Romy Gill on revisiting heirloom recipes for her latest cookbook

Romy Gill’s India is an ode to her rich Punjabi and Bengali heritage. For Romy Gill’s India, the author travelled to India: her birthplace Asansol in West Bengal, Shantiniketan, Darjeeling, and Punjab. The cookbook features 40+ Indian recipes inspired by her childhood memories

Sometime during the COVID-19 lockdown, Romy Gill found herself on the verge of a breakdown. “I remember all of us — my daughters, husband, and I — working from home. I was the busiest I had ever been: writing, raising money for charities, and the works. And suddenly, I was overwhelmed and broke down. I wondered, what would happen if I let it all go?,” says the teary-eyed British-Indian chef and food writer. That day, typical chef-style, Romy turned to her kitchen for solace and made a creamy paneer dish. “I still remember I was eating it and crying. It gave me so much love, and was full of emotions because I think I was missing my parents too.”

Today, the dish she now calls sukoon paneer features among several others in her latest book, Romy Gill’s India (launching on September 12 and published by Hardie Grant London) that is an ode to her rich Punjabi and Bengali heritage. Romy’s father moved from Punjab to Burnpur in West Bengal, and was later joined by her mother after their wedding.

“This is a very personal book,” says Romy, over a video call from her home in the UK, “I wanted to showcase stories from the two kitchens, and wanted it to be my first book!” she laughs, referring to her earlier books, Zaika: Vegan Recipes From India (2019) and On The Himalayan Trail (2022). “My second book, which spotlighted kitchens from Kashmir to Ladakh, took a lot out of me. I wanted my next to be a light-hearted book and pitched the family cookbook that I started writing almost immediately,” says Romy, whose television outings include Celebrity MasterChef, and BBC’s The One Show, among others.

For Romy Gill’s India, the author travelled to India: her birthplace Asansol in West Bengal, Shantiniketan, Darjeeling, and Punjab. “I had not been to Asansol in a very long time. After my mother’s passing in 2019, my father accompanies me on all my India travels, and I also had my childhood friend Reshmi join us from New York,” says Romy, “I went to my school, the spot I used to have gol gappe with our pocket money… I am a small town girl who ended up in the UK. I would have never dreamt it.”

And food was the core of every memory. Be it the paneer pakkoda from Ludhiana, the fruitcake from the now closed Atwal Hotel, Aunty Rita’s fish curry, all these dishes feature in the neatly categorised book. “India as a whole is incredible and we don’t give it enough credit. My knowledge of rituals, food, and communities comes from my upbringing in a small town, and my roots are very important to me. Which is why the book is my version of India and its food. Hence, the name Romy Gill’s India,” she says unabashedly. 

Romy ensured all the recipes are of dishes she grew up eating. “The Hakka community is big in Asansol and tofu was common when I was a child, unlike the fad it is now. This features in the book, as does the sheekh kebab roll, kumro (stir-fried spiced pumpkin), nariyal gujiya, and cream roll, among others. They are simple and accessible recipes, and each ingredient and spice has its own importance.” A large part of the book has vegetarian recipes, with a separate section dedicated to paneer. “Unlike what people think, Punjabis don’t eat ghee and paneer everyday!” laughs Romy, “As children, we ate good, wholesome food... a simple dal, and a seasonal sabzi. My mother’s life revolved around what to make for each meal. People don’t understand how tough it is to be a woman, especially a mother.”

As for the paneer section, she says given how “people are obsessed about paneer, atleast in the West, so I decided to have a section for that with classics like the paneer patties, pakoda, and bhurji”. Recalling her first book, Zaika, that was dedicated to vegan food in India, Romy says, “I fought to write it”. “People don’t understand that India is primarily plant-based. Par ab toh vegan ka zamaana hai (now veganism is trending) and it is overrated. I just hate the word vegan!”