LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The holiday season, to me, is all about family and food. And that's why I think of the smell and taste of a good rice pudding. It's my dad's favorite. He grew up on it in Lebanon. My mom learned to make it the Lebanese way with just a little bit of rosewater or orange blossom. And it's recipes like this that are the foundation of a new cookbook from Padma Lakshmi. You may know her from "Top Chef."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "TOP CHEF")
PADMA LAKSHMI: Take a look around. Standing amongst you is an incredible collection of talented chefs to compete for the grand prize of $250,000.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
FADEL: She's a television personality and at-home cook, and her latest book uses her love for food and people to make a statement about the America she knows - an America that incorporates foods from across the world, made by immigrants who came here, made a life, had children and brought their cuisines.
(SOUNDBITE OF RICE BOILING)
FADEL: So on a recent chilly day, I boiled some rice up in my kitchen while Lakshmi watched over me on Zoom to make Persian sholeh zard, the rice pudding from her cookbook "Padma's All American."
LAKSHMI: You know, there are so many similar ingredients between Indian food and Persian food, like saffron and cardamom and rosewater and things like that. But it's much more delicate than any Indian dessert I've had. It is dairy-free.
FADEL: Yeah. I was like, oh, I'd better go get milk, and then I took your advice and read the recipe three times. And there was(ph) no milk.
LAKSHMI: (Laughter) Good. You know, I'm not somebody who's averse to dairy. In fact, I'm lactose-dependent, I would say.
FADEL: Me, too. I love yogurt-based dishes.
LAKSHMI: Yeah, because you're Lebanese. That's...
FADEL: Yeah.
LAKSHMI: ...A big part of our - both our cultures.
FADEL: I want to show you the rice 'cause I'm not sure how it's supposed to look when it's ready. So I'm just going to...
LAKSHMI: That looks great, actually. Leila, this recipe is so easy and forgiving. You basically boil rice until it dies and then...
FADEL: (Laughter).
LAKSHMI: ...Add some flavorings. Stir, and that's it. Call it a day.
(SOUNDBITE OF TABLEWARE CLINKING)
FADEL: I ground up some saffron...
(SOUNDBITE OF SAFFRON GRINDING)
FADEL: ...Then threw in some sugar, a pinch of brown salt, a little more water...
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER POURING)
FADEL: ...And let it cook a little longer.
OK. So while it cooks, I want to talk about your cookbook. The cover is this American flag with you in front of it. And there's something that was almost emotional about that for me, looking at an America that I recognize and flavors that are from the diversity that I grew up with in this country. And I just want to get a sense of what message you wanted to deliver about what it is to be American.
LAKSHMI: I think what makes America exceptional is not its economy or its military or anything like that. I think it is actually its diversity because it is the engine that drives the economy, the military, the pop culture, the food, of course. And the whole book is my rebuttal to people like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon. You know, obviously, it's a cookbook. But I wanted to do something that was way more than a cookbook by showing you these delicious recipes and how they're emblematic of the nuance and richness of our collective American society.
FADEL: I read the cookbook cover to cover - beautiful pictures of all of these foods that make up who we are as Americans. But then I also learned about individuals that you met. How did you choose them? And if you - if there's a particular person you want to highlight.
LAKSHMI: You know, I'm of the opinion that everyone has a fascinating story to tell. You just have to be willing to listen. But if you take off the book jacket, there is another cover.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOOK JACKET SLIDING)
FADEL: Ah.
LAKSHMI: This is Twila Cassadore. She is a forager that lives on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. If somebody had helicoptered me there and left me there alone, I would have surely starved and died over a 24-hour period. But with Twila, I learned how to forage for wild onions. We ate gloscho, which is desert pack rat. You have an adaptation of that recipe made with chicken thighs. And so, you know, this is the cover that I think represents the book best. The book jacket with the flag on it is a very in-your-face political statement, but I'm not trying to exclude with this book. I'm actually trying to include everyone.
FADEL: The recipes in here - are there any in particular that you would pick out for the holiday season? I mean, for me, rice pudding is part of that, but...
LAKSHMI: Well, yeah. I mean, that's - I tried to include the recipes that were sort of, like, part of the greatest hits canon of each...
FADEL: Yeah.
LAKSHMI: ...Ethnicity. So I would say the brisket is great for Hanukkah. The latkes - they are biracial latkes, which are wonderful.
FADEL: And you call them biracial latkes cause?
LAKSHMI: Because my daughter is biracial. And the recipe is for traditional latkes, but then halfway through the recipe, you add ginger and cilantro leaves and fresh chiles to it. And that - those are three very quintessential South Indian ingredients.
FADEL: I love that.
What are your holiday traditions?
LAKSHMI: My holiday tradition - obviously, I am Hindu. I'm not Christian, but I am...
FADEL: Yes.
LAKSHMI: ...A Christmas fundamentalist.
FADEL: So I'm Muslim, but I love Christmas.
LAKSHMI: Me, too.
FADEL: (Laughter).
LAKSHMI: We decorate the tree. We make cider. We bake. We do a gingerbread house. And I have a hot tip for the gingerbread house. The directions tell you to glue the house together and then decorate it.
FADEL: Yeah.
LAKSHMI: That is the absolute wrong way to do it.
FADEL: Oh.
LAKSHMI: You want to decorate each panel and have each panel dry overnight, laying flat on a cookie pan, because if you put the house together and then decorate, the gumdrops or the candies that you're gluing on slide because of what? Gravity.
FADEL: Yeah. You have just changed my life 'cause my gingerbread houses - I do them with my nephews, and they're a disaster.
LAKSHMI: (Laughter).
FADEL: All right. Let's try this rice pudding.
LAKSHMI: Yeah.
FADEL: This is so good.
LAKSHMI: Yeah. It's really comforting.
FADEL: And I don't miss the milk at all.
LAKSHMI: Yeah.
FADEL: And the cardamom and the saffron.
LAKSHMI: And what's great is you can make this the night before and then just warm it up and have this beautiful, luscious dessert that's very homey. And it's just great.
FADEL: Well, thank you so much for this book and for cooking with me.
LAKSHMI: It's a pleasure.
FADEL: And I loved cooking with you during the holiday season.
LAKSHMI: Yeah.
FADEL: We'll just tell the world Merry Christmas from one Muslim and one Hindu.
LAKSHMI: Exactly. Exactly (laughter).
FADEL: That was Padma Lakshmi. Her cookbook is called "Padma's All American."
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