Charmaine Solomon

Down Australia way this has been the definitive general text since long before I started cooking.

Like anything that does so much not all of it is going to work. I was disappointed to find the laksa recipe nowhere near as good as my favourite restaurant versions. It's true, it was one of my early sorties into cooking, but still....

Her Sri Lankan section is wonderful - not surprising since she is herself Sri Lankan, though since she moved to Australia in 1959, we may be forgiven for thinking of her as a local.

There are other sections of her book that I don't use, but may be excellent. I simply have enough good specialist books in the area, thinking now of Indian food in particular.

As an example of what she does so well, try this:

Sri Lankan chicken curry.

1.5 kg chicken pieces (NOT breasts!!!)
3 tablespoons ghee or oil
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
sprig of fresh curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons paprika (optional)
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cardamom pods, bruised
1 stick cinnamon
1 stalk lemon grass
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup thick coconut milk
lime juice (optional)

Directions

Cut chicken into curry pieces. Heat ghee or oil and on low heat fry fenugreek seeds and curry leaves until they start to brown. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently until onions are soft and golden. Add turmeric, chilli, coriander, cumin, fennel, salt and vinegar. If the curry isn't quite red enough, add the paprika because while it isn't used in Sri Lanka, using enough chilli to give the required colour would mean a curry too hot for most people. Stir well, add chicken and turn the pieces in the mixture. Add tomatoes, whole spices and lemon grass. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Add coconut milk, cook uncovered for a further few minutes, then remove from heat and stir in a squeeze of lime juice if desired. Serve with rice and accompaniments.

Yum.… (mais)

These observations pertain only to the Hardie Grant recent revised hard cover edition of this book. (The paperback edition does not suffer from this, it had a different publisher.)

It sucks. It fucking sucks.

I already have a sore head from looking at it today. Why? Because they have used a weird font to introduce the recipes; it looks cute and Asiany, which is no doubt that the 'book stylist' (Lord save us from stylists) thought would look good, but the only important thing to a font is that it is fucking readable.

I'm cross.

… (mais)