Bringing migrants and communities together with food

A local food delivery service has restored my faith in humanity after this week's racist riots in Britain. Plus a very special recipe for palak paneer.

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Far-right stormtroopers threatening to set alight hotels full of terrified asylum seekers, black and brown people ambushed by mobs of racist thugs, mosques under attack. Just when your faith in humanity plummets lower than you ever thought possible, you’re reminded there’s decency out there too.

It wasn’t just the anti-racist protesters who, in their thousands, helped see off gormless brutes in cities around Britain on Wednesday night. (Who could look at those images of streets crammed with counter-demonstrators and not gulp back tears of relief and a smidgen of restored faith?) I also realised, via my dinner on Thursday night, that there are good people in our communities celebrating diversity and doing more than their fair share to help improve the way we all get along.

Dinner came from Julia’s World Kitchen, a new supper club and food delivery service in Bournemouth, founded by Julia Shapp. The service showcases wonderful home-cooked meals prepared by migrant women who have recently made the UK their home. The women earn decent wages, gain employable skills, improve their English, make friends and raise awareness in the broader community about their culture - all through food.

Shapp was born in Canada to Jewish parents who fled the Soviet Union in the 1970s to escape anti-Semetic discrimination, so she knows first-hand how hard it is for migrants to settle in a new country. When the call went out for volunteers to host Ukranian refugees in their homes folllowing the Russian invasion, she didn’t hesitate to put up her hand. And this led to volunteering for ICN, a Christian charity that helps rebuild the lives of asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants.

As part of her role, Shapp helped organise communal meals for ICN, where each woman being supported by the organisation brings along a dish from their homeland to share. These meals helped the women in profound ways - to bond, gain confidence, realise they weren’t alone - and Shapp realised that food was a powerful tool they could use to improve their lives.

Shapp started the service as a supper club for family and friends, encouraging the migrant women to come to her house and cook traditional meals they had enjoyed in their homeland. This evolved into a food delivery service at the start of 2024. Each week, one woman prepares a selection of dishes with the support of Julia, who does the shopping, helps prep ingredients and hosts the cooking session in her kitchen. The women are paid an hourly rate that’s well above the minimum wage (everyone involved has the legal right to work in the UK). Shapp currently volunteers her time but hopes one day to be able to draw a wage.

Customers simply order food in advance online and Julia and her husband deliver the meals across Bournemouth. The service has showcased the cuisines of Bangladesh, Ukraine, Kurdistan Iraq, Poland, Oman, Turkey, Ecuador and last week the menu enjoyed was northern Indian cuisine. It’s properly delicious, authentic, home cooking.

Part of the aim of the service is to help change the toxic narrative in Britain - epitomised by a former home secretary who spoke of migrant ‘invasion’ - that stokes racial hatred. “There are so many positive things going on in migrant communities, with migrants making a real contribution, but so many people get caught up in negative rhetoric,” Shapp says. “It’s all about celebrating the diversity of food and enriching the lives of women in our community one delicious dish at a time.”

Kuar’s Palak Paneer

This recipe for this utterly delicious spinach and paneer dish is by Karamjeet Kaur. It’s fragrant with spice and rich with butter (or ghee). Serve it as a side for four people or as a main for two.

Serves 4 as a side

• 1kg Asian, Chinese or baby spinach

• Sunflower oil

• 2 TBSP cumin seeds

• 1 knob of ginger, grated

• 10 cloves of garlic, sliced

• 1 large tomato, chopped

• 1 large red onion, finely chopped

• 1/2 TBSP black pepper

• 1 TBSP coriander powder

• 1.5 TBSP Asafoetida powder

• Chili powder to taste

• 150ml single cream

• 100g of butter or ghee

• 250g paneer, cubed

Method

Fill a large bowl with cold water, add some ice and set aside. Cook the spinach in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer to the iced water with a slotted spoon.

Drain well, squeezing out excess water, and transfer to a blender or use a hand blender. Blitz to a to a rough puree.

Heat a heavy frying pan or wok and add a good splash of oil.  Add 1 tablespoon of the cumin seeds, the ginger and half the sliced garlic.  Once the seeds are popping, add the chopped tomato.  Fry until soft, 3-4 minutes, then add the spinach. Add a splash of water, fry until this has evaporated.  Add another splash of water and fry until evaporated. Pull the pan off the heat.

3.  In a separate frying pan, heat a good splash of oil, add the remaining cumin seeds, the onion and black pepper. Fry until the onion is golden. Add this to the pan with the spinach mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the coriander powder, a pinch of chilli powder and asafoetida powder. Set aside.

5. Wipe out the frying pan you used to cook the onion. Add another good splash of oil and fry the paneer until pale gold. Add this to the spinach mixture and stir in the cream and butter.

7.  Wipe out the pan you used to cook the paneer, add a splash more oil and fry the remaining sliced garlic until golden. Add this to the spinach mixture.

8. Serve with hot basmati rice, naan or chapati.