild west', but on Netflix it's totally random (and deliciously nerdy).