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My guest for today is Shayma Saadat, an internationally published food writer, food photographer, teacher and public speaker. Shayma specializes in Silk Road Cuisine, her chosen name for a style of cooking that incorporates her Afghan, Pakistani, and Persian heritage. Just this past July, Shayma presented a paper at The Oxford Symposium on Food titled “Food Reimagined: Diasporic Identity and Authenticity” Her paper discusses the role of food in nostalgia and also - super interestingly to me - the concept of “authenticity”, especially in Eastern cuisines, and why that can be a problematic and limiting word used to label foods. While Shayma is a scholar, a writer, and an academic, she is also a truly wonderful guest who talks about this topic of authenticity, food, and nostalgia from a very deeply personal perspective. I can’t wait for you to hear this episode - and to try Shayma’s truly perfect Chana Masala with just one secret surprised ingredient inspired by her own travels and memories.
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Listen Now to Shayma Saadat, Presenter at The Oxford Symposium for Food
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Highlights of "I'm Confused! Isn't 'Authentic' a GOOD Thing?"
- What is the diaspora?
- Food as identity for members of the diaspora
- 3 points to her paper - 1) food, nostalgia, identity and 2) ?? 6:50 3) how those in the diaspora are re-imagining and
- Is authenticity and inauthenticity in food a false binary? is there grey area?
- Why is it harmful to label Eastern food as authentic or inauthentic?
- Who is it doing the labeling?
- The constant push and pull between old and new generations, the static and the dynamic
- How to approach changing a recipe from another culture
- Traditional vs. authentic
- "Made in Pakistan, assembled abroad"
- Shayma's path from
- A Pakistani and Persian heritage then her path Pakistan to Washington DC to Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, UK, Massachusetts, Rome to Canada
- A love story that brought Shayma's great-great-grandfather from Iran to Pakistan, and how Shayma learned this story
- The similarities and differences between Afghani, Pakistani, Punjabi, and Persian foods
- Rice as The Queen of Dishes
- Cooking, authenticity, legacies, and the cycle of life
- "I don't have a sweet tooth; I have a carb tooth" 🙂
- Using the water in the cans with the beans
- The sentimental reason Shayma uses Aleppo pepper in her Chana Masala
- How did Shayma build a career in food while working as an Economist and become a full-time member of the food community
- Why being a food blogger is Shayma's biggest honor
- "We don't always want to talk about the trauma and loss. I want to talk about the beauty of that world and I want to talk about my heritage."
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Recipes Associated with this Episode
Quick and Easy Chanay {AKA Chana Masala}
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Connect with Shayma Saadat of Spice Spoon
Website: www.thespicespoon.com/
Instagram: @spicespoon
Pinterest: SpiceSpoon
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Related Episodes
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A Primer in Persian Culture with Nazli Bashi {Lamb Kofta Recipe}
What is Home? with Haniyeh Nikoo
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