A Feast of Serendib by Mary Anne Mohanraj
A Feast of Serendib
Dark roasted curry powder, a fine attention to
the balance of salty-sour-sweet, wholesome red rice and toasted curry leaves,
plenty of coconut milk and chili heat. These are the flavors of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka was a cross roads in the sea routes of the East. Three waves of colonization—Portuguese, Dutch and British—and the Chinese laborers who came with them, left their culinary imprint on Sri Lankan food. Sri Lankan cooking with its many vegetarian dishes gives testimony to the presence of a multi-ethnic and multi -religious population.
Sri Lanka was a cross roads in the sea routes of the East. Three waves of colonization—Portuguese, Dutch and British—and the Chinese laborers who came with them, left their culinary imprint on Sri Lankan food. Sri Lankan cooking with its many vegetarian dishes gives testimony to the presence of a multi-ethnic and multi -religious population.
Everyday classics like beef smoore and Jaffna crab curry are joined by luxurious feast dishes, such as nargisi kofta and green mango curry, once served to King Kasyapa in his 5th century sky palace of Sigiriya.
Vegetable dishes include cashew curry,
jackfruit curry, asparagus poriyal, tempered lentils, broccoli varai and
lime-masala mushrooms. There are appetizers of chili-mango cashews, prawn
lentil patties, fried mutton rolls, and ribbon tea sandwiches. Deviled chili
eggs bring the heat, yet ginger-garlic chicken is mild enough for a small
child. Desserts include Sir Lankan favorites: love cake, mango fluff,
milk toffee and vattalappam, a richly-spiced coconut custard.
In A Feast of Serendib, Mary Anne Mohanraj introduces her mother’s cooking and her own Americanizations, providing a wonderful introduction to Sri Lankan American cooking, straightforward enough for a beginner, and nuanced enough to capture the flavor of Sri Lankan cooking.
In A Feast of Serendib, Mary Anne Mohanraj introduces her mother’s cooking and her own Americanizations, providing a wonderful introduction to Sri Lankan American cooking, straightforward enough for a beginner, and nuanced enough to capture the flavor of Sri Lankan cooking.
Purchase Links:
https://a-feast-of-serendib.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
I have recently been paying more attention to cookbooks because I am trying to eat healthier. I also wish to expand my tastebuds. Looking at the photos in this delicious book alone makes me drool with anticipation.
I admit that I am not familiar with a number of the spices used in these recipes, but was pleasantly surprised when they were not difficult to locate locally.
Normally I prefer a printed copy of a cookbook. This time, the pdf version, viewed online, was equally as satisfying.
I also had my curiosity piqued and educated about Sri Lanka and the ethnic influences which went into the recipes offered. I suggest reading more than just the recipes provided.
This volume makes for an excellent wedding gift or addition to a new kitchen.
My son will be receiving a copy, with the condition that he cooks for me more than once.
I admit that I am not familiar with a number of the spices used in these recipes, but was pleasantly surprised when they were not difficult to locate locally.
Normally I prefer a printed copy of a cookbook. This time, the pdf version, viewed online, was equally as satisfying.
I also had my curiosity piqued and educated about Sri Lanka and the ethnic influences which went into the recipes offered. I suggest reading more than just the recipes provided.
This volume makes for an excellent wedding gift or addition to a new kitchen.
My son will be receiving a copy, with the condition that he cooks for me more than once.
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of Bodies in Motion (HarperCollins), The Stars Change (Circlet Press) and
thirteen other titles. Bodies in Motion
was a finalist for the Asian American Book Awards, a USA Today Notable Book,
and has been translated into six languages.
The Stars Change was a finalist for the Lambda, Rainbow, and Bisexual Book Awards.
The Stars Change was a finalist for the Lambda, Rainbow, and Bisexual Book Awards.
Mohanraj founded the Hugo-nominated and World
Fantasy Award-winning speculative literature magazine, Strange Horizons, and also founded
Jaggery, a S. Asian & S. Asian
diaspora literary journal (jaggerylit.com).
She received a Breaking Barriers Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women for her work in Asian American arts organizing, won an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose, and was Guest of Honor at WisCon.
She serves as Director of two literary organizations, DesiLit (www.desilit.org) and The Speculative Literature Foundation (www.speclit.org).
She serves on the futurist boards of the XPrize and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Mohanraj is Clinical Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and lives in a creaky old Victorian in Oak Park, just outside Chicago, with her husband, their two small children, and a sweet dog.
Recent publications include stories for George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards series, stories at Clarkesworld, Asimov's, and Lightspeed, and an essay in Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies. 2017-2018 titles include Survivor (a SF/F anthology), Perennial, Invisible 3 (co-edited with Jim C. Hines), and Vegan Serendib.
http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
She received a Breaking Barriers Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women for her work in Asian American arts organizing, won an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose, and was Guest of Honor at WisCon.
She serves as Director of two literary organizations, DesiLit (www.desilit.org) and The Speculative Literature Foundation (www.speclit.org).
She serves on the futurist boards of the XPrize and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.
Mohanraj is Clinical Associate Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and lives in a creaky old Victorian in Oak Park, just outside Chicago, with her husband, their two small children, and a sweet dog.
Recent publications include stories for George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards series, stories at Clarkesworld, Asimov's, and Lightspeed, and an essay in Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies. 2017-2018 titles include Survivor (a SF/F anthology), Perennial, Invisible 3 (co-edited with Jim C. Hines), and Vegan Serendib.
http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mary.a.mohanraj
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mamohanraj
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryannemohanraj/
Website: http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mamohanraj
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryannemohanraj/
Website: http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
Serendib Kitchen website: http://serendibkitchen.com
Please check out these other stops on the tour for more delicious content
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for visiting.
I love to hear comments
and like to visit you back.