Life
THE SCOTSMAN Tuesday 22 November 2022
h
ttis
Sco
0Habibur Khan
‘I’d invite a spice seller from one
of the Spice Islands Zanzibar’
By GABY SOUTAR
H
abibur Khan – the boss
at Loanhead’s Indian-
Bangladeshi restaurant
The Radhun – answers our food
questions.
What’s your favourite ingredi-
ent?
Javentry-mace, the dried shell of the
nutmeg, gives the perfect aroma to
fried pilau rice.
Do you have a guilty food pleas-
ure?
I love shatkora chicken, which is
named after the fruit, which tastes
a bit like lime. The sauce provides
a contrast to the meat and is great
with Bombay potatoes. Even though
I eat curry twice a day, I can’t get
over the taste. In Bangladesh, shat-
kora’s thick fleshy rind is eaten as a
vegetable, while the pulp is usually
discarded because of its bitter-sour
taste. The thick rind is cut into small
pieces and cooked, either green or
ripe, in curries. The fruit is also a
main ingredient in pickles.
Tell us about your first food
memory?
Gosh, it was many years ago, but
with a Bangladeshi background it
must have been chicken curry and
rice as part of my first solid food.
What’s your favourite Scottish
restaurant, deli or cafe?
The Restoration Yard in Dalkeith
Country Park. It’s a wonderful place
to chill out and enjoy amazing food
and service at The Kitchen res-
taurant. Just like The Radhuni, it’s
family-friendly. I love seeing mums
and dads teaching their kids about
new foods and flavours. It’s easy for
youngsters – and their parents – to
get into a food rut. Indian-type dish-
es are NOT boring.
What would be your last supper?
Curry of some kind. I could write a
book about it.
Starter or pudding?
Both. I love to try out things. Innova-
tion is one of my keywords.
Do you have any food hates?
Blue cheese. I also love the fra-
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grance of cardamom, but hate it
when I bite into one.
What starters, main and dessert
would be served at your dream
dinner party and who would you
invite?
We’d eat fuchka (panipuri), which
is often listed as among the tastiest
street foods in Asia. It’s made from
flour, spiced seawater, onions, pota-
toes and chickpeas. Then we’d have
waffles and ice-cream. I’d invite a
spice seller from Zanzibar, which is
often referred to as one of the Spice
Islands. Among its trademarks
are cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon
and black pepper. I’d like to chat
to them about what more of their
wares we can bring to Scotland.
I’d ask Rami Malek, who played
31
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Queen singer Freddie Mercury in
the film Bohemian Rhapsody. Mer-
cury was born in Stonetown, Zan-
zibar, where there’s a plaque above
the house where he lived. Also, a
female chef, maybe Scotland’s only
Michelin-starred female chef Lorna
McNee from Cail Bruich in Glas-
gow. Although we’re firmly focused
on Indian-Bangladeshi food, we’re
always looking for inspiration from
elsewhere. Females are under-rep-
resented in top Scottish restaurants.
I’d also ask a senior official from the
UK Home Office, so I can encourage
him/her to make it easier to get visas
for expert chefs and front-of-house
staff from the Indian sub-continent.
It’s a continuing problem.”
gaby.soutar@scotsman.com