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.
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.
I am delighted to feature A Feast of Serendib : Recipes from Sri Lanka by Mary Anne Mohanraj o Random Things today as part of the Blog Tour organised by Rachel's Random Resources
I have quite a recipe book 'habit'; and can never resist a new one. There are shelves of them in my house and I'm very happy flicking through the pages, choosing what I'll cook next. However, I do tend to stick to the same well-tried and tested recipes and was a little wary that this book may be filled with ingredients that I'd never heard of and would find difficult to get hold of.
I didn't have to worry; Mary Anne's recipes are simple to follow and the majority of the ingredients are familiar and easily sought out locally.
Whilst this is a cookery book, it's also something of the author's story. She talks about her ethnic heritage and influences and about her family. The reader gets to know her and it all feels very personal.
Another bonus for me is the detailed descriptions of the various spices and ingredients used throughout the recipes. Even if the reader doesn't recognise the name, the description will help to decide if it is something to your taste
So, I tried one of the recipes; Ginger-Garlic Chicken. It was delicious, other I will admit that I added a little coconut milk at the end as it felt a little dry. I was serving it with rice, but the author does recommend that it's served up with a vegetable curry, which of course would add that moisture to the whole dish. My food photography is rubbish - sorry. So, instead I'll show you what Mary's dish looks like and tell you that mine wasn't too different!
The book is separated into different sections and each is illustrated fully
INTRODUCTION
Ethnic Heritage and Colonial Influences
Spices and Ingredients
Master Recipe : Sri Lankan Curry Powder
Master Recipe : Sri Lankan Seasoned Onions
Menu Suggestions
APPETIZERS AND SNACKS
Includes dishes such as Chinese Rolls, Patties, Tangy Shrimp on Toast
EGGS, POULTRY, AND MEAT CONTENTS
Includes dishes such as Omelette, Ginger-Garlic Chicken, Beef Smore, Black Pork Curry
FISH AND SEAFOOD
Includes dishes such as Crab Curry, Spicy Fried Fish, Devilled Shrimp
VEGETABLES
Includes dishes such as Green Mango Curry, Cauliflower Poriyal, Green Bean Varai
ACCOMPANIMENTS
Includes dishes such as Coconut Sambol, Coriander Soup, Leeks fried with Chilli
GRAINS
Includes dishes such as Golden Rice Pilaf, Savoury Rice Pancakes, Stringhoppers
DRINKS
Includes dishes such as Chai, Mango Lassi, Fresh Sweet Lime Juice
SWEETS
Includes dishes such as Marshmallows, Spiced Coconut Custard, Mango Fluff
 |
| Making Stringhoppers / Marshmallows / Curry |
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.
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
Social
Media Links –
Serendib Kitchen website: http://serendibkitchen.com
