Dame Meera Syal is starry-eyed for our summery fish, fennel and saffron stew

Dish

In this episode of Dish, host Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartner welcome Dame Meera Syal, celebrated actress and author, to discuss her memoir

Key takeaways

• Saffron should be steeped in hot water or ice to unlock its full flavor, with only a pinch needed for maximum impact.

Main topics

• Meera Syal's memoir 'Vigilante'

Notable quotes

"You can't come to someone's house and be fed and not give them anything." – Meera Syal, offering flowers as a gesture of gratitude.

Conclusion

The episode celebrates Meera Syal as a multifaceted artist whose work spans comedy, literature,

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:01) What does the word Speaker 4 (0:02) taiko mean to you? If it doesn't make your mouth water with thoughts of delicious sushi, maki, dragon rolls, onigiri, then perhaps it's time to explore the taiko range at Waitrose. Taiko. Premium quality sushi. Find us in the food to go fridge only at Waitrose. Selected stores Speaker 1 (0:24) subject to availability. Those who get sushi, get taiko. Some kefir is just good for you. Tim's kefir is something else entirely. Made the Greek family way with 12 live cultures that help support your gut and naturally lactose-free. But the real surprise, one spoonful and suddenly you understand the difference. Thick, creamy, silky. Discover delicious. Greek family kefir from Tim's. Explore the full range in Waitrose selected stores subject to availability. Speaker 2 (1:01) Coming up on Dish with Dame Meera Sayyaf. I Speaker 1 (1:04) mean, it Speaker 4 (1:04) was a bit weird that the man I would go on to marry was playing my grandson, but... Yeah, there is that. That's acting, Speaker 2 (1:11) isn't Speaker 4 (1:11) it? That's acting. You would move swiftly from that. Speaker 2 (1:14) Is there anything you have to do or superstitions before a show? Speaker 4 (1:17) Apart Speaker 1 (1:17) from a Speaker 4 (1:18) really big poo. Yeah, Speaker 2 (1:19) big poo. But we heard that it was... Queen Elizabeth's favourite show. Speaker 4 (1:25) And she was asked, what are you watching at the moment? What's your favourite programme? And she said, I rather like that Commerzat number 42, that old lady. She's very funny. Speaker 2 (1:33) I'm obsessed with that. Dish from Waitrose is a Cold Glass production. This podcast may contain some strong language and adult themes. Speaker 2 (1:51) Welcome to Dish from Waitrose. I'm Nick Grimshaw. And I'm Angela Speaker 3 (1:55) Hartner. Speaker 2 (1:56) Hello, Angela Hartner. What Speaker 3 (1:57) are you doing Speaker 2 (1:57) this? Speaker 3 (1:58) Waving. I'm waving. Because you can watch Speaker 2 (2:01) it. Hello. If you're watching, if you're listening, I'm waving. Hello. I do wave on the radio. Do Speaker 3 (2:10) you? Speaker 2 (2:10) Every morning. Oh, Speaker 3 (2:11) bless Speaker 2 (2:11) you, cotton socks. We'll probably do that on the phone as well. Speaker 3 (2:13) Probably, yeah. Speaker 2 (2:15) I'll give it Speaker 3 (2:15) a Speaker 2 (2:15) wave. Bye. How are you, Ange? I'm very well, thanks. You okay? I'm good, and you? I am good, yeah. Back from your holes? Yes, back from holidays. Good times? Great time. Went to Los Angeles. Los Angeles. La La Speaker 3 (2:29) Land. Speaker 2 (2:29) Funny little place, isn't it? Speaker 3 (2:31) Never been. Oh, yeah, it's okay. Speaker 2 (2:33) But, listen, when I got there, we landed on Friday. Speaker 3 (2:36) We Speaker 2 (2:36) went out for dinner on the Friday night. As we were leaving dinner, or the table next to us were leaving, actually, they were like, sorry, I just want to say we love Dish. We love Ange. And I was like, oh, I forgot it's on here. I forgot it's on here. Yeah, I never thought about that. I know. And then we were like, that was... And they were like, we love Ange. We don't want to interrupt your dinner. And I was like, oh, okay, bye. So we had our, they were really nice. We went to bed, woke up the next morning at like January, like half four. Yeah, of course. And then waited until like the supermarket opened at six. Went for a juice. The lady that made the juice was like, oh my God, dish Speaker 3 (3:23) guy. Where's Ange? And Speaker 2 (3:27) then all people came on like, hey, Dish Guy! Speaker 3 (3:30) Where's Ange? Do Speaker 2 (3:31) they expect us Speaker 3 (3:32) to travel together? Yeah, I Speaker 2 (3:33) think people think we're together as a couple. Yeah, at the hip. But yeah, I forgot Dish was on. Anyway, so much Dish chat. Lovely. I Speaker 3 (3:41) watched Speaker 2 (3:41) this great thing at the Hollywood Bowl. It was like the music of Wes Anderson films. And queuing up to go in there and people were like... Speaker 3 (3:48) Oh, my God. Dish guy. Dish guy. I love the way you're dish guy. Hey, Speaker 2 (3:52) welcome back to dish guy. Dish guy and chef ants. They Speaker 3 (3:58) would say chef ants. You're also spotted. We have a little listener email. Oh, yeah. Hi, Nick and Angela. Yes. We have just come back from an amazing family trip to California. And on the way home, we queued to check into our LA London Heathrow flight behind Nick and Mish. I was desperate to say hi and let you know that I downloaded the latest episode to listen to on the flight, but decided to leave you at peace on your holiday instead. And so now we're home, I'm curious. Was it chicken teriyaki or macaroni cheese for you? Love the pod, Sarah. Thank Speaker 2 (4:34) you, Sarah. Hi, Sarah. Well, neither because I have to have the gluten-free option. Speaker 3 (4:39) Is it not really neither because you're up in business? No, thank Speaker 2 (4:42) you. Speaker 2 (4:45) No, thank you, Angela. Speaker 3 (4:47) She was seeing an economy, weren't you? I did the middle one. Speaker 2 (4:51) But yeah, no, I had like the gluten-free whatever meal that was. What about me? What Speaker 3 (4:56) did he have? I've no idea. No idea. I'm not Speaker 2 (4:59) paying attention to that. Speaker 3 (5:00) Okay, all right. No idea Speaker 2 (5:01) what he ate. Neil and Speaker 3 (5:02) I always have a little look. Do you? You Speaker 2 (5:04) can't remember what meal Neil had on your last flight together. I Speaker 3 (5:09) bet you I can. I had the chicken salad thing. Actually, you're right. I've no idea what Neil had. I knew it. I'm trying to think. I knew it. I was sitting next to him and playing cards, but I can't remember what he ate. Hey, today we have a great guest. Very exciting. Meera Sal is going to Speaker 2 (5:24) join us on Dish. She's written a memoir. called Vigilante, a memoir in it. Speaker 3 (5:29) Yeah. Speaker 2 (5:30) Which she's rehearsing right now for a new play. Yeah. We've also got to talk to her about Goodness Gracious Me. Yeah. And the Kumars at number 42. Speaker 3 (5:38) She's written more books. One of her books is on the national curriculum. Curriculum, yes. Anita Rumi. Speaker 2 (5:43) Absolutely. So we've got a lot to talk to her about. Before we welcome Dame Mira Sayal in, what are we going to talk about ingredient-wise? Ooh. So we have saffron. Speaker 3 (5:52) Ooh. Ooh. Speaker 1 (5:54) Ooh. Speaker 3 (5:55) Yeah. I know they've presented it on ice. Ice cube. Well, we're steeping it, you see. Speaker 2 (6:00) What do you mean? Speaker 3 (6:01) So basically, when you get saffron, you need to basically dilute the flavor of the saffron in a sense. So the best way to do it is to grind it. You crush down these saffron flakes or shards, if you like, and that will give you more flavor, increases sort of the surface area and unlocks all the aromas. Speaker 2 (6:18) You Speaker 3 (6:18) can either do that and then pour hot water onto it. Speaker 2 (6:20) Yes. Speaker 3 (6:21) Or you can do it over ice cubes. And apparently, if you do it over ice, what it tends to do is lock the flavors into a more concentrated liquid as opposed to when you do it with boiling water. Speaker 2 (6:31) Oh, yeah. So what would I put saffron in? It's making me feel like Spanish dishes. Speaker 3 (6:36) You can put it in things like paella. You can Speaker 2 (6:39) put it in lots of fish stews, things like bouillabaisse. You can put it Speaker 3 (6:43) in risottos. It goes well with chicken. Saffron rice, saffron chicken, lots of things. It's got quite an intense flavor. I think you know when saffron's in a dish. But I think it can really balance with other Speaker 2 (6:55) things. You can put it in calories. So how much would you use today when you're doing your stew? Literally, I'm going to use a Speaker 3 (7:00) pinch. Speaker 2 (7:00) Like a tiny bit. A pinch. A nice pinch. So probably, Speaker 3 (7:03) you Speaker 2 (7:03) know. Half of that. Speaker 3 (7:04) Oh, no, less. Less? Yeah. It's very, look, that, yeah, that's quite a lot. Speaker 2 (7:09) Wow, okay. You don't need lots Speaker 3 (7:11) of it. Speaker 2 (7:11) I can't remember what I bought it for, but I definitely remember buying it. We put it in the chicken Speaker 3 (7:15) for Nick Speaker 2 (7:16) Muhammad. We Speaker 3 (7:17) had saffron in there. Oh, maybe that's Speaker 2 (7:18) what I bought it for. To make that, yeah. Okay, well, let's welcome our guest. It's time to welcome Dame Meera Sayal to Dish. Speaker 4 (7:27) Hi, man. How are Speaker 2 (7:28) you? Nice to see you. So much fun. Oh, my God. Thank you for coming. Oh, Speaker 4 (7:33) too. Wow. I brought you some flowers. Oh, my gosh. That's so incredible. How beautiful. Well, you can't come to someone's house and be fed and not give them anything. Oh, that's Speaker 3 (7:43) right. That is so nice. And Speaker 4 (7:45) I've made some lemon polenta cake. Oh, fabulous. Oh, Speaker 3 (7:48) my gosh. Speaker 4 (7:48) Thank Speaker 3 (7:48) you. Speaker 4 (7:48) So I chose polenta because I know you can't have flowers. Allergies. Oh, my God. Speaker 2 (7:53) Thank you so much. Speaker 4 (7:54) We're going to put that with our dessert. Speaker 3 (7:55) Oh, you're going to put that for dessert? Speaker 2 (7:56) Well, thank you. That's okay. Come on in. We'll get you set. Thank you very much. Oh, Speaker 3 (8:02) thank Speaker 2 (8:02) you. Crank Speaker 4 (8:03) some Speaker 2 (8:03) air. Well, Speaker 4 (8:04) it was a very last minute thing because I'm in the middle of rehearsals at the moment. Don't you Speaker 2 (8:08) cook a lot when you're, or bake when you're learning lines and rehearsing? I do. Speaker 4 (8:13) It's Speaker 2 (8:14) a Speaker 4 (8:14) weird thing. I don't know. It's one of those things that sometimes when you're doing something else, something practical, it kind of goes in better. I don't know why. Speaker 3 (8:25) That could not be me. Speaker 2 (8:29) Shall we welcome our guest, Angela? We Speaker 3 (8:31) shall indeed. Are you ready for Speaker 2 (8:33) a serious guest today? A dame, another dame on the show. We have had some great dames. We've had Berry, Lumley, Leaf. I don't think you can surname a dame. Speaker 3 (8:45) No, you're very rude. I think you've got to give the full Speaker 2 (8:47) name, please. Another legendary dame, please. Mira Sayali's here, everybody. Speaker 2 (8:54) Dame Mira! Hello! Hello! Speaker 4 (8:57) Welcome! Speaker 2 (8:58) Welcome to Dish! Speaker 4 (8:59) Thank you, I am thrilled to be here. Oh my goodness. I love your podcast. I love food. I love being cooked for you. It's such a treat. Speaker 2 (9:07) Oh, well, thank you for coming. We were dead excited you would come in to see us. We're starting with this, which I feel like we should have now because it's frozen. And it's when we're recording this, like 35 degrees. So we're having a frozen mango and passion fruit lassi. It's a Ravinda Bogle recipe. And it is Greek yogurt, mango, some passion fruit. And lime. Speaker 3 (9:28) That's Speaker 2 (9:29) good. Speaker 3 (9:29) And Ravinda, I know, is passionate about mangoes. She loves Speaker 4 (9:32) mangoes. Speaker 3 (9:33) I love Ravinda. She's Speaker 2 (9:35) wonderful. Speaker 4 (9:35) And I love Giconis. She's Speaker 2 (9:36) a Speaker 4 (9:36) genius. I'm not surprised it's her recipe. Thank you. Speaker 2 (9:40) Oh, yeah. That's good. Speaker 3 (9:42) That's Speaker 4 (9:42) delicious. Speaker 2 (9:43) That's Speaker 4 (9:44) really good. How Speaker 2 (9:45) are you? How is life for you at the moment? Speaker 4 (9:47) Busy. Yeah? Busy. Yeah, I'm in the middle of rehearsing a fantastic play called The Children. Yes. for the lyric Hammersmith, which opens the same day that my memoir comes out. Oh, Speaker 2 (10:00) wow. Great timing. It's Speaker 4 (10:02) been Speaker 2 (10:02) a busy Speaker 4 (10:02) day for you. Yeah, Speaker 2 (10:03) busy day. And how did you enjoy this bit before, like the learning of the lines and getting your character ready, all of that bit? And you're apprehensive now because it's still a bit of, you know, a few weeks away. Speaker 4 (10:15) Yes. We're still in the honeymoon phase. Speaker 2 (10:18) And Speaker 4 (10:18) then about a week before we get into the theatre, we'll be in the... f*** it, can't do it anymore stage. And then when we're in tech, it is, f*** it, I can't even act anyway. Why am I doing this? Speaker 2 (10:30) I should have been a doctor. Speaker 1 (10:33) And Speaker 4 (10:34) then you get on there and... The magic starts. Or not, but still, it's that thing, it's that thing, that relationship with the audience. I mean, you don't get that with anything else. And it is addictive and magical when it works. So you just have to go through all the, you know, the squeaky bum bit. The bit before, yeah. And then once it Speaker 2 (10:59) starts, do you have that every day? Are you waking up some days being like, oh my God, I've got the theatre tonight? Or is it once it starts, are you... Enjoying it. Yeah, you don't think Speaker 4 (11:08) you get into a routine. You know, you become very close to a cast. It's like your substitute family. You get your routines, your rituals. You know, actors are very superstitious. So we've all got our little things. What Speaker 2 (11:19) do you have? Is there anything you have to do or superstitions before a show? Speaker 4 (11:23) Apart from a really big poo. Yeah, Speaker 2 (11:24) big poo. Speaker 3 (11:26) It helps. Always has. Always has, darling. You don't want to go on board. Speaker 4 (11:32) I always make... It's just a thing I do, but I always make a playlist for my Speaker 2 (11:37) characters because I Speaker 4 (11:38) think music is the quickest way into someone's soul. Yeah. And if you know the music they listen to, you kind of know who they are. So I play that in the dressing room and then I have a little meditation-y thing before I go on, which is mainly calming. Yeah, yeah. Speaker 3 (11:53) It's Speaker 4 (11:53) breathing and calming because it's so easy to let the adrenaline just, you know. Speaker 3 (11:57) Got to manage it. Speaker 4 (11:58) Yeah, but that must keep you going Speaker 3 (11:59) throughout the Speaker 4 (11:59) whole Speaker 3 (11:59) season, the adrenaline and reacting to the audience, as you say, if everyone's a different night, isn't it? Yes. Speaker 4 (12:05) But I did read something really interesting and I kind of realised why, you know, a lot of creatives are a bit mad and actors are even more. bonkers sometimes, is that the body doesn't know the difference between an imagined emotion and a real one. So when you're doing Hamlet for three and a half hours every night, your body thinks your dad really did die and you're going to go around and kill people and then you'll be killed. No wonder Speaker 2 (12:31) they're a bit out there. It's Speaker 4 (12:33) a Speaker 2 (12:33) lot to put on Speaker 3 (12:34) the Speaker 2 (12:34) body. They don't know it's like, I don't know, I've got to interview someone. famous, they think it's like you're being chased by wolves. He doesn't know. That is the same. Do you get that, Ange, before you've got something big coming up? Do you ever wake up and be like, I can't do this? Speaker 3 (12:53) Every time I go on the phone, I know. Speaker 4 (12:56) No, but of course Speaker 3 (12:58) you do. I get nervous, I think. I know my level, if you like. I know what I'm really good at in food and I know what I need to work at. Make sure you know what you don't know. Does that make sense? But the great thing is you never stop learning. No, that's brilliant. Speaker 4 (13:13) I think Speaker 3 (13:13) that's the best thing, isn't it? I agree, yeah. That is key, actually. Yeah, I think the moment you sit there and think, I know it all, which always amazes me when I go out with friends and go, what's good on the menu? What's that? I said, I do not know everything about food. Can we just establish that? What? Yes, why Speaker 4 (13:27) not? Can I just say that is... Absolutely expect a female chef to say that.