IF you enjoy Indian cooking, you are sure to have heard about the Indian Delights cook book, written by Durban’s Zuleikha Mayat.

The book features the best recipes from the Indian community in South Africa, from a basic chutney to a more complex breyani.
Proceeds from the book goes towards bursaries for students in need of financial assistance.

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Sixteen impressions later, the Northglen News caught up with Mayat, to find out more about the rich history of the book.

“I grew up in Potchefstroom which is now in Gauteng. My schooling was done in apartheid times even though there were not enough schools for Indians. Indian business owners collected money to set up schools in the small towns. My father was heavily involved in this.

When Mayat got married she moved to Durban which was, at that time, a big town with lots of Indian people.

When Mayat arrived in Durban, the norm was that Indian Muslim women stayed home and did sewing.

“I suggested we open a group for us all to meet up and this is how we started the Women’s Cultural Group on March 29, 1954,” she said.

She soon realised that Potchefstroom and Durban were miles apart when it came to cooking.

The people in Potchestroom cooked very small and basic meals, but Durban was a cosmopolitan of cooking.

“My sister-in -law and mother in law were excellent cooks. I learned from them and that assisted with the Indian Delights. We sourced recipes from my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, family, friends and new friends as well as housekeepers who didn’t come from the Indian community. The recipes that feature in the book have come from many women in the community,” said Mayat.

Nine editions were printed between 1960 and 1990. The Best of Indian Delights: Special Edition on Indian Cookery was published in 1989. Currently the Indian Delights is in its 16th impression.

A Treasury of South African Indian Delights: Special Edition on Indian Cuisine was also published in between.

Mayat, who was a struggle activist during the apartheid era, wrote for a small paper called The Graphic for six years and the Indian News for nine years where she was very involved with Fatima Meer’s father.

Other books in her portfolio include Nanima’s Chest, A Treasure Trove of Memories, History Muslim’s of Gujarat, Journeys of Binte Batuti.

“Currently the new book I have launched at the age of 95 which was launched about three months ago is the book called The Odyssey of Crossing Oceans. It is about how Arabs from Arabia sailed down the coast of Malabar and how small enclaves of Muslim villages mushroomed,” she said.

As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month this August, Mayat said she had avice not only for South African women, but for every women in the world.

“You must stay active, you are the cradle that rocked the boat, don’t ever sit back. Help other women get onto their feet and reach out to women wherever they are,” she said.

The Indian Delights cook book can be purchased from most Indian stores as well as Exclusive Books. Alternatively call 031 208 6203 for assistance.