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Sejal Sukhadwala

@sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social
154 followers 22 following 613 posts

London food writer. Author of The Philosophy Of Curry (British Library Publishing, 2022). Working on an Indian food dictionary for the past decade or so. I often write about Indian food history, culture and restaurants.

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Just read a recipe description in which the writer says that her mother coarsely ground millet grains "like she did with her ego" and moistened them with water "like her inner realm". What?!
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Are there any bakeries in north-west London that sell khachapuri?
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Alan Carr won food and drink podcast of the year? And Pete Wicks won best health podcast? What's going on?
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A reminder for freelance writers: each time you have an article published, don't forget (like I nearly did) to add it to your ALCS account. ALCS is not just for books.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
For my Indian food dictionary, I discovered a 'pasta' pickle. Well not pasta exactly. Gatte are gram flour pasta or dumplings - they don't fit entirely into either category - but are boiled like pasta. Both are sun-dried and pickled with unripe green mangoes, mustard oil and fennel seeds.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The problem with setting up Google alerts for The Philosophy of Curry is that you start getting notifications for the philosophy of Stephen Curry
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
BTW the name 'curry leaves' is nothing to do with their supposed "curry-like flavour" as is commonly assumed. The word 'curry' is based on Tamil word 'kari' which means, among other things, 'black'. 'Kari' here refers to this sweet variety of neem being darker in colour than bitter neem.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
M&S now sells curry leaves: www.marksandspencer.com/food/curry-l...
marksandspencer.com
Curry Leaves | M&S
Sizzle these specially sourced Curry Leaves with mustard and cumin seeds to add a fragrant, aromatic flavour to homemade curries or to finish tarka dal.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Kingsbury & Kenton are getting pretty wild in terms of contemporary Gen-Z Gujarati food, completely different from (more common in London) Kenyan-Gujarati. I saw speciality Gujarati rice varieties not seen elsewhere; plus Gujju ice cream parlours. I'll have to spend a day or two checking it all out.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I wrote about 10 of London's best vegan-friendly restaurants for Vittles' 99-strong vegan guide: 123V Browns, Tendril, Mallow, Bubala, Dauns, Unity Diner, Kin, Cream Dream, Holy Carrot and Plants Of Roselyn. (Some I had to leave out as they're temporarily shut). open.substack.com/pub/vittles/...
open.substack.com
The Vittles Vegan Guide
By Isobel Lewis, Riana Austin, Thom Eagle, Sejal Sukhadwala, Denai Moore, Barclay Bram, Jonathan Nunn and more. Artwork by Dan Biddulph.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is just brilliant - an 'about me' section on a restaurant website to end all 'about me's
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In a week when - a politician triggers debate on 'English' vs Anglo-Saxon - another eats lentils "for 1st time ever" - my search for a 'classic' English recipe leads to discovery that most are now imbued w. olive oil, gochujang, chillies etc, - I'm buying: www.waterstones.com/book/the-ful...
waterstones.com
The Full English by Lewis Bassett | Waterstones
Buy The Full English by Lewis Bassett from Waterstones today! Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A very large number of of European movies have suddenly arrived on Netflix UK, most notably vintage Belgian movies.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The annual 'pumpkin spice' overkill makes me laugh - it's just garam masala for millennials.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
'Food history' has really exploded in recent years hasn't it. It used to be so niche. Not only books, articles and podcasts, but also Instagram posts, menus, 'storytelling' in supperclubs and now a food history board game is being launched. I'm sure there's also an app or two...
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
There's a nice recipe for 'cacerolita' in a 1995 Sarah Brown vegetarian cookbook - what kind of dish is this? There's barely any info online, at least in English (I'm ignoring AI auto-generating some totally made-up recipe). It seems to be a Spanish dish.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I really like the sound of all these vegetarian sandwiches, and wish more imaginative meat-free choice was available in shops and sandwich bars. cooking.nytimes.com/watch/the-ve...
cooking.nytimes.com
We Put 8 Vegetarian Sandwiches Head-to-Head
Anyone with a flier to hand out or a petition to sign can tell you that approaching people on the street is an exercise in rejection therapy. So when Tanya went to Washington Square Park earlier this ...
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It was an absolute privilege and a real honour to speak to, and write the story of, the legend that’s Lalita Ahmed for Pit magazine - Britain’s 1st Indian cookery show presenter in 1978. My special thanks to @drkevingeddes.bsky.social and @samiraahmeduk.bsky.social for help with this article.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I spent the afternoon talking about Indian food, British food and the symbiotic - and often antagonistic - historic relationship between the two and then I came home and saw this: www.tesco.com/recipes/en-G...
tesco.com
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In Indian dishes, fresh fenugreek leaves, dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and fenugreek seeds are not interchangeable - although from the same plant, they're totally different ingredients. Fresh is used as a vegetable; dried leaves and seeds are two different spices with separate purposes.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A novel set in an 18thC London confectionary shop mentions 'Piccadilly puff' - a puff pastry with lemon and spices. Did such a pastry exist? (Like, say, Tottenham cake or Chelsea bun). Quick google search only gives me a cigarette shop in Piccadilly called Piccadilly Puff.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Literally - the more I read about Indian cuisine the less I feel I know. Buknu, bhakosa, sakoda, karayal, gular sabji - came across all these Uttar Pradesh dishes recently that I'd never even heard of before, despite reading and writing about and cooking regional Indian food and history for decades.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Interesting Reddit thread - going against mainstream media reporting - on Bread Ahead being kicked out of Borough Market. The market is now commercialised beyond recognition anyway, so why does someone being "too successful" matter and what's the real story here? www.reddit.com/r/london/com...
reddit.com
From the london community on Reddit: Bread Ahead bakery claims it has to leave London’s Borough Market for being ‘too successful’
Explore this post and more from the london community
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It makes me laugh that Vittles did an issue on influencers when the magazine itself is such a major influencer. Its Influencer issue has had all the influencers talking, and now all we hear on social media and in mainstream media is endless debates about influencers.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Was thinking about why there isn't a TV series about the history of curry - an interesting and colourful story if properly done - and randomly started googling 'how to pitch programme ideas to Netflix' and 'the BBC'
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
An elderly woman came up to me at a bus stop and said: "May I say something? It's so nice to see someone reading an actual book. I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a book on public transport. Everyone just has their noses in their phones." Sad but true.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I don't know what the future holds for Veeraswamy (I wrote about the restaurant in my book) - but I'm pleased and relieved they're doing a 'nostalgia menu' of original dishes, like their superb mulligatawny from 1926, to celebrate their 100 years: www.veeraswamy.com/whats-on/cen...
veeraswamy.com
Veeraswamy Centenary Nostalgia Menu
Book Now to Celebrate 100 Years of the Oldest Indian Restaurant in the UK | A Four Course Menu featuring dishes from the London Restaurant's 1926, 1947 and 1959 Menus. Find Out More
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
1/3: A short thread for UK restaurant critics. When writing about an Indian restaurant, note that just because the dish name - or the restaurant name - has the word 'Bombay' in it, it's not necessarily and automatically 'Maharashtrian'. In fact very few restaurants in UK are...
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I read articles like these (about 'savoury mithai') and they're usually framed as 'look how innovative Indian chefs are,' but I always read them as the push-pull of a cuisine in crisis that doesn't know whether to go back to its roots or try to become a global player www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/...
livemint.com
How chefs are giving ‘mithai’ a savoury spin | Mint
One of India's oldest culinary traditions, the art of making mithai, unlocks the next frontier in premium dining menus
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
What about… - French Bret’s salted butter crisps - Indian chilli and lemon crisps - Polish dill crisps
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Conde Nast let the Gourmet magazine trademark lapse; then a bunch of people used it to relaunch it as a worker-owned magazine but, following a lawsuit, turned it into an 'unnamed food magazine' for a while, and now they've relaunched as Buffet magazine: buffetmagazine.net
buffetmagazine.net
Buffet Magazine
Buffet is a worker-owned publication about food and the people who make and consume it.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Just realised that 3 of the biggest grandes dames of cookery are nonagenarians (nonna-generians?): - Madhur Jaffrey: 93 years - Mary Berry: 91 years - Claudia Roden: 90 years Wow.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
There's been a major crackdown on food fraud in India (about time too!) but fake paneer should not unwittingly be given some sort of respectability with the label 'analogue paneer'. It's not analogue (as in meat analogue = meat substitute), it is fraudulent pure and simple.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
London Museum is relaunching at Smithfield in November and will serve some historic London dishes in its various bars and cafes. I like this trend (?) of museums matching their catering to their displays instead of getting in Benugo, also like Cafe Jikoni in V&A East. broadsheet.com/london/artic...
broadsheet.com
London Museum Food Lineup: Robin Gill & Mr Lyan Announced
Robin Gill and Mr Lyan are bringing new restaurants, a street-level bar, and a late-night cafe to the new London Museum at Smithfield Market. Read more.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
What's happened to NYT Cooking lately. They enthused about a recipe for what's effectively just cheese on toast; and some of the contributors give the impression that they don't cook much these days.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
That sudden and very shrill UK govt alert - I was in the middle of emailing a pitch to a US-based editor for the first time and clicked 'send' mid-sentence out of sheer panic.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Trying to employ 'estate agent speak' in my restaurant write-ups. So 'small and dark' becomes - when you actually like the restaurant and want people to go there - 'cosy and moodily lit'.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Looking forward to all the Instagram reels set to 'total eclipse of the heart' tonight
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
My parents told me that when they were growing up in India, there were several superstitions around eclipses, such as throwing away all the food in the house. There’d be poor people queuing up outside wealthier people’s houses saying “give us all your discarded eclipse food.”
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hope London hasn't run out of colanders...
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
LinkedIn is like another planet isn't it. It keeps suggesting I add Richard Branson to my network. Everyone's so relentlessly earnest and upbeat. I typically log in when I need an escape from reality or a motivational lecture.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
It's disappointing, as an Indian, when your veggie burger in an unassuming burger joint turns out to be 'onion bhaji'
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The 2026 equivalent of wild mushroom risotto (token vegetarian item on UK menus) is The Aubergine Dish. It doesn’t matter what The Aubergine Dish is but it’s often vaguely Middle Eastern, randomly flavoured with something vaguely Middle Eastern. It has no provenance, no heritage. It just is.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Even Netflix has leaned into influencer culture (it didn’t need to!) with hundreds of short-form 5-20 min. videos dropping into its new ‘culture edit’ hub from media companies, including - for food - Bon Appetit, Epicurious and Eater. Netflix more or less said people like to scroll mindlessly.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Reading this ‘influencer’- themed issue cover to cover on long bus and train journeys around town. I forgot to pitch a story about influencers living in Indian villages trying to escape poverty by selling a sort of manufactured nostalgia to mostly diaspora viewers.
Photo of Vittles print magazine, Influencer issue.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Enjoyed listening to parts 1 and 2 - the Thai-Portuguese dessert sounds sensational! I was just researching the other day the large number of egg yolk-based desserts in India that were introduced by Irish missionary and other nuns. European nuns' contribution to Asian cuisines is under-appreciated.
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
From my Dad: "40 years ago, a mythological epic was turned into a highly acclaimed (and very long) spectacle, featuring hugely diverse cast, a mix of styles and genres, and not entirely historically accurate facts. This was... Peter Brook's theatrical production of Mahabharata."
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
What's a good/ classic brand of Malaysian curry powder available in the UK?
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
This is a bit niche but if you're interested in how vegetarianism is represented in gothic literature, you can access academic Andrew Smith's new book 'Vegetarian Gothic' via this link for a few days: www.cambridge.org/core/element...
cambridge.org
Vegetarian Gothic
Cambridge Core - English Literature: General Interest - Vegetarian Gothic
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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Somewhat unusual exhibition (well it is Bompas and Parr) currently on at the Bank of England Museum that combines historic food fraud, finance and live honey bees: www.bankofengland.co.uk/museum/whats...
bankofengland.co.uk
The Power of Honey: Food, Finance and the Golden Age of Fraud
Discover a new temporary exhibition by Bompas & Parr
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