Whereas hunter-gatherers in the ancient era depended on a variety of plants and animals that changed with seasons, the farmers in subsequent eras had to routinely eat the same food as the crops they planted were limited in variety. This in turn motivated people to invent ways to make their diets more attractive and palatable, which reinforced the rationale for cooking by enhancing taste and bringing about variations in consumed food. As agriculture freed some of the populace in society from the task of producing food, they started to take up other pursuits including experimentations with culinary items. Food subsequently became a classic marker of European identities during the 17th and 18th centuries. Then in the 19th century coinciding with the 'Age of Nationalism', cuisine was viewed as a defining symbol of national identity. Finally, the 20th century saw the introduction of freezing methods, cafeterias, restaurants and fast-food outlets, which has accorded cuisine the status of a global culture by now.
In the above backdrop, the book Banada's Kitchen authored by the Melbourne-based Bangladeshi physician Dr Mahiuddin Abdul Ahad (Babar) deserves kudos because of its cosmopolitan approach in presenting recipes of culinary delights based on his own experiences since childhood at home and abroad. The author recalls in the introduction to the book, "As the saying goes, 'necessity is the mother invention'; and my long-suspended craving for cooking found a new lease of life when I arrived in Melbourne to begin a new chapter. Melbourne in those days, circa the late 1970s, had just a few Bangladeshis. The restaurant options for Bangladeshi or Indian food were practically non-existent. For someone who considers himself a foodie, a connoisseur if you will, the eating-out options in Melbourne were distressingly bare. The option was either to cook or to starve, and I chose the former. And all the cooking skills that I honed as a teenager in my parental home at Fazilerghat were revived from my memory bank. Old dishes from my mental list of recipes started to nibble into my taste palette again, rekindling memories of familiar flavours."
In her foreword to the book, Ahad's compatriot, friend and mentor Maria Myers added, "Babar's early adoption of fusion cooking led to a number of delicious dishes, and his touch with presentation often showed the delicacy, skill, and precision of a surgeon. It is no surprise that alongside a demanding and successful medical career, there has been in gestation a creative and freethinking chef. Open to the experiences life has offered, cooking is one of the many areas in which Babar has found fulfilment and gained expertise."
The book presents recipes, ingredients and processes for as many as 37 delicious dishes along with their pictures in colour. Apart from Bangladesh, meals from other places and countries including Italy, Vietnam, France, India, UK, USA, Australia and the Middle-East have been incorporated. Some of the interesting dishes are as follows: burnt onion; fondant potato; korma paste; pasta; tandoori paste; coriander butter; Portobello mushroom with goat cheese; fig with blue cheese; Italian-style omelette; potato rosti with smoked salmon; fazilerghat chashi bhorta; kolija bhuna; shorshe ilish; chicken tandoori; egg korma; barramundi; beef vindaloo; tuna pasta; and beef rending.
Regarding the unique and rather novel title of the book, the author explains that it was inspired by a recent birthday gift from his daughter Fabbiha: "Knowing my passion for cooking and the desire to present delicacies for my grandchildren, my birthday hamper consisted of a set of kitchen utensils - forks, knives, aprons and kitchen mittens. The inscription on the knife reads 'Banada', which is an acronym for 'Baba' (father), 'Nana' (maternal grandfather) and 'Dada' (paternal grandfather)." More specifically, combining the first two alphabets of these three words give rise to the acronym 'Banada'.
As Maria Myers notes in her foreword, this cook book is meant to bring joy, fascination and satisfaction to a broad section of our societies. Hopefully, it will result in many more happy gatherings of families and friends seated around shared, safe and delicious meals both in Bangladesh and abroad.
Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed is a retired Additional Secretary and former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly. hahmed1960@gmail.com