Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors
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More About the Author
Product Description
Barry Forshaw
There has certainly been a seismic change in recent writing on food, as Lizzie Collingham's Curry: The Biography divertingly proves. The subject here is nothing less than the history of India and its rulers, as told through the history of their signature food. Of course, the national food of India is now (by default) one of the national foods of the United Kingdom, and its all-conquering progress from the gilded palaces of Delhi to the curry houses of Brick Lane and Birmingham makes for highly entertaining reading.
We have had many cookery books before on how to prepare the mouth-watering Indian delights described here, but few have taken such a broad view as Collingham, who (while telling us how to prepare Dhansak or Lamb Korma), also apprises the reader of the individuals who discovered, cooked and presented these dishes originally (along with the lucky recipients, often in the upper echelons of Indian society).
In many ways, the rich host of anecdotes here is the single factor that distinguishes the book from so many similar titles. Collingham is a historian of some reputation, but her love of this food fairly leaps from the page. Be warned, however: you may begin this book in a spirit of historical curiosity, but by the end of it, you'll either be making your way to the local curry house, or to the nearest supermarket to stock up on turmeric, coriander and mango chutney. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Times, July 15th 2006
"Well researched and written, this book does much to restore curry’s richness"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A mouth watering, fascinating read that will keep you entertained until the last page. After-pub curries will not be the same again as friends compete to supply the details and history of the dishes they are sampling!
A very attractive book which you want to pick off the shelf and handle, the pictures and photos are colourful, appealing and the layout and design attractive. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt a lot too. My Christmas present problems are solved for this year as all my friends will be receiving this and I hope someone will buy it for me as I've already lent out my copy and it hasn't yet been returned.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Curry - A tale of cooks and conquerors" traces the origins of Indian cuisine from the Mughal courts through British and Portuguese colonial rule to the present day. While Chicken Tikka Massala is now the national dish of the UK, India itself is finally embracing its regional styles of cookery and a true national cuisine is emerging, fueled by the popularity of TV chefs such as Madhur Jaffrey.
This well-researched book is a joy to read, packed with recipes and interesting facts. Did you know that not only do most of the UK's Indian restaurant owners originate from Bangladesh, but that they come from a single small town where ships' captains traditionally recruited low-paid boiler room crew for their steamships? Or that many Indian cafés serve tea in disposable earthenware cups that are smashed on the floor after use to avoid the danger of sharing a cup with someone belonging to another caste or religion? And that far from curry being a means of disguising tainted meat and recycling leftovers (as the British myth would have it), many Indians are vegetarian and regard leftovers as unclean; and that in India meat and poultry are actually consumed freshly-slaughtered and never hung, as in the UK?
This is the best book that I have read in a long time and it was great fun to try the recipes as I went. This is an absolute must for anyone who likes curry and is interested in where their food comes from.
This well-researched book is a joy to read, packed with recipes and interesting facts. Did you know that not only do most of the UK's Indian restaurant owners originate from Bangladesh, but that they come from a single small town where ships' captains traditionally recruited low-paid boiler room crew for their steamships? Or that many Indian cafés serve tea in disposable earthenware cups that are smashed on the floor after use to avoid the danger of sharing a cup with someone belonging to another caste or religion? And that far from curry being a means of disguising tainted meat and recycling leftovers (as the British myth would have it), many Indians are vegetarian and regard leftovers as unclean; and that in India meat and poultry are actually consumed freshly-slaughtered and never hung, as in the UK?
This is the best book that I have read in a long time and it was great fun to try the recipes as I went. This is an absolute must for anyone who likes curry and is interested in where their food comes from.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book a lot - it's easy to read and packed with fascinating stories.
However, I do feel it suffers a little from an occasional lack of thoroughness. For example, 'phal' is mentioned twice in the text but on neither occasion is there any explantion of what what a phal curry is, other than that it is hotter than vindaloo, or where it comes from (it is a UK invention).
A passing mention that the Prince Regent enjoyed being 'shampooed' misses an interesting aside - the word 'shampoo' derives from Hindi.
And I wonder slightly when the last time was that the author visited India, as she claims that chai is served in earthenware cups - sadly, this practice is fast-disappearing and you are much more likely to be served it in disposable plastic cups (in my experience at least).
But these are very minor points, and I would defnitely recommend this book to anyone who loves 'curry'.
However, I do feel it suffers a little from an occasional lack of thoroughness. For example, 'phal' is mentioned twice in the text but on neither occasion is there any explantion of what what a phal curry is, other than that it is hotter than vindaloo, or where it comes from (it is a UK invention).
A passing mention that the Prince Regent enjoyed being 'shampooed' misses an interesting aside - the word 'shampoo' derives from Hindi.
And I wonder slightly when the last time was that the author visited India, as she claims that chai is served in earthenware cups - sadly, this practice is fast-disappearing and you are much more likely to be served it in disposable plastic cups (in my experience at least).
But these are very minor points, and I would defnitely recommend this book to anyone who loves 'curry'.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Serialised in the Sunday Times?
This is just the kind of book that's serialised in the Sunday Times.
A potted history of India following the development of its culture and cuisine, hilariously brief in... Read more
A potted history of India following the development of its culture and cuisine, hilariously brief in... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by Miran Ali
great book
This is a really great book. Its easy to read, original and absalutly facinating. I think the last reveiwer was a bit nit picky (im sure she says wheres a phal comes from). Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Martin Fisher
A must read for a serious foodies!
As a person who cooks South East Asian food for a living this book has been a complete education. It has given me a depth of knowledge and huge background information on a cuisine... Read more
Published on 10 April 2006 by "abookbuff"
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