New Glasgow cafe's fusion dishes are unlike any you've tried before
'She is Sri Lanka-born and raised, and as the oldest girl out of her siblings from the age of around nine, she was cooking for the entire family.
'Even if we go to our relatives' houses now, they will ask her to cook because they know she is the best, and when we were growing up, my brother's friends would ask her to make food for their birthdays.
'We would always say that she should open her own café, but it seemed far-fetched because none of us had experience in the hospitality industry.
'As a family, we finally decided that if we didn't take the gamble for our mum, we would always regret it, which is why we're opening this place.
'There's a chance that it might not work, but even if it doesn't, at least she can take pride in knowing that we have done all of this for her.'
Opening any new business in the current climate is a daunting prospect, but with a menu that marries traditional Sri Lankan flavours with influences from Tamil communities across the globe, Tharany is determined to prove they have something special to offer.
'I have so much confidence in mum's cooking and our story, and I think Shawlands is the sort of place where people celebrate different cultures like ours, especially through food.
'My mum spent time in Singapore in her younger years, meaning the food she cooked for us growing up as Sri-Lankan Tamils in Essex had an Asian fusion element to it.
'In later years, I went abroad to Malaysia, where Tamil people were also entwining their traditional dishes with another culture. They really enjoy tofu curries, for example, and I hadn't seen a lot of that before.
'When I came back, my mum and I began sharing stories of the food we had tried, and that's something we've brought with us to The Jolly Tamil.
'It makes us unique from other Sri Lankan restaurants, because we're taking inspiration from Tamil communities across the world.'
Having previously studied chemical engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, a new adventure at The Jolly Tamil will offer Tharany the opportunity to pursue a lifelong passion for food inherited from her mother.
'I'll be doing the cooking, but mum will be there in the background to make sure that I'm doing things properly,' she explains.
'She has her authentic way of doing things, like curries from back in the day with her own little twists, but what I'll be bringing is more of a fusion approach to the menu.
'Like Halwa, which is traditionally an Indian sweet made with shaved carrot, sugar, spices and milk cooked down until it becomes a soft pudding.
'I'm taking those flavours but turning them into a cheesecake with mascarpone cheese and cardamom cream.
'Although I did engineering at Uni, I've always been really interested in gastronomy and love thinking of ways to level food up with a more scientific approach.'
Read more:
As the conversation moves on to impressive interior decorating work, all carried out by Tharany over the past 10 months with the help of various family members, Vadani emerges from the kitchen carrying two servings of the fresh tea she had offered just moments after we first stepped through the door at The Jolly Tamil.
The official interview wraps up here, but for the next half hour, I'll remain fixed in the same spot, captivated by stories of Sri Lankan culture and a beloved matriarch's tips and tricks for cooking with ingredients full of natural goodness.
Curry leaves, I'm told, are good for the eyes, while the spices used for the tea we're sipping will apparently do wonders for my digestive system.
The most important thing we should know, however, is that just like every meal she has made for her family over the years, the cooking at The Jolly Tamil will come from the heart.
'No matter what happens with the café,' Tharany says when our cups have eventually run dry, 'I already feel very fulfilled by the memories I've made with my mum over the past months of preparations.
'It's now time to show off how amazing her food is and make her proud.'
The Jolly Tamil is located at 95 Kilmarnock Road in Glasgow.
For more information, visit www.thejollytamil.com.
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