Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors Book

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 ForshawRead More

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  • TheBookPeople

    Curry changed and evolved according to the tastes of the various invaders of India. The Mughals brought with them the rice dishes of Persia; the Portuguese introduced the chilli peppers recently discovered by Christopher Columbus in the New World; and the Mrs Beetons and Eliza Actons of the British Raj added jam, carrots and apples to their curry recipes. The Raj also ensured that curry came the other way, from India to Britain - and today the British consume no less than 18 tonnes a year of their favourite chicken tikka masala, a dish which purists claim is not Indian at all, but meat in gravy whipped up with a few spices (and sometimes a can of tomato soup!). Almost every Indian dish is a fusion of different food traditions. This book, which tells the story of such dishes, and the people who invented, discovered, cooked and ate them, is vivid, entertaining - and delicious.

  • Foyles

    Curry tells the story of an array of familiar Indian dishes and the people who invented, discovered, cooked and ate them. Curry is vivid, entertaining and delicious. This imaginative book tells the history of India and its rulers through their food. It follows the story of curry as it spread from the courts of Delhi to the balti houses of Birmingham. Curry is the product of India's long history of invasion. In the wake of the Mughal conquerors, an army of cooks brought Persian recipes to northern India; in the south, Portugese spice merchants introduced vinegar marinades and the chillies they had recently discovered in the New World; the British soon followed, with their passion for roast meat accompanied by cauliflowers and beans. When these new ingredients were mixed with native spices, they produced these distinctly Indian dishes.

  • BookDepository

    Curry : Paperback : Vintage Publishing : 9780099437864 : 0099437864 : 06 Jul 2006 : Curry tells the story of an array of familiar Indian dishes and the people who invented, discovered, cooked and ate them.

  • 0099437864
  • 9780099437864
  • Lizzie Collingham
  • 6 July 2006
  • Vintage
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 336
  • New edition
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