27. On race, identity and finding home with Jassa Ahluwalia

In this episode of Empty Plates, I speak with writer, actor, and author Jassa Ahluwalia about identity, race, and food. Jassa’s Both Not Half philosophy challenges the idea that mixed-heritage identity is somehow incomplete and reminds us that being both is not division, it’s wholeness.

We talk about growing up Punjabi and English in the UK, the humour of being a “Punjabi-speaking white man,” his love of aloo paratha, and of course, the great Punjabi vs Gujarati samosa debate. Along the way, our conversation opens up deeper reflections on what it means to be the child of immigrants, to feel both local and foreign, and to question what patriotism means in Britain today.

This episode is released at a time of heightened tension in the UK, and it became a very personal conversation for me (Anjli, your humble host)  as the child of a refugee father and an immigrant mother who met in Leicester. Together, we reflect on belonging, survival, and the power of telling our own stories in a country still wrestling with race and identity.