Author profile: Radhika Howarth (author of Radikal Kitchen)

Radhika Howarth is a food influencer, columnist, content creator, recipe developer and curator of bespoke culinary events, whose cooking draws on a wide range of international cuisines, while incorporating her own Indian heritage. Her first cookbook, Radikal Kitchen: Flavours without borders, was published in October 2024. ckbk co-founder Matt Cockerill spoke to Radikha to find out what makes her style of cooking so “Radikal”.

There’s a great section of the book where you take one ingredient and offer three contrasting recipes from different regions of the world. If you had to pick a favourite ‘flexible’ ingredient which really showcases the different personalities that a single ingredient can have, what would it be?

The fascinating thing about Flavours Without Borders is that it shows how every ingredient—whether it’s a potato, coconut, or something else—has this incredible flexibility. Each ingredient adapts and transforms, adopting new flavour profiles and embracing local cultures and cooking techniques as it travels across the globe.

If I had to pick a favourite flexible ingredient, it would be the humble potato. If I had to pick a favourite flexible ingredient, it would be the humble potato. It’s amazing to see how this simple ingredient is reinvented in delicious ways around the world. For example, in India, the potato is spiced and turned into crispy aloo tikki, while in Peru, you’ll find it in the form of creamy causa, and in Eastern Europe, it’s turned into hearty pierogis. The same ingredient takes on a different character in each region, reflecting local tastes and traditions.

And this adaptability isn’t unique to just one ingredient—every ingredient has this character. One of my favourite examples is the journey of the samosa along the Silk Road. In India, you have the familiar spiced filling inside a crispy pastry, but as it travels through Uzbekistan, it becomes the flaky samsa, and by the time you reach Zanzibar, it’s transformed into samboosa with a whole new twist. It’s the perfect example of how food evolves, adapting to different cultures while still retaining its essence.