In her debut cook book, Zarine Khan shares the secrets which keep her family close-knit. By Devi Singh
Zarine Khan was introduced to the world of spices and flavors by her mother-in-law, Fatima Begum. She largely credits her cooking to her. Her recently released book, Family Secrets: The Khan Family Cookbook mostly comprises of, Fatima Begum Khan’s recipes. Photographed and styled by well-known photographer Ashima Narain, and featuring casual pictures of the family, the author shares intimate details of what might be on the table when the star family gets together.
“My mom-in-law got me into the fun and enjoyment of cooking. As a child coming from a Parsi family I have always loved and appreciated good food. But I started cooking after I got married,” Khan tells us.
Khan was prompted by her daughter Suzanne to come up with a book on her recipes which she had kept safe in scraps of paper. “Suzanne had a party at her place once and all her friends loved the food so much that they suggested her to ask me to put these recipes into a book. Initially I was a bit hesitant but then my other kids encouraged me as well and that’s how it happened,” she says. The book also contains the favorite recipes of the members of her family. Her son Zayed, loves hogging on red masala chops and Suzanne’s favorite is chicken korma.
“The book was quite time consuming. I not only had to convert those notes to recipes for the book, there were also photographs to be taken. And I especially wanted to have family pictures to make people realise that food does bring a family together. So the notion ‘a family that eats together stays together’ holds completely true when it comes to us,” she adds.
Khan has always believed in generosity and never had any issues in sharing her family’s traditional secret recipes with the world. “I don’t like to keep things to myself or hidden from the world. I believe we should share the good things with the world as much as we can,” Khan shares.
“It’s not just the right kind of spices that make a dish or recipe delicious. What also counts is the amount of patience and affection you are putting in. I have learnt this very art of patience and precision from observing my mother-in-law. She would settle herself in a chair in front of a sigree to keep a watch on the amount of masalas going in the gravies. And I used to jot down these meticulous recipes,” she recalls.
Zarine Khan, née Katrak, was born in a Parsi family and her childhood memories are filled with her grandmother’s cooking. “She was an amazing cook and I still remember how the entire family used to gather for lavish dinners,” she reminisces.
When it comes to the Khan family, her husband, Sanjay and son, Zayed Khan are the only ones who love to cook. “Zayed makes one of the best lasagna in the world. He’s really good with European dishes. I prefer sticking to the food I’m comfortable with. Although I love Italian cuisine as much as Parsi or Mughlai but I would rather not attempt on making them,” she tells us.
“The reason the response has been pretty great for my book is probably because the recipes are very simple and easy to make. You don’t need heavy or expensive ingredients, everything is easily available. So the simplicity and keeping things to the basic has worked for the book. And I have been receiving rave reviews and feedback from people as to how amazing the dishes have turned out,” Khan signs off.
photo Pankaj Kumar