A Bangladeshi-American is set to debut on season 4 of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)’s “The Great American Recipe,” a fresh take on Bangladeshi food, and proudly represent the cuisine on American TV.
The show features home cooks from different regions of the US showcasing their signature dishes and compete to win the national search for "The Great American Recipe."
Anika Chowdhury had launched her blog, Kitchen Gatherings, which she opened in 2017 as a tribute to her parents, Abdul Munim Chowdhury and Zarina Chowdhury, both of whom she lost to cancer.
She fondly remembers both her parents as warm and hospitable, who were gracious hosts that always kept a full table.
Reminiscing about them, she mentions that cooking is her love language, a way to remember her parents and their table full of Bengali food.
“My place was also almost like a hub in the evening. Everyone would just come over. I’m a combination of both my parents,” Anika said.
Her father’s family is from Sylhet, and her mother's family is from Rajshahi.
Her food on the show reflects a tapestry of influences — from the tangy, citrus-infused flavors of Sylhet to the cultural diversity of New York, she carries her family’s legacy through these recipes.
“I'll be representing both Bangladesh and New York on the show,” she added.
Anika wanted to keep her parents’ recipes alive, and since she didn't have kids, she thought the best way to pass down those iconic recipes would be through her blog.
“I don't have anybody to pass this legacy on to, like my parents did with me; that’s why I opened my blog to share those recipes with people,” she stated.
Her love for cooking is borne out of years of struggle during college. What began as “survival cooking” as a college student at Brandeis University in Massachusetts turned into a stress buster and a way to keep her parents' memories alive.
“Initially, I cooked out of necessity as a broke college student because I missed Bangladeshi food,” she said.
Years ago, with limited means to contact her mother on a regular basis, she used Siddika Kabir's cookbook to survive her junior year of college during the summer break. Then, as she began to cook for more people, her love for the art grew into her comfort space.
“At that time phone calls were expensive, and I could only call her from time to time, so my mom gave me Siddika Kabir's cookbook to learn the recipes easily,” she further said. While the recipes were helpful, “Bangladeshi food is all about technique.” Learning these techniques was a step towards becoming a seasoned cook.
Her love for Sylheti food stems from her yearly winter visits to Sylhet while growing up in Dhaka. “All of that influence was big in my childhood,” she further added.
She features Sylheti Biron Polao (sticky rice with potatoes and eggs) and Sylhet Lai Shak (mustard green spinach with mashed shrimp) in her blog, and by extension, the show became an avenue through which she can share her parents' cultural legacy.
Her recipes caught the attention of PBS producers on Instagram. They found it moving that she utilized local New York ingredients to recreate Bengali recipes, a symbol of the cultural diversity that New York offers. They thought her unique cultural blend would be a great addition for the “Great American Recipe.”
“For a while, I couldn't even believe that they really did approach me," Anika further added.
Diversity
Despite being the bastion of diversity, beyond Jackson Heights, the nuances of Bangladeshi food are lost to the common Americans.
“Food is a huge part of who we are as Bangladeshis. We involve food in everything we do,” said Anika.
The Great American Recipe brings together people living in different parts of the United States and with varied backgrounds and cultures. As Anika called herself a Bangladeshi American, so did several other people from different regions and cultural backgrounds.
According to Anika, “To be American for most means having a story as an immigrant or descendant of immigrants -- unless you're Native American.”
Just like she came to America and brought with her the rich history of Bangladesh, so did several other people from diverse backgrounds. The show introduced her to new friends, a community, and, most importantly, a new family.
In an almost fateful turn of events, the loss of her parents brought her closer to her fellow contestants, who became her family.
“We’ve become a family; this is not just a typical competition,” she said, describing the bond with her fellow contestants. This gives her an opportunity to represent Bangladesh.
“As Bangladeshi immigrants contribute to the United States in a positive way, as a lot of people don't know we exist as a country, this is a big opportunity to be on big national TV.”
A lot of Bangladeshis in America don't publicly associate with their cuisine, but she would like to change the narrative. “A lot of Bangladeshi restaurants brand themselves as Indian restaurants instead of promoting Bengali cuisine because the Indian food brand is better known.”
She also wants the newer generation of Bangladeshi-American kids to be able to take pride in Bengali food. “I see a lot of Bangladeshi-American kids steering away from Bangladeshi food because they think it's not cool. I want to make them see how cool Bengali cuisine actually is.”
Cooking repertoire
Talking about Bengali food and its strengths, she wanted to highlight the plethora of vegetable options available in Bengali cuisine. She mentioned that the star power of Bangladeshi cooking is the vegetables.
Reclaiming her Sylheti roots, she believed that Sylheti food is also very underrepresented.
“A lot of people don’t know how to cook basic Sylheti food like Lai Shak and Biron Polao.” She hopes that through this show, Bangladeshi food will receive more positive coverage and representation.
“I want to show the world that Bangladeshi immigrants in America are making positive contributions to the United States. We are rarely represented in mainstream American media, and I hope this visibility helps pave the way for more stories, more food, and more voices from Bangladesh to be seen and celebrated,” she adds.
A project management director by profession, Anika finds that cooking is very therapeutic.
Through her blog and this show, she wants to represent Bangladeshi-Americans and, in the spirit of the TV show, embrace culinary styles from different cultures.
Due to the lack of fresh frozen fish, her cooking had to adapt to the fresh food available in New York. As she awaits the seeds from her Chichinga (snake gourd) garden to flower, you can check out her blogs and watch the show from Bangladesh too.
The show will air on PBS stations across the US and stream on all PBS digital platforms (PBS.org, PBS app on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.)
Her recipes and life story can be found online on her personal website - https://kitchengatherings.com/