In short
National Apple Dumpling Day banter; a mock “Shanti’s Kitchen” cooking segment featuring mutton rolls; listener questions on parenting/university decisions and on gift-giving; discussion of best gifts as experiences.
Guests/backgrounds
Shanti Ranganathan (Romesh Ranganathan’s mother) appears as the recurring co-host/guest. No other guests are interviewed; the episode includes listener voice notes/emails.
Key claims
Apple dumplings are essentially apples wrapped in pastry; “Shanti’s Kitchen” mutton rolls are made by rolling mutton curry in pancake sheets, dipping in batter, coating in breadcrumbs, frying, then serving with ketchup/chilli sauce. For the university email, Romesh argues against forcing choices and says it’s not make-or-break; support and let the daughter decide. For gifts, experiences are framed as the best presents.
Notable examples
Jamie Oliver lasagna story; bracelet “to Theo” as a memorable gift; planned surprise Darkness concert trip for a daughter; the “mutton curry” quick-dinner idea using roll leftovers.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOAll About Apple Dumplings
0:45 to 2:40
Hosts and guests discuss apple dumplings and related desserts.
“absolutely not I think if it was chopped and stewed with sugar, brown sugar, bit of butter.”
QVC Style Show Promotion
2:40 to 4:57
Romesh's mother humorously promotes the podcast like a QVC product.
“every Thursday we hang out and have a go answer your questions dilemmas sometimes we get the odd story or observation I'm joined by my mother Shanti Ranganathan and the team of fucking creatures.”
QVC Style Show Promotion
5:00 to 6:46
Romesh's mother humorously promotes the podcast like a QVC product.
“When I'm not podcasting from my glorious studio, there's a lot of other things I like to do, like going to gigs or sports events.”
Cooking with Jamie Oliver
6:54 to 8:08
Romesh shares a humorous story about cooking lasagna with Jamie Oliver.
“We went on Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's show and he was getting me to make a lasagna.”
Introducing Shanti's Kitchen
8:08 to 10:26
Romesh and his mother introduce the concept of Shanti's Kitchen.
“you should try it when you're off your tits.”
How to Make Mutton Rolls
10:26 to 12:28
Shanti shares her recipe for making mutton rolls with step-by-step instructions.
“In Shanti's Kitchen is going to be bitching.”
Improving Shanti's Kitchen
12:28 to 14:01
Discussion about how to enhance the cooking show format and recipe delivery.
“and roll it in breadcrumbs, fry it, and voila.”
Mutton Rolls and Curry Recipes
14:01 to 16:46
Learn about preparing mutton rolls and mutton curry, along with humorous commentary.
“Mum, if you're not having mutton rolls, what's your favourite quick dinner for the viewers of Shanti's Kitchen?”
Listener Questions Introduction
16:46 to 18:15
Introduction to listener questions and how to submit them.
“I thought that was a bit harsh about the song.”
Advice on Education and Relationships
18:15 to 21:55
Discussing a listener's dilemma about their daughter's education and relationship choices.
“I think maybe she's worried about her daughter giving up on her dream of university rather than going, I must come up with a name so that Ben's happy.”
Show all 15 chapters
Navigating Choices for Young Adults
21:55 to 26:14
Advice on how to support children in making life choices without pressure.
“My first bit of advice would be, thank you for your email, first of all.”
Voice Note from Michael
28:21 to 29:39
Michael shares a gift he's planned for his daughter and asks about memorable gifts.
“She doesn't think she's going to be able to go for like a few years so this is a huge big surprise and I have to wait until November to tell her all about it.”
The Art of Gift-Giving
29:40 to 33:23
Romesh and his mum discuss their gift-giving experiences and preferences.
“Mum, you prefer receiving to giving, don't you?”
Mom's Reflections on Gifts
33:23 to 34:16
Romesh reflects on his gift-giving skills and intentions, inspired by Michael's note.
“You could always, in a moment that you find you've forgotten and it's too late, you could then just give it late, just buy something.”
Celebrations and Gift Plans
34:16 to 36:51
Romesh and his mum discuss upcoming celebrations and the importance of experiences as gifts.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Romesh Ranganathan:It's Thursday and it's my favourite day of the year, National Apple Dumpling Day. Oh yes! Oh my god, we love an apple dumpling, don't we? I love it, yeah. Apple dumpling, yes please, yum yum. What? What is it? What's an apple dumpling? Well, the clue's in the name, it's a dumpling with apple. An apple fritter? Apple dumpling in my tummy, I love apple dumpling. Apple strudel? After I have an apple dumpling I go to the toilet and have an apple dump It's a fun fun day I've never heard of apple dumplings before in my life To be honest with you I've got no idea Is it like a dim sum dumpling? No It's an apple pie I guess Oh Jesus Apple pie's good Apple pie's good yeah That looks quite nice They just put a whole apple in that one It's an apple dumpling they just wrapped a whole apple in pastry yeah apple dumpling you've gone from never hearing of an apple dumpling to the important one I've heard a real insight into me
1:12Romesh Ranganathan:it looks quite nice though what do you think Ben? John would you like an apple dumpling? absolutely not I think if it was chopped and stewed with sugar, brown sugar, bit of butter. Okay. So a completely different dish. Do you know what I'd like if it was like with chicken curry and rice and they mix it together?
1:42Romesh Ranganathan:I'll tell you what you'd love, chicken biryani day. Georgie, apple dumpling? Mum, apple dumpling? Yeah, love it. I know I haven't had it, but I like to have it with hot ice cream. Oh my. Hot ice cream. Hot. Do you know, you can have deep fried ice cream, can't you? No, I only heard that. Deep fried Mars bar. Mars bar. Deep fried ice cream. How? If I was talking about deep fried Mars bar, I would have said deep fried Mars bar. Deep fried ice cream. You sure? They like, it's a frozen. You mean baked Alaska when they put the meringue on it? Yeah, it's like that, but it's taken to another extreme.
2:20Romesh Ranganathan:It's deep fried ice cream. But no, but you can't, meringue you have to cook batter through don't you it's deep fried ice cream yeah oh I never I think you're thinking of baked Alaska yeah yeah I know baked Alaska deep fried ice cream how do you fry ice cream Romesh it's um have you heard of baked Alaska every Thursday we hang out and have a go answer your questions dilemmas sometimes we get the odd story or observation I'm joined by my mother Shanti Ranganathan and the team of fucking creatures. We haven't written that. No, you haven't. But it just keeps popping in the old gobby. That's what can sometimes happen on National Apple Dumpling Day.
3:05Romesh Ranganathan:You never know how Apple Dumpling Day is going to go. Meh. Meh. How are you today? I am fine. Meh. Oh, do you like that? Yeah. I'm fine. Thank you. Yeah. Mum, do you know how you love QVC? Yeah. Could you big up the show like it's an item on QVC? It's going to, you need to listen to this show, it's got big laughs, it's guaranteed to make you smile, etc, etc, and then welcome to the Ramesh Ranganathan show. Just down the camera, please. How am I going to do that? Let me try.
3:48I'm trying to have a look at this bracelet, how beautiful it is. So it's shiny and makes your hand look very elegant and I loved it. Since I bought it, so much luck came towards me. So I wanted to try that as well and enjoy and please buy this type of bangles it gives you a lot of luck
4:18Romesh Ranganathan:welcome to Romesh Ranganathan show really good really good okay um I feel like a little bit of confused bracelet change into bangle not well I don't think that was the biggest issue yeah it's I was I wanted you to talk about the show like it was an item on QVC and he started selling a bracelet for some reason. Oh, right. Yeah, okay. But it doesn't matter. That was good. Welcome to the Romesh Ranganathan Show.
4:49It's the Romesh Ranganathan Show. With me, Shanti.
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6:54Romesh Ranganathan:On Monday, we had the Naked Chef on. Jamie Oliver? Yeah! Yes! We went on Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty's show and he was getting me to make a lasagna. Yeah. And you got drunk, didn't you? I got drunk, completely drunk. Mum got absolutely pissed. Yeah. And Jamie shows you how to make the lasagna and then he goes, I'll leave you to get on with it. And then mum just heckled me for the whole time. Yeah, I did. Not as good as Jamie! Yeah. She was hammered. It's embarrassing. And then at the end of it, you try the lasagna, and I said to Jamie, oh my God, this tastes absolutely incredible. And he gave me all the ingredients and the stuff to make it, and never made sense.
7:32Romesh Ranganathan:How to make the pasta. I knew I was not going to make it. What did you do with the pasta machine? Still got it. But it's just, you know. But it was so nice. It was so nice, wasn't it? He put, add cashew nuts as well inside, yeah. The sauce. Yeah, it was a mushroom lasagna. But to make the bechamel, he used cashew. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He said vegan food is tricky. Didn't he? It is. It's very difficult to make though. You're so pissed. You've got no idea. We were eating the lasagna. Mum was doing a line in the toilet.
8:06Romesh Ranganathan:If you like the lasagna now, you should try it when you're off your tits. Do you remember you said that? No. Oh, no. That's a lie, Ben. Some of the things he says, don't believe him. Not all of them though. Yeah. When I say MD, you say MA. MD. Mum, the team thought it'd be good to give everyone a tease of what your TV cooking show could be like if you did one. Oh. Because you know we were talking about doing a, and we're looking at expanding the Romesh Ranganathan podcast. Yeah, yeah. The Romesh Ranganathan show, sorry. Yeah. And obviously we need to move in the direction of the growth areas. I think I've topped out.
8:43Romesh Ranganathan:Whereas mum is an area that people want more of. People want less of me in this podcast and more of mum. Yeah, that's true. That's what they keep saying. Yeah. and all the all the gibbons agree and so we're gonna do a tease of what your cooking show could be like and I'm gonna be your guest okay alright and then I'm gonna ask some questions and stuff and we're gonna do it okay so I've got you we can put some title music and we can give it a bit of something yeah finally a bit of fucking production on this so here's there's a wooden spoon yeah you'll remember it from what you used to brandish across mine and Dinesh's asses when we were kids yeah because you didn't do the homework yeah there you go and that deserves corporal punishment doesn't it so there's your apron thank you okay and we're gonna tie it up yeah sure you can do georgie where did you get this apron from uh it's tk max okay so probably one of our relatives made it so right mum do you want to um should we get you know how like romesh sings the the sort of the intro on the Ramesh show.
9:50Romesh Ranganathan:Do you want to do like a little welcome? No. No, definitely not. It's okay. You're going to... Kitchen. You're happy with that? Yeah. Shat's kitchen. Shall I start? Yeah, go for it. You're hosting the show. So what recipe do you want, my son? Introduce the show, first of all, before we get into recipes. Hi. This is Ranganathan's show. And I'm going to tell you how to make a mutton roll. Okay? it's called shanty's kitchen okay so imagine i'm gonna do some music and then we'll come out the music ben do you want to direct this yeah okay so ben's in your ear okay shanty's kitchen yeah shanty's kitchen yeah it's shanty it's a kitchen she's gonna do some cooking and when she puts the dish on the counter your son you're gonna be looking then you're gonna be tasting cos it's Shanti's kitchen you'll love a food you'll love a dude you're gonna be in Shanti's kitchen oh shut up Shanti's kitchen this is Shanti's kitchen okay now I'm going to show you how to make mutton roll oh Anybody wants to know the recipe?
11:17Yeah.
11:19Romesh Ranganathan:In Shanti's Kitchen. In Shanti's Kitchen. Yeah, she's going to be cooking. And you're going to be looking. Let's see what's cooking. In Shanti's Kitchen is going to be bitching. And we're not switching to another channel. Because we love this world the best. Here we go. In Shanti's Ketchup. Shut up, shut up. Right. You make the mutton curry. One pound of meat. Mutton curry. You all know how to make mutton curry. Yeah, done. Because I don't want to go into... Yeah, we don't want to fuck around with going into the details. Make some mutton curry. Mutton curry. Get some breadcrumbs. Yeah. And pancakes.
12:01Romesh Ranganathan:Yeah. You can buy the sheets, a froser. Yeah. If you don't want to make the pancake, put the mutton curry in. Yeah. Roll it up. Yeah. Roll it up. Roll it up. What you do, you roll it up. Roll it up. Roll it up. What you do, you roll it up. That's how you make the mutton roll. You have to make a batter to dip that pancake roll and roll it in breadcrumbs, fry it, and voila. Voila. Yay. This is what I made earlier. Have a look. Do you want to do it where you go, voila, and it will just appear in your hands? No, that's fine. Okay, sure, I'll just pass.
12:53Okay.
12:54Romesh Ranganathan:What did I do? All right, Mum. So, how do you serve mutton rolls? Serve mutton rolls, you can eat with... This is the one I made earlier. Yeah. You can eat with sauce, tomatoes, ketchup, Tomato ketchup, really? Ketchup, yeah, and chilli sauce. And chilli sauce. And already it's hot anyway. Yeah. So you don't want to make it too spicy. No. Dip it in and enjoy yourself. Eat. That's it. That's Shanti's mutton roll. Yay!
13:32Okay.
13:33Romesh Ranganathan:Closing theme tune? Closing. Thanks for visiting Shanti's Kitchen. We hope like us that you think it was bitchin' She'll be back very soon with another recipe She'll tell you how to make it easy as one, two, three It's Shanti's Kitchen She's making stuff She won't tell you the ingredients or the method or anything She'll just make the thing And she'll say you know how to do it Then she'll show you it and tell you to put it in some ketchup Shanti's Kitchen
14:08Romesh Ranganathan:really good now let's be honest let's be honest here what do we think that what mum just did now in fairness to her she wasn't in a kitchen so that would be the first thing I think this should be in a kitchen what else do you think would take it from what we've just done here to actually a cookery show do you think probably a recipe recipe would be good recipe if I start saying the recipe yeah not enough time yeah but that's what the show is you can't say no I mean if you told me step by step I could have done it but I know how to make them so I know what goes in there I told them within that time oh okay fine within that time yeah I could have done it okay so that's it so just showing people how to make it I think is probably the bit that was missing no but that's true but that's not your fault we're in the studio yeah Yeah.
15:03Romesh Ranganathan:Yeah. There's so much goes in there. Yeah. Mum, if you're not having mutton rolls, what's your favourite quick dinner for the viewers of Shanti's Kitchen? Mutton curry. Mutton curry. Yeah. Now, you'll remember mutton curry from earlier on in the episode when we made mutton rolls. Now, the way to make mutton curry... This is a snack. ...is you take what you might otherwise have put in a roll, and you don't.
15:34Romesh Ranganathan:That's how you make mutton curry. Or, if you've already got mutton rolls, you can split those open like a blunt and empty the contents onto your plate and you've got mutton curry. And then you can take the roll carcass and put tobacco and weed in that or whatever and just blaze it up. It's two different curries. Mutton curry with gravy. This you have to make it dry. Dry, yeah. So what you do, you take the mutton curry, you pour away the gravy, roll it up. But when you were talking about... Are you taking the Mickey out of the mutton roll? Oh. Oh. Across the line. No, I'm not. Because you are a vegan.
16:13Romesh Ranganathan:Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm not taking the Mickey. Don't do that. I'm not, I'm sorry. People love it. Yeah, people love it. Can I, I think, if you don't mind, guys, don't mind me getting serious for a moment, apologies to... Yeah. Any fans of mutton rolls and mutton rolls. I didn't mean to cause any offence, but I was just having a little joke. Obviously, mum's called it out there. I'm sorry if anybody was offended by what I said about mutton rolls. I respect them as a thing. Do I find them morally abhorrent? Sure. Can we just have a few moments of silence just to appreciate what's just happened? I think it's a joke for you.
16:45Whatever I do, yeah, you take the big care of me. And your song sucks.
16:53Romesh Ranganathan:I thought that was a bit harsh about the song. now it's time for some listener questions if you've got a question that you think two completely unqualified amateurs could help you with send your whatsapp messages and voice notes to 07731 623 355 or email podcast at rangaby.com I didn't know whether we decided last time that you thought it was a bit should we go for it one more time and see or email podcast at Rangami.com It's too much. Yeah, it's too much for me. Oh, do you think so? Okay. You only say it. Yeah. All right. Okay. You didn't like the... No, I love them. Oh. But what you're saying is they ruined it.
17:37No, I didn't say... Why are you putting horrible words in my mouth?
17:41Romesh Ranganathan:No, but what I'm saying is it's worse when they join in. I thought it's too much. Yeah, it's too much from them. Including you. So you don't want me to... I think that really ruins it. if I go or email podcast at
17:59Romesh Ranganathan:oh Shanti you could do the second half oh that's a good idea email podcast at rangami.com that was the shittest one of all of them okay and don't forget if you haven't already please like and subscribe whatever you get your podcast mum have you liked and subscribed yes liar you lie
18:26Romesh Ranganathan:there's no way that you'd like to subscribe this this by the way this is great
18:37Romesh Ranganathan:yeah was that supposed to fool us okay uh right uh we've got an email from anonymous dear romesh and shanti love the parenting advice you give oh do you so I was hoping you can help me my daughter is 18 and since she was a little girl has dreamed of working in fashion she worked incredibly hard has now been accepted into the university she always wanted to attend
19:05Romesh Ranganathan:now she has a first serious boyfriend she has completely changed her mind about going because she doesn't want to leave him Christ should I encourage her to go or let her make her own decision thank you both and oh thank you love you both and the podcast anonymous okay um quite do you think anonymous emailers should just come up with a name what do you mean just invent a name why do people bother saying anonymous okay I mean it feels like she's got quite a serious problem here I don't know I'm going to go two footed on the name that she's chosen just make up a name A fun nickname. I think maybe she's worried about her daughter giving up on her dream of university rather than going, I must come up with a name so that Ben's happy.
19:53Just it's nicer to not have to keep saying anonymous.
19:58Romesh Ranganathan:Thanks, Sandra. Okay, mum, what do you think? I heard that the young children, because of the cost of living and money, People are young boys or girls. They don't want to go to uni now. They are finding a way of making money other ways, you know, like traveling in business. So that's what I heard. Maybe I'm wrong. So she shouldn't get upset. Let them do what they want to do. Holy shit. No, no. What do you mean no? Why are you doing Holy Because I'm so surprised So the daughter is Changing her mind About going to university What subject is she going to do? Fashion Fashion Yeah You can learn fashion You don't have to go to university What do you think about Having a boyfriend?
20:56No No No
20:58Romesh Ranganathan:So what my mum's advice is Tell your daughter Yeah No boyfriend To give up university And split up with her boyfriend Yeah That's your advice So give up both things. Both things, yeah. This email's about a choice between two things, and you're saying deselect both. The daughter doesn't want to go to uni. She did want to go to university. Yeah. And she's very keen to go to university. Yeah. Now she's got her first serious boyfriend, and she's 180'd on that. Oh. I want her to go to uni. Oh. Yeah? I changed my mind now. but give up the boyfriend. Oh. You can pick another one anytime. I knew just a little bit of reflection and we could get mum back on track.
21:45Romesh Ranganathan:Yeah. Yes. I wanted to go to uni and do something really useful and make money. But boyfriends you can get. I mean, when you go to uni, you might meet somebody different. I don't think that's what she wants. That's what she wants. That's what she wants. That is what she wants. You're right. Sorry. Yeah. Anonymous. My first bit of advice would be, thank you for your email, first of all. Just think of a name. Name of what? I know you're going through this heart-wrenching situation with your daughter, but it just helps us a bit if you think of a false name, okay? So have a bit of consideration for the people that have to read out your problem on the podcast.
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22:29Romesh Ranganathan:That's the first thing. The second thing is, I'm not sure 100 % on what advice to give you because I don't know how much of a filter you have been in delivering this message to us. And what I mean by that is the way that your message reads is that your daughter was desperate to go to university and now because of this boyfriend, she's completely one-eightened and changed her mind. Now, if that's the case, that's a shame. But I wonder if, and forgive me for saying this, I wonder if you're so keen on your daughter going to university and she might have changed her mind organically and the boyfriend is part of that, that you might have sort of boiled it down to that.
23:10Romesh Ranganathan:And I don't know if that's the case or not.
23:17Romesh Ranganathan:The reality is I don't, you know, it's very difficult to give you, I don't know how to, what to think of this. I mean, I sort of feel like all you can do is your daughter's worked really hard to get onto this course and now she doesn't want to do it because of this boyfriend, all you could do is put your point across and then let her make her own choices. I mean, the reality of it is it's not make or break. If she decides not to go to university and then she gets this boyfriend and she carries on with this boyfriend and either they break up or they get serious and she decides later on to go back to do her university because she can do that.
23:57Romesh Ranganathan:It's not a one-off thing. So you can come back to that. but I think if you are trying to force your children to do anything I don't think any good can come from that I feel like it can only lead to resentment and then her sort of hiding a little bit away from you and I think the thing to value the most is your kids communicating with you and sharing their problems with you and all that and the best way to maintain that relationship is to in my opinion is to be as supportive as you can show them the love and the guidance that you can give them but then that is where your influence ends you then have to let them make their own decisions in my opinion i mean i'm not in the situation where this is happening i mean i am sort of i mean it's like you know theo's got a girlfriend and he if he chooses to do something differently as a result of his relationship i'll tell him what i think but i can't force him to do anything differently so you kind of have to hope that the way that you brought your kids up means that they'll lead to the right decisions.
24:58Romesh Ranganathan:But nothing is make or break, in my opinion. But my mum's advice is get her to split up with her boyfriend, force her to go to university. Hope that helps. Happy? Yeah. Yeah, there you go. All right, next up we've got... Yeah? Yeah, because she has to study and do something. Yeah, she has to study and do something. And earn money, so... Actually, I'm pretty sure, I think the stats back me up on this, that if you go to university, your total lifetime earnings are lower than if you don't. Is that true? I'm pretty sure. Because you're forfeiting three years of earnings, or four years, completely, and you're actually working at a loss.
25:40Romesh Ranganathan:And then the subsequent increase in earnings that the degree gives you is not completely offset by the years that you miss working. Does that make sense? It does make sense. But are they saying now that if you do the humanities, you are, because of AI, you're actually going to be more into it used to be seen as like a waste of time right but now all the technical stuff you can kind of get very quickly with ai but the humanities yeah so your analytical thinking and being like suddenly is how there's more value in that and this is um you might be getting a nosebleed from how highbrow this podcast has just got over the last couple of minutes this episode is brought to you by counseling directory i've been very open about my mental health struggles over the years.
26:22Romesh Ranganathan:I've tried everything from meditation to hypnotherapy. I like to keep an open mind. But something that's really helped me is therapy. I think it can be great if you struggle with anxiety, if you're going through something like a breakup or a loss. It can also be really good if you just need someone to talk to that isn't your partner or your dog. Sometimes it can though feel like even finding a therapist is an uphill struggle. Where do I look? Are they legit? How do I know who's going to be right for me? So that's why I think counselling directory is so great. It helps you find a therapist that's right for you, whether you want to see someone face to face or online.
26:55Romesh Ranganathan:They have over 29 ,000 therapists and counsellors across the UK. So even if you're picky, you should be able to find someone. And all of the therapists on the directory are verified. You can take the time to read their personal profiles, learn a bit about them and how they work, and then contact the ones that you like in your own time. And that, I think, makes the whole thing a little bit less scary. If you've been thinking about therapy, visit Counselling Directory and find a therapist that's right for you. Did you know that psoriatic arthritis may progress over time and could cause permanent joint damage if left untreated?
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27:51Romesh Ranganathan:Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or need a vaccine. imagine being a million miles away explore the possibilities ask your doctor about trim fire tap this ad to see new joint data and learn more about trim fire including important safety information next up we've got a voice note from michael hi there ron and shanti it's michael here from northern ireland i have got a question for you both about presence so my daughter is turning in November and I've bought her like flights from Northern Ireland to Birmingham and then for the two of us and then we're going to stay in a hotel in Birmingham and then we're going to go and see the darkness on the Saturday night.
28:51I'm very very excited. She's never been to a concert. She's a massive darkness fan. She doesn't think she's going to be able to go for like a few years so this is a huge big surprise and I have to wait until November to tell her all about it. so i know previously in your podcast you talked about presents and gifts and shanty your language of love is gift giving and i was just wondering what the most excited you've ever been about giving somebody else a gift or you know an experience or whatever it is but yeah just love to hear what your thoughts are on that it's a bit of a different to what's the best present you've ever received i just want to know maybe what's the best present you've ever given okay it's been lovely chatting or saying things without a chat take care and I hope you're all well bye
29:41Romesh Ranganathan:it's difficult editing a voice now isn't it thank you so much Michael that was lovely sounds lovely doesn't it mum what's the best gift you've ever given you're not a gift giver I mean you are a gift giver but what I mean is oh my god I think can we pause it and go, right at that moment, he knew he'd fucked up. Mum, you prefer receiving to giving, don't you? I love to give presents. I always say, where the hell did you get the idea from? Just life experiences. Because every time I give you a present, you give it to charity. No, I don't. Yeah, you do? No, I don't. I've never seen you wearing it from me.
30:29What did you do with all those things?
30:30Romesh Ranganathan:I've still got them. I wear them all the time. What's your favorite gift you've given? The bracelet to Theo. The bracelet to Theo. Yeah. That was very nice. Yeah. His eyes lit up. And because people don't celebrate when they turn 16. Yeah. Only 18. But I bought him a nice bracelet. Yeah. He said, I'll never change this, Grandma. I will keep it. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. That made me so happy. He changed it next day. no he didn't he loved that that was very nice of you I don't think I'm very good at giving gifts are you trying to say I never given any nice presents to your wife no I'm saying what I'm saying is you like receiving presents don't you yeah I love to receive yeah as well yeah yeah I
31:21I mean
31:23Romesh Ranganathan:I feel like the best presents to give are always experienced presents do you know what I mean of going somewhere, doing something. Like actually, because once I, do you remember when it was really difficult to get a PlayStation 5? You remember this, Mum, you were desperate to get one, weren't you, because you wanted to play Spider-Man, didn't you? But, and so I pretended to the kids that I couldn't get one, but actually I got one off some sort of, doesn't matter how I got it. But anyway, the point is, I managed to get a PlayStation 5 and we gave the kids like their presents and we said, we're sorry we couldn't get your place.
31:58Romesh Ranganathan:And they're really cool about it. And then what I did was while they were downstairs and we were doing whatever, I snuck upstairs and I put it in the room. I said it was a surprise thing and they lost their shit. It's really good. Really good. But I actually don't think I'm that great a gift giver. I'm often very poorly organised and it becomes like a last minute thing. Last minute thing. But you gave me a house and a kitchen? Yeah, but that wasn't a gift, was it? That was more emotional blackmail. Oh. But I don't... Yeah, I'm not very good at that. I would say that Lisa has had a bad... As I'm saying this, the reason I'm hesitating is because I think I need to step up my game with Lisa's gifts.
32:50Romesh Ranganathan:It's not very good. No? I'm a bit shit at giving Lisa presents. the boys I'm pretty good at but Lisa not good you not good Din not good in fact I think I'm just shit at giving Michael you've really led to a moment of reflection here I actually don't think I'm good at giving presents because I'm just so disorganised so then like it's not like I don't want to spend the money sort of thing it's just like I just think shit that's tomorrow what do I do and so then I just sort of so yeah I'm not that great thanks Michael I know it's quite a cheery voice note but you've really sent me into quite the fucking spiral.
33:27Romesh Ranganathan:You could always, in a moment that you find you've forgotten and it's too late, you could then just give it late, just buy something. Yeah, I do do that. But that still feels a bit shit, doesn't it? Do you know what I mean? I think as long as you made the effort at some point, people would be happy. Do you have to then overcompensate because you're late then? Correct. Yeah. That's why you ended up with that car, isn't it? drives well yeah shit I need to think about do you know what you've given me development area over the next 12 months I'm going to be a better present giver there you go that's my area of growth that's exciting we're all excited about that yeah that's great that's great we're like there's quite a few celebrations coming up until a year of doing a show that doesn't deserve presents feels like John's got a birthday we're both February aren't we we're February birthdays so that's going to be expensive yeah Georgie's coming up really quickly I need a week to sort of we don't mind it being a week late do we whenever it comes but within the sort of three or four week window I don't want it to be whenever we just said a direct quote whenever it comes but I think set a month window either side, it can be early but I'm not getting a present for a year of the show that's not a present thing why not it's a year of a podcast the amount of work these guys are put in week in week out to make your show successful successful yeah now it's my show run it in short what does it mean the sign also gives it away oh yeah
35:08Romesh Ranganathan:am I supposed to get your present for a year do you know I think experiences make the best gifts that's what you were saying yeah and I know that yeah why don't we all go out no Bobby Lee what did he do Bobby Lee and Santino took the whole team to like a really fancy like restaurant they went to like Nobuy type place okay but their podcast let's just look at it I would say based on sort of the size of their podcast compared to ours so they went to a fancy restaurant so I think what we'd have was doing you scale it down starter at Dishoom well we all go for starters well actually no why not we share a starter I don't want to I don't want to I don't want to start calling out Bobby Lee yeah and yeah but we're higher we're higher in the UK charts than they are in the US charts oh as we all know the UK is much bigger than the US so fuck you Lee and Santino you just got shat on by the Romesh Ranganathan show fuck you we can get mains that means
36:26Romesh Ranganathan:no we will do we'll have a like a we'll do something and it'll be on me you'll organise that? I won't organise it but can somebody can you put it together and then like let me know when the day and obviously like put it in you've got access to my just put it in my you'll be there you'll come though well let's see because I'm writing the tour at the moment
36:49that's what you do to others
36:52Romesh Ranganathan:that was actually fucking great work yay okay yeah we'll do something we could film it couldn't we we could make it no no no yeah yeah yeah no no please can we just have a real experience we'll put it I guess that could be the patron Nights out with orangutine Yeah orangutine Yes Please can we not do that And we could review food You could do the vegan section You can't be on camera We could just cut to the dish Do you know what we could do We just cut to the dish when you talk about it You'd just see the fork come in maybe If you don't mind my hand being in it Sorry I mean yeah We should have our hands in it Horrible fucking hairy paw Entered the shot okay that's all we've got time for thank you so much for listening and watching please remember to like and subscribe join us next time say goodbye mum bye bye everybody love you all bye suck a dick you dumb pricks peace out you fuckos thank you so much for watching and listening to this episode before you go if you've enjoyed this episode and you've not subscribed that's a bold decision crazy behaviour follow and subscribe to the Romish Ranganathan show wherever you listen.
38:12Romesh Ranganathan:It helps me, really, like really helps me. It helps the team and it costs you absolutely nothing. We drop episodes every Monday and Thursday. Mondays, I'm joined by great guests. Thursdays, my mum Shadi joins me to answer your questions and family dilemmas. We'll see you Monday with another great guest and back here with mum on Thursday. If you've got a problem you want to solve or a story you want to share, send it to podcast at rangabi.com, voice not or text us on 07731 623 355. We can't promise good advice, but you might end up on the show. See you soon. Oh, shut up, Romesh. Espolon Tequila.
38:50Romesh Ranganathan:Balanced. Delicious. 100 % agave. 0 % ego. Just add ice, lime, and your mouth. For real margarita, ride the rooster. Espolon Tequila. 40 % alcohol by volume. 80 proof. Copyright 2026. Compel your America. New York, New York. Drink responsibly. This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports.
39:27Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode available on Plus and Pro plans.
From the publisher
Is Romesh a bad gift-giver?
In this Thursday episode of The Romesh Ranganathan Show, Romesh and Shanthi celebrate Apple Dumpling Day, discuss recipes, and get to work tackling your listener dilemmas, from parenting support to the art of gift-giving.
Plus, we give you a little taster of what Shanthi's cookery show, Shanthi’s Kitchen, could look like, complete with mutton rolls, some very important serving suggestions, a theme song, and a live post-show review.
Another classic Thursday episode with Shanthi.
A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Platform Media.
If therapy is something you've been thinking about, visit Counselling Directory and find a therapist that's right for you: https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=romesh_sponsorship
Chapters
00:00 Intro
05:55 Jamie Oliver and recipes
07:23 Shanthi’s TV cook show teaser
13:11 A show review
14:07 Shanthi’s quick dinner
15:58 Listener questions
17:46 Parenting advice
26:23 A question about the best gift-giving
29:16 Romesh’s present prank
30:41 Is Romesh a bad gift-giver?
35:41 Outro
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