{"id":28036,"date":"2023-11-17T09:25:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T17:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=28036"},"modified":"2025-01-31T13:45:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T21:45:33","slug":"stinky-lunch-kids-strike-back-south-asians-redefine-what-american-food-can-mean","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/stinky-lunch-kids-strike-back-south-asians-redefine-what-american-food-can-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cStinky Lunch Kids Strike Back\u201d: South Asians Redefine What American Food Can Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bedatri D. Choudhury<\/b><\/p>\n

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Journalist and chef <\/span>Pervaiz Shallwani<\/b>\u2019s mother moved from Pakistan to Toronto, where she ate her first hot dog in 1975. \u201cShe thought it was the grossest thing ever,\u201d Shallwani said in a conversation. The \u201cidea of something that’s been pulverized, stuffed into a casing, poached, and then either steamed, boiled or grilled, or charred,\u201d on paper, does not sound appetizing to anyone, let alone a woman who has grown up eating the dreamiest of niharis and haleems.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Chicago-bred Shallwani, who was born in Toronto, grew up eating them in all ways possible\u2014beef hot dogs, hot dogs grilled on a bun, hot dogs cooked up in a mac and cheese, hot dogs wrapped in cheese, and hot dogs rolled into a chapati. When he went on to start <\/span>Chaat Dog<\/b><\/a>\u2014chaat is a savory snack mix sold in street carts all over South Asia, which Shallwani uses to top hot dogs wrapped in ghee-roasted buns\u2014it wasn\u2019t \u201cfusion\u201d for him. It was American food, because he is an American and this is the food he ate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFusion is a word that gets misused. And honestly, I don’t really like it because it confuses people. You can call this food different things but ultimately, it\u2019s American street food,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Chaat

Corn and Poblano Chaat Dog from Chaat Dog, Brooklyn, with chef Pervaiz Shallwani seen preparing it at right. Look below for the full recipe in both graphic and text-only version.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The PBS <\/span>Independent Lens<\/span><\/i> docuseries <\/span>Spice Road<\/i><\/b><\/a> isn\u2019t so much about South Asian food in the U.S.; it is about how this food is now American. It\u2019s about the many lives and afterlives the cuisine has built for itself as a member of the diaspora here in the U.S. Much like Chef Shallwani. And like the show\u2019s creators, <\/span>Rupak Ginn, Sami Khan<\/b>, and <\/span>Vicky Lee<\/b>\u2014all filmmakers born to immigrant parents in North America.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Related<\/div>
Watch Spice Road on the PBS App<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n
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Redefining American Food<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Shallwani\u2019s Chaat Dog is only a small part of a larger project, which he wants to use to talk about immigrants and how their journeys have added to the idea of what American food is. He wants to call the project \u201cStinky Lunch Kids Strike Back.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ginn too, who grew up in Harlem, never carried Indian food for school lunch. And although Ginn and Shallwani didn\u2019t know each other at the time of writing this piece, they\u2019re clearly in the same club\u2014erstwhile kids with shunned lunchboxes who are striking back in similar ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

Click to see recipe cards in full, or go here<\/a>; text-only versions at the end of article.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t