Curry: A Biography of a Dish - Hardcover

Collingham, Lizzie

3.91

1,190 ratings by Goodreads

9780701173357: Curry: A Biography of a Dish

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701173351 ISBN 13: 9780701173357

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2005

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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.

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Review:

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

Review:

'This is a sensuous subject, and Collingwood gives it a sensuous treatment' -- Bill Saunders, Independent on Sunday

'richly researched read...More that just the story of a dish, this engaging book provides a sidelong history of India' -- John Koski, Mail on Sunday

‘marvellous and well-illustrated...based on exhaustive research and full of intriguing nuggets of information’ -- Chandak Sengoopta, Independent

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