Dina Begum's Storecupboard

These are the Sous Chef ingredients Dina keeps in her storecupboard. Dina Begum is a leading voice in Bangladeshi cuisine, bringing the rich, complex flavors of her heritage to British kitchens with passion and authenticity.

As a critically acclaimed British-Bangladeshi food writer, she's filled a crucial gap in cookbook publishing - her "Made in Bangladesh" was the first mainstream Bangladeshi cookbook, earning places on best cookbook lists from Vogue to National Geographic.

Dina's approach goes far beyond recipes. She teaches through Bangladesh's six distinct seasons, showing how monsoon rains and winter harvests shape the way people cook and eat. From puchka (those addictive potato-filled pastry shells) to tenga shira (the perfect sour fish stew), her recipes capture both the technique and the soul of Bangladeshi home cooking.

What makes Dina special is her commitment to accuracy and context. She doesn't simplify or adapt for Western palates - instead, she educates, explaining pantry essentials and traditional methods so you can cook these dishes as they're meant to be made. Her work celebrates how food creates community, whether in a Bangladeshi family kitchen or a London pop-up.

Through her writing for The Telegraph, BBC, and beyond, Dina ensures Bangladeshi cuisine gets the recognition it deserves.