Love and lime leaves: Conjuring my grandma through her cooking

Ranie Saidi spent the earliest years of his life being raised by his grandmother, a sought-after wedding cook in her Malaysian village. Sitting in her kitchen watching her work her magic or following her through the bustling market, Ranie adored her, and always felt safest and happiest in her presence. So when she died unexpectedly at 59 years old, his world fell apart. He moved across the world to London to study law and start a new life, but when he couldn’t outrun the sadness he felt, he sought therapy for the first time. It was his therapist who first suggested he might try cooking as a way of processing some of his grief. Despite never having cooked before, Ranie threw himself into the task of trying to recreate his grandmother's dishes from memory, visiting Malaysian restaurants across the city to try to remember flavour combinations from his childhood. Cooking for days on end, he started handing out food to neighbours and friends, who were so impressed by his dishes they suggested he start a supper club. Eventually he quit his job as a lawyer to focus on cooking full time. Ranie has just published his first book of recipes dedicated to his grandmother, called The Malay Cook.
John Farr was a young man in 1968 when he heard a song on the radio that stopped him in his tracks. The song was by an American psychedelic folk singer called Ed Askew who he'd never heard of before. John was so struck by Ed's unusual voice and songwriting that he rushed out to buy his record, listening to it over and over again. But when John tried to find out more about the artist, there was nothing. He consulted music magazines and radio stations, and even placed an advert asking for more information about Ed Askew, but no one seemed to know anything about this obscure folk singer. It remained a mystery, until decades later after a tip-off from a fellow fan, John finally managed to track down Ed’s address. John wrote Ed a letter, telling him how much his music meant to him, and setting off a chain of events neither could have predicted.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Zoe Gelber, Emily Naylor, Shivani Chaudari

(Photo: Ranie Saidi sits a table, smiling and wearing a green jumper, in front of a selection of his dishes.)