Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from an Immigrant Kitchen by Ravinder Bhogal

Jikoni: Proudly Inauthentic Recipes from an Immigrant Kitchen is a cookbook by Ravinder Bhogal. The title takes its name from the Kiswahili word for “kitchen”, reflecting an approach to food shaped by movement, memory and a meeting of culinary influences.

Born in Kenya to Indian parents and later moving to London as a child, Bhogal describes how the cooking of her new home collided with a heritage that crossed continents. The result is a playful, rebellious style that draws from one tradition and then another, with recipes such as Cauliflower Popcorn with Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce, Spicy Aubergine Salad with Peanuts, Herbs and Jaggery Fox Nuts, Skate with Lime Pickle Brown Butter, Tempura Samphire and Nori, Lamb and Aubergine Fatteh, and Banana Cake with Miso Butterscotch and Ovaltine Kulfi.

Key details

• Cookbook by Ravinder Bhogal
• Title inspired by the Kiswahili word “jikoni”, meaning “kitchen”
• Recipes described as “proudly inauthentic” and loosely framed as “immigrant cuisine”
• Includes evocative stories exploring the relationship between food, people, place and identity

Synopsis

This collection presents “proudly inauthentic” recipes that combine influences across continents and traditions. Alongside the cooking, it shares stories from the author’s past, illustrating connections between food, people, place and identity. The flavours and aromas are described as sophisticated, welcoming, fresh, exciting and bold.