Brick Lane is home to the biggest Bangladeshi community in the UK, brimming with curry houses and Bengali sweet shops. Dina Begum explores this destination’s culinary diversity and recalls her childhood trips there through recipes like cardamom shortbread and chicken korma.

In this, her first book, [Dina Begum] celebrates Brick Lane’s diverse food cultures.... With contributions from street food traders and restaurants including Gram Bangla, Beigel Bake, Blanchette, Chez Elles, St Sugar of London, Cafe 1001 and Moo Cantina, the Brick Lane Cookbook is a culinary map of the East End’s tastiest street and a snapshot of London at its authentic, multi-cultural best.

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Ghillie Basan

Writer, broadcaster, and food anthropologist

Sundays were special to Dina Begum when she was a child - her dad took her to Brick Lane market. Also known as 'Bangla-town' and famed for its concentration of curry houses, it is where East meets West. Sundays are still special with street performers and community commaderie, a buzz of people and food from different culinary cultures - Tibetan momos, Korean grills, Jewish beigles, New York wings, Argentinian, Vietnamese, vegetarian and vegan. Dina guides us through the markets and tastes of Brick Lane, bringing the the aromas and atmosphere to life with Bangladeshi home-cooking, traders' recipes, her mother's dishes and her own twists on classics. She describes the book as a 'labour of love' and it clearly is as Brick Lane has played a big role in her life and she shares that with a generous heart.