Rosh Mahtani: ‘Mum and I will make these little pockets of love’

Born in Zambia to Indian parents, the founder of the London-based jewellery label Alighieri had an ambivalent attitude to her mother’s cuisine as a child. “I’d always complain when she made Indian food,” says Rosh Mahtani. “I’d be like, ‘Why can’t we be like my friends and have pizza or pasta?’ It was only in my 20s that I started to really appreciate her cooking. And alongside that came an acceptance of and love for my heritage, which was always something I tried to hide as a kid.” 

For her first alfresco lunch of the year, Mahtani and her mother, Nims Mahtani, serve up an Indian family-style feast they’ve prepared together under vines planted in the courtyard garden of Rosh’s central London flat. One of Rosh’s favourite dishes in this particular feast is the kachori. “They’re like little parcels of peas. Mum always makes the pastries from scratch. You fold them together and it’s quite labour-intensive, so it would always be a kind of a rarity. But whenever I’ve been going through a hard time in my life, or I’m sad, Mum will always make those for me, and these little pockets of love and comfort feel really special.” 

The dessert of pistachio kulfi is something her grandmother used to make. “She had these sterling-silver cones that she used to put the kulfi in, to set it, and we used to take them out of the freezer. I remember this ritual of running the silver cone under the tap to warm it up so that you could then slip them out.”

I’m always barefoot when I host, and everyone kind of helps out

Mahtani lives alone and rarely cooks for herself, “but I love cooking for other people and having people over. And I love it to feel like home, you know? I’m always barefoot when I host and everyone kind of helps out and it has this commune vibe. I love the sense of solidarity and nurturing ourselves and each other.”

For Mahtani’s 30th birthday, her mother gave her a bound book filled with the hand-written recipes she makes, handed down to her by her own mother and grandmother. “It’s really beautiful to celebrate these foods and to share them with friends and hear them say, ‘Oh my god, that’s delicious,’” says Mahtani. “Stuff that I used to be forced to eat as a kid and would not be allowed to leave the table until I’d finished.” She laughs. “Now I dream about these foods.”