Archive · 28 Jun 2025
Home on a Plate: Exploring Identity Through Food Memories
The author writes about how the taste of his grandmother's cooking, particularly egg korma, reminds him of home.
He describes the special dish and the atmosphere surrounding it.
Growing up, the author felt caught between cultures and uses food to connect with his heritage.
He explains that food and culture are connected, and even though he can recreate the recipe, it's hard to reproduce the joy and memories from his childhood.
The author suggests that food is a way to build community and a sense of belonging.
The author reflects on the taste of his childhood home through memories of his grandmother's egg korma.
The author's grandmother, Didi, was known for her generosity and cooking, especially her egg korma, which he seeks to replicate.
The article explores the author's Sylheti Bengali identity and experiences of cultural displacement and migration.
The author discusses how food reflects cultural blending and the concept of 'indigenous' cuisine.
The author cooked for friends, seeking to create a sense of home through food, yet acknowledges the irreplaceable value of context.
- Who
- The author, Souradeep Sengupta, reflects on his memories of his grandmother Didi and her cooking.
- What
- A reflection on the author's childhood memories of his grandmother's cooking, particularly her egg korma, and how food connects to identity and home.
- When
- The article discusses the author's childhood, recent cooking experiences, and the passing of his grandmother in 2009.
- Where
- The author's memories are rooted in small-town Assam, with later experiences in Kolkata.
- Why
- To explore the connection between food, memory, identity, and the concept of 'home' through the lens of cultural displacement.
Indigenous Cuisine
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Definition
Indigenous Cuisine
Food can be considered indigenous to a place if it originates there and is shaped by local history and influences.
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- Dish Featured
- Didi'r dim (egg korma)
- Author's Background
- Sylheti Bengali, born in Assam
- Author's Current Affiliation
- Final-year PhD scholar in physics at Ashoka University
- Grandmother's Name
- Didi (maternal grandmother)
- Key Ingredient
- Eggs
- Related dish
- Chyaang maach (snakehead fish)