First Cook: Everything Is Indian by Justin Narayan Is a Love Letter to the Aussie ’Burbs

Justin Narayan grew up idolising Jamie Oliver and watching Huey’s Kitchen in the afternoons. When the first season of Masterchef Australia launched in 2009, Narayan never missed an episode. Little did he know he’d go on to win the title for himself in 2021.

In March, Narayan published his debut cookbook, Everything Is Indian. In it, he shares his food influences and memories of growing up in a Fijian Indian family in western Sydney. He spells out his deep love of charcoal chicken, remembers trying haloumi and tabouli at mates’ houses, and explains why food is his favourite way to bring people together.

At first, I was confused by the book’s layout. It felt a bit … all over the shop. Fish curry, Victoria sponge cake, chimichurri, four roast/charcoal chicken recipes. What’s going on here? But after really diving in, I got the idea: we’re on the journey of Narayan the chef, stopping off at every delicious place that got him to where he is today.

The first chapter, “The Family House”, includes recipes from Narayan’s family archive and his spins on Fijian Indian dishes from his childhood. The second chapter, “Love, Entertainment, Hunger, Pressure: Everything That Made Me Cook” is a round-up of favourites from the early days of his cooking journey. And the third chapter, “I Grew Up Very Confused: Maybe We’re Not That Different”, is where Narayan links the food cultures he loves, showing us how lots of recipes are kinda just roti and curry when you think about it.

If you’re more of a cookbook traditionalist – or if you’ve a specific dish in mind – you’ll find a guide at the start of the book that organises Narayan’s recipes into more conventional categories.

For this edition of First Cook, I chose Narayan’s fried fish sando with curry tartare. Inspired by the Filet-O-Fish (the “worst item at McDonald’s” according to Narayan), this recipe sums up what Everything Is Indian is all about: taking something nostalgic and making it your own. Narayan’s version has the elements you’d expect: a butter-toasted brioche bun, shredded iceberg lettuce and white fish in a crisp panko crumb. Yep, all very familiar.

But it’s in the tartare that the spirit of the book comes into play. The usual suspects of mayo, gherkins, capers, French shallot, dill and lemon are mixed up with a little chilli paste and a sprinkling of curry powder. I like the way this recipe changes depending on the types of curry powders and chilli pastes you might have at home, making it taste specific to your kitchen. I used sambal oelek and Keen’s curry powder, which gave the tartare a golden turmeric glow and a nice whack of heat.

Everything Is Indian by Justin Narayan is available now.

Gemma Plunkett is a Sydney-based dinner party tragic and home cook who is a writer, content strategist and recipe developer. Find her (but mostly food) in pictures or in your inbox via her free newsletter Ding !