About
“Who knows only his own generation remains always a child” – Cicero
The preparation of food, like culture and tradition, is passed down from one generation to the next-not just recipes but there’s always a story behind it too.
Why ‘Food Like Amma Used to Make It’?
Food…”like Amma used to make it” is a memoir food blog that started out way back in August 2011. A search for a Gulab Jamun recipe sparked the idea. At the time there was no Gulab Jamun ‘like Amma used to make‘ or Indian Food recipes from South Africa in sight. This search partly inspired the creation of this blog – a place to share Amma’s recipes with my sisters and the world! and those with a love for food or perhaps those with a longing for… food like their Amma used to make it.
The name ‘food like Amma used to make it’ came about as a result of my younger sister’s reference to our childhood foods by use of the name of the dish followed by …like amma used to make it.
While this blog features several of Amma’s authentic recipes…there are also those inspired by global cuisines…from travels and friends’ recipes, hence ‘like Amma used to make it’ also implies the same homemade wholesome goodness with which my mother – Amma prepared the meals in our home.
About Amma
Amma is the Tamil word for mother. We grew up referring to our mum as Amma. She loved to cook and bake, especially to try new recipes from the radio or local newspapers. I spent most of my school holidays documenting Amma’s recipes, either writing them into a book or sticking newspaper cutouts together.
She always complained about people ‘not sharing their recipes’, in those times most recipes were spread by word of mouth more than a specific source.
These are two key factors embodied in this blog:
1. To create a platform that is easy to navigate, the user is able to find recipes quickly and easily through a Recipe Index and category pages.
2. The spirit of sharing. All recipes are free, kindly respect the copyright policy.
Enjoy these recipes as much as Amma enjoyed making them and don’t forget to share them too!
About the Author
I have been cooking for over 30 years now. As a kid, I loved to watch my mum in the kitchen. She would give my younger sister and me all her vegetable peels to play cook with. The first time I ‘cooked’ was when I was nine years old, under close direction and supervision from my mum I made Brinjal Curry. Sundays were baking days, Amma would let me bake whatever I wanted to…the rest is history.
This Blog is all about the food and the memories associated with them, not me personally.
The Future
I became a mum in 2016. This has inspired me to add to my story, to give my son a sense of culture and heritage with my own Amma-inspired creations. I will also explore food trends. Until then Happy Cooking!
Ms Pillay