Pooja Veerareddy
DIS Copenhagen, Spring 2024
Migrants, Minorities, and Belonging in Denmark
Teresa Imaya Bengtsson
March 12, 2024
Portfolio Assignment #2: Observations Through Food
Food is the bridge or connection between shared communities and diverse ethnic groups
with distinct cultural practices. I have maintained my roots in a foreign place by finding Indian
restaurants in Copenhagen and cooking traditional South Indian curries in my Danish Kollegium.
The fragrance of Indian spices is reminiscent of my mother’s homecooked meals and the
traditional snacks of my Indian homeland and the state of Telangana, where my family hails.
When packing for my semester in Copenhagen, my amma (mom) packed small bags of all of the
essential spices I primarily cook with – colorful turmeric, vibrant red chili powder, strong garam
masala, and fresh nuvvula podi, which translates from Telugu to English as sesame powder.
Levitt and Schiller’s account of transnationalism and the immigrant experience perfectly
describes my account of being a migrant in this new nation. Arriving at the Copenhagen airport
with my container of spices from the United States demonstrated the “continuing of my ties” and
the movement of my heritage across borders (Levitt and Schiller, 2004, pp. 1002-03). Even
though I could have found an Asian or Indian grocery store in Copenhagen, the unknown
territory and new social field created a division before I started studying abroad. I had
expectations of the people's attitudes in this country and recognized how my belonging was a
need I acknowledged so early in my journey (Bennett, 2012, p. 26). By cooking my own ‘ethnic’
dishes in a country with a very different identity, I could enact my connection to a group that
shares my identity.
Tomato egg curry is a dish I have always felt signifies comfort and what could be
characterized in this cultural context as Danish hygge when my mom prepares the curry. Before I
went to college, I mastered the curry to the best of my abilities to cook when I was homesick.
Once I started feeling out of place in Copenhagen, I knew the time had come for me to cook an
Indian curry for dinner. After searching for the perfect dumpling spot and going to dinner one
night with friends, I came across a grocery store called Hind Marked in Nørrebro. The word
‘Hind’ immediately indicated the store had a connection to Persian or Indian origins. The market
was full of fresh produce in large bins at the entrance. I went inside and immediately felt a
similar aura reminiscent of Indian grocery stores in the States. There was a sense of chaos with
vibrant colors and packaging everywhere I looked. Instead of the typical Danish script on labels
in my neighborhood Netto, I saw foods written in Arabic and typical items I recognized in Asian
grocery stores representing many different cultures and backgrounds. I quickly found the eggs
and tomatoes but was overjoyed that I could find cinnamon sticks and mustard seeds, items I do
not see in local grocery stores and markets.
My experience walking through the store and looking for specific ingredients highlighted
the store's organizational structure, demonstrating ethnic and cultural distinctions. In Richard
Jenkins’ “Ethnicity and Everyday Life,” collective identities or uniform ethnicities can be seen
through shared categorizations or patterns (Jenkins, 2011, pp. 3-7). The market not only
categorized foods by produce or packaged goods but used strategic placements to indicate
different cultural or ethnic ingredients. Not only were different spices, sauces, or other
ingredients placed close together because the labeling indicated a shared sense of culture, but I
could also use context clues and my preconceived notions to understand the classifications of the
foods on shelves. I recognized foods used in Indian cooking from my experience as a
‘participant,’ and could determine what ingredients would not be used and labeled this food as
being ‘outside’ of my culture (Jenkins, 2011, pp. 3-5). The identifiable nature of these
ingredients attested to how ethnicity and ethnic identities are reproduced and produced, even in a
grocery store that embraces intersectional and diverse identities and combats the homogeneity
observed in neighborhood grocery stores.
Even though I observed foods and ingredients I was unfamiliar with, I found immense
belonging in the Hind Marked because of the robust presence of ethnic foods and languages. I
might not belong to these different groups, but seeing the representation of my own identities
alongside other identities showcased the ability of various groups of individuals to coexist (Jones
& Krzyżanowski, 2021, p. 40). Food can be so empowering in showing us how shared
ingredients or combinations bring cultures together and enhance individual and group
identification, especially for migrants and immigrants trying to belong.
Bibliography
Bennett, J. M. (2012). Doing belonging: A sociological study of belonging in place as the
outcome of Social Practices. Research Explorer The University of Manchester.
https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/doing-belonging-a-sociological-study
-of-belonging-in-place-as-the
Jenkins, R. (2011). Being Danish: Paradoxes of identity in Everyday Life. Museum Tusculanum.
Jones, P., & Krzyżanowski, M. (2021). Identity, belonging and Migration: Beyond constructing
“others” (chapter 2) - identity, belonging and migration. Cambridge Core.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/identity-belonging-and-migration/identity-bel
onging-and-migration-beyond-constructing-others/938B5585E71AA9744668DDDF2775
A3D4
Levitt, P., & Schiller, N. G. (2004). Conceptualizing simultaneity: A Transnational Social Field
Perspective on society. International Migration Review, 38(3), 1002–1039.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2004.tb00227.x
Progress Pictures: Chef Experience From Start to Finish
1. After cooking and seasoning the tomatoes and
onions, I add in the eggs and allow everything to
cook together
2. Completed curry: A close-up picture to capture the
curry in its glory (and to send to my mom to ensure
this is what it should look like once completed)
3. Curry plated with a side of basmati rice – recently
had to learn how to cook my rice on the stove after
using a rice cooker for all of my life
