Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka

$35 · Offered by Kitchen Arts & Letters

Cynthia Shanmugalingam's frank, bold voice is everywhere in this book as she enriches her recipes with stories of cultural confusion and kitchen disconnection. As she writes, " Rambutan is the story of an immigrant kid in England trying to cook her way out of the profound sense of loss about the place her parents called home." It's a cookbook and a story in which she gets withering looks because she cannot pick out a proper pumpkin and is told "cook it until it's cooked" when she asks for instructions. Rambutan is a great choice for those who like stories with their recipes. Shanmugalingam begins nearly every recipe with a discussion of how important an ingredient is to Sri Lankan cooking, of a cultural hero who was also a great cook, or a linguistic aside about a dish's name. For those of us who did not grow up immersed in Sri Lankan culinary culture, it's eye-opening and entertaining. The photography throughout the book is vivid, whether it is showcasing a parsley and fresh line sambol or a turmeric and coconut fish curry. Candid family photographs, shots of street vendors, and countryside vistas all add to the atmosphere that Shanmugalingam creates with her writing. Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.

• Binding: Hardcover

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