Imad's Syrian Kitchen: A Love Letter from Damascus

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Alarnab is proud of and excited by the success of Imad’s Syian Kitchen, but it’s his family who bring him the most joy. He says his personal life is “the most important part.” Alarnab says he runs Imad’s Syrian Kitchen similarly to how he operated his eateries in Damascus. The main difference is his Soho space has a small kitchen, so the menu is slimmed down, but each dish has been perfected – and the food’s designed for sharing, adding to the homely feel. Su Scott’s intimate book shares the food and experience of a Korean mother living in Britain, and the relationship between her, her daughter and the food they eat. It’s engagingly written, and there’s much here about the importance of food and identity. The book is beautifully designed and photographed, and the recipes are a delight. Expect everything from innovative ferments (white cabbage and apple kimchi) to bold mains such as grilled clams with sweet doenjang (fermented soybean paste) vinaigrette.

I didn’t know that… Olfactory memory (the personal recollection of aromas) is key; tomme de savoie tastes like strawberry laces to Emma. I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired… I’m so sure you will too… Londoners have poured into Imad’s over the summer months, salivating over the menu, enjoying the friendly atmosphere and chatting to Alarnab about his food.

Publishers Text

Next we hear from my lovely friend Danika who works unaccompanied minors in Paris. Her approach to humanitarian work has always inspired me.

Recipe to make: Pear and panjiri trifle – panjiri is a Punjabi dessert made from flour cooked in ghee, with sugar or jaggery, spices and ground nuts.

Scotland-based Sumayya Usmani’s exploration of the food of Pakistan is full of enticing recipes, but this is a memoir, too, about growing up as a woman in Pakistan in the 1980s and 90s, and how cooking helped Sumayya find her place in the world. Alarnab says while his rent is more affordable due to Covid’s impact on the London restaurant scene, he knew opening in 2021 was going to be a tough feat. s a kitchen – it’s my kitchen – and this is my dining area. I love it that way,” Alarnab says. While the cauli roasted, I made shurabat ends (red lentil soup). An odd choice you might think for mid-summer but since London is having a dismal few weeks of rain, I am wearing my fleece and happily eating hot soup. I simply adore soup and no day is too hot to eat a bowl in my view. Next, I made a vegan moussaka. I never make moussaka the traditional way because I don’t often cook meat at home and the required béchamel sauce is a faff, but this was a Syrian moussaka which is much less work and I put it together with ease in my lunch hour. This was served with sahan khudra, otherwise known as the green plate – Turkish green peppers, onion, herbs, spring onion and so on, the idea is that you help yourself to items from the green plate while eating your meal.

In today’s episode I speak to the wonderful Imad Al Arnab of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Imad has such an amazing story. He was a successful restaurateur in his home city of Damascus, Syria where he owned multiple restaurants, several juice bars and coffee shops. After they were all bombed and it became apparent he had to leave, he made the dangerous journey to the UK, where at first he worked in a car wash and as a car salesman. It didn’t take long for him to go on to open his very successful restaurant in Central London - Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.. He’s now written a recipe book also called Imad’s Syrian Kitchen - a love letter from Damascus to London, and is in the process of opening an even bigger restaurant still in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street. This is the story of how Mez has spent the last few years doing everything he possibly can to get his brother to safety. It's a very personal episode and I hope you enjoy it. Part two coming soon! Raised in Mumbai and now living in the UK, Maunika Gowardhan uses her second book to share tandoori recipes from her life and travels in India, which she’s cleverly adapted to suit conventional ovens. The recipes are bright and enticing, and beautifully balanced across the whole: I made three that took my eye, and each was exceptional. Insightful tweaks and tips – such as the value of the ‘double marinade technique’ – lift everything, and make a better, more knowledgeable, cook of you. He’s also a fan of Darjeeling Express – now found in Covent Garden, Asma Khan’s Indian restaurant used to be located in the Soho space Alarnab now occupies. Amid this is an extensive series of recipes that offer a bustling tour of Syrian cuisine. Many of the dishes that have become signatures at Alarnab’s London restaurant feature, including the falafel, which are strikingly shaped with hole in the middle for a ‘crispier texture’. There are six chapters to the book in total, covering spice mixes, recipe basics, starters, mains, desserts and drinks.

Table of Contents

Recipe I can’t wait to make: Kankankan cauliflower fritters with yogurt and mayo sauce (photograph: Yuki Sugiura). Born in Kenya to Indian parents, Ravinder Bhogal – food writer and chef/owner of restaurant Jikoni – developed an early love of vegetables from her grandfather’s “Edenic” allotment and marveling at the produce of local women growers. This lively and engaging vegetarian book shares that love and revels in Bhogal’s belief that “vegetables are the soul of the kitchen… [offering] endless opportunities for play.” The recipes deliver on that: hot and sour sweetcorn risotto with lime leaf butter and mango and ‘golden coin’ curry are among the many that insist on being made. Bhogal moved to multicultural London at an early age, and everything about Comfort and Joy reflects the richness of her heritage and experience (turn to pxx for my interview with her to learn more). You won’t find much that you can easily categorise, but if you like the idea of modern, inventive and cross-cultural recipes, written with warmth and love, there’s no-one doing it quite like Bhogal.