Curry And Identity

“But does food act like a historical text? What is food a record of exactly? …[F]ood is not a reliable historical source, for it is a truth universally acknowledged that most curries dished up in [British “balti”] restaurants are invented for the ‘white’ consumer. In Urdu, balti means ‘bucket’ and has more to do with Jack, Jill and the hill, than with cooking.”