Zameen and Me
I spend most of my working life on the other side of the camera, so sitting in front of a room at the Wisconsin Book Festival to talk about a book I photographed was a fun change of pace. This year was the festival's 25th Fall Celebration, four days of free author events at Madison's Central Library, and Chef Sultan Ahmed and I got to share Zameen: Pakistani Roots, Wisconsin Soil with a room full of people who love books and, it turns out, love talking about spice.
If you're new here: Zameen is Sultan's debut cookbook, and I'm the photographer. Sultan is the chef and owner of Sultan Restaurant in Madison, and this book is the fullest version of what he cooks there. Here's what we talked about, and what it was like to see it all from my side of things.
Zameen means land. It's also a thesis.
Sultan opened with the title, because everything else flows from it. Zameen means land, and the book argues that the Midwest can be the canvas for Pakistan's flavors. Nihari simmers with grass-fed Wisconsin beef. Paratha gets rolled from local mill flour. Locally farmed perch and salmon are cured with Japanese technique and spiced with Punjab in mind.
As the photographer, that idea shaped how I thought about the whole visual story. The book is organized around the Midwest growing year, so the images move with the seasons, and the ingredients are as much the subject as the finished dishes. Talking about it in a Wisconsin library, surrounded by people who live on this land and eat from it, made that premise feel real in a way the page alone can't.
Where the Book Meets the Land
Cooking by ratio
Most of the questions came about spice. In Zameen, spices are measured in relative parts instead of fixed amounts, because no two jars of turmeric are ever the same. This isn’t a 30-minute-meals book. It asks you to toast and grind your own spices and braise meat until it surrenders. But the ratio approach makes spice cookery more accessible, not less.
What it looks like on the plate
For me, the aloo palak says it all. Instead of one thick masala, it’s deconstructed: a silky spinach puree, pale spiced potatoes, and shattering-crisp spinach chips. Deep green, soft ivory, and one crisp leaf standing up like a little sculpture. A photographer’s dream.
Thank you to Madison Public Library and the Wisconsin Book Festival for having us, and to everyone who stayed to talk spice. Zameen is coming this fall, so follow along at @sultanmadison to grab yourself a copy!
Food Photography in Madison & Beyond
I create food and beverage photography for local brands across Wisconsin and beyond. Every image is crafted to feel true to your brand and make your food stand out.
Launching a new menu? Opening a new location? Need fresh photos for your website?
Let’s create something worth craving.
