On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World
- Downloads：3940
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-02-26 03:21:31
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Raghavan Iyer
- ISBN：1523511214
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Susanne
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Thank you to the author， Workman Publishing Company and NetGalley， for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 This is a unique look at the history of curry - which many may think of as exclusively a South Asian dish - and the way it has spread and influenced food culture around the world。 The book is structured in geographical areas， and the author gives fascinating insights into the adaptations of curry into each culture， and includes historical information and recipes from each area。 Some of Thank you to the author， Workman Publishing Company and NetGalley， for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 This is a unique look at the history of curry - which many may think of as exclusively a South Asian dish - and the way it has spread and influenced food culture around the world。 The book is structured in geographical areas， and the author gives fascinating insights into the adaptations of curry into each culture， and includes historical information and recipes from each area。 Some of the dishes are very intricate， others are more easily achieved by the not-so-practiced home cook， and the author includes tips for hard-to-source ingredients and unfamiliar cooking procedures。 The book was nicely illustrated， but I would have loved to see photos rather than the drawings。 My only quibbles with the book were the US-centric view and the lack of metric measurements - although at least there was a conversion table included in the back of the book。 。。。more
David Crumm
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An important update for potential readers of this book: There's a fascinating New York Times profile of Iyer published February 21， 2023， about how important this final book is to him as he is now in the end stage of his years-long battle with colorectal cancer。。I'm a lifelong journalist specializing in reporting on religious and cultural diversity and my resume include several periods of writing about food for newspapers and magazines。 For that reason， our home shelves already are groaning with An important update for potential readers of this book: There's a fascinating New York Times profile of Iyer published February 21， 2023， about how important this final book is to him as he is now in the end stage of his years-long battle with colorectal cancer。。I'm a lifelong journalist specializing in reporting on religious and cultural diversity and my resume include several periods of writing about food for newspapers and magazines。 For that reason， our home shelves already are groaning with cookbooks and my wife and I made a conscious decision that any new cookbook we decide to save means that some other older book has to go。Because of this process， I'm well aware of how far cookbooks have evolved through the decades in welcoming American home-cooks to the wonders of global cuisine。 When some of the first classics appeared on our shelves， there were often all kinds of questions left unanswered in these books and there was little help in determining how to find certain ingredients （or to make substitutions if all else failed）。This new book by veteran chef， food writer and educator Raghavan Iyer is both wonderfully diverse and colorful and it's also so friendly that it reads as if Iyer had visited our home to coach us as we cooked these recipes。 His "tips" sections throughout this book are invaluable！I was even pleasantly amused to find his "tip" that shares his thoughts on when deep-frying oil can be saved and reused so that we're not constantly "wasting" so much oil。My wife and I are blessed to live in an area with a huge diversity of Asian groceries， restaurants and community centers from temples to nonprofit agencies。 I didn't find a single ingredient in Iyer's new book that I can't find in the shops in my town。 Partly that's because we have so many ethnic shops。 Overall， however， that's because Iyer has selected recipes to share with readers that are not super exotic。 For example， I've had curries when traveling in Thailand， Bangladesh and other areas of Asia that involve proteins or spices that I would be hard pressed to find。 So， I'm praising Iyer for walking a fine line between real global diversity and recipes that American home cooks will have a fair chance of actually replicating。 This is a very practically curated book。There were also some pleasant surprises here！ I did not expect to enjoy "Curried Chickpea Stew Sandwiches" as much as I have （although I have to admit that I did not add the "Scotch Bonnet Relish，" which was one step too hot for me）。But that's the fun of his book。 Iyer introduces why each recipe is included， then provides the recipes and adds further "tips" as well。 This is a great cookbook for anyone who wants to explore more adventurous home cooking， and its lovely layout and fascinating stories make it a great gift idea as well。In our home， we were happy to give away an older book to make room for this delightful addition。 。。。more
Megan
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*I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*I really loved this！ In fact I ordered a physical copy before I even finished the eARC and I am sending copies to several friends。Iyer starts by giving a little background on what curry is and how this dish traveled worldwide。 The recipes are then separated by region， starting with Asia then going to Africa and the Middle East， Europe & Oceania， and then ending with the Americas。 Each section starts with a little comment about w *I received an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。*I really loved this！ In fact I ordered a physical copy before I even finished the eARC and I am sending copies to several friends。Iyer starts by giving a little background on what curry is and how this dish traveled worldwide。 The recipes are then separated by region， starting with Asia then going to Africa and the Middle East， Europe & Oceania， and then ending with the Americas。 Each section starts with a little comment about what that region’s dishes will include and before each specific recipe， Iyer writes a little background of the region or the recipe。 I loved that touch a lot。 For one， I love knowing the history of food and for another I upheave been fortunate enough to travel to several of the places mentioned so it allowed me to reminisce a little。 Another thing I really liked was that Iyer acknowledges the problem around the idea of “authenticity” when it comes to global food。 In the beginning he talks about how food is dynamic and how dishes change all the time so that even a “representative” or “national” dish has variations depending on the chef， which I have found that to be especially true with Asian cuisines。 Even something as simple as a curry blend can be so different depending on the chef and palette， so I love that he acknowledges that。 。。。more
Erica Baxter
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A great resource on curries， with a diverse representation of how curries have taken shape throughout the world。 I love that each section of the book focuses on a different region of the world。 And I was surprised by how widespread curries actually are。Recipes， history， and a wonderful variety of tips adorn this book。
Danielle McClellan
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This book is a keeper。 A well designed and nicely illustrated survey of curries around the globe。 The recipes are accessible and straightforward， and the book is filled with a great selection of curry blends， curry pastes and curry dishes。 Chapters on Asia， Africa & the Middle East， Europe & Oceana， and the Americas provide information about historical and traditional foodways as curries were passed along through the Indian diaspora and colonial activities。The author provides a perfect combinati This book is a keeper。 A well designed and nicely illustrated survey of curries around the globe。 The recipes are accessible and straightforward， and the book is filled with a great selection of curry blends， curry pastes and curry dishes。 Chapters on Asia， Africa & the Middle East， Europe & Oceana， and the Americas provide information about historical and traditional foodways as curries were passed along through the Indian diaspora and colonial activities。The author provides a perfect combination of history and recipes as he tracks the permutations of curries across the globe。 He is thoughtful about reaching out to others with regional specialties and is always detailed about his sources。 I have already upped my basmati rice game 100% by following Iyer's steeping method， which is slightly different than the way I have always made rice。I have numerous flagged pages， which shows that I plan to do a lot of cooking out of this book。 Some particularly appealing items include Flatbreads stuffed with Curried Yellow Peas， Handheld Eggplant Pies with a Sour-Hot Coconut Dip， Prawn Curry with Darkened Cinnamon， Chicken Lemongrass Curry with Potatoes。Iyer also explores the idea that curries can be found under different names in different parts of the world。 He points to the food of Mexico as deeply connected to the food of India。 His recipe for Poached Chicken with Spiced Mole Sauce is a great example of the recipes in the book: authentic， given to him by a friend and colleague who lives in Oaxaca， Mexico。 The recipe is not oversimplified， but it is presented in a straightforward manner， and layers flavors with an incredibly luxurious spiced mole sauce。 The author provides alternate ingredients for those that may be slightly difficult to obtain for some， for example， here giving the option of using bananas instead of plantains and canola oil for lard。 There is a lot to like about this book， and although I received an ARC digital copy for review， I plan to purchase a hard copy of this book the minute that it comes out。 My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher， Workman， for the opportunity to read this ARC。 。。。more
Drea
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I love the entire experience of this cookbook - recipes along with the author’s personal travel and culinary experiences organized in a way that opened and expanded my knowledge of the multitude of cultural curries。 It’s wonderful。 The writing is lovely and personal and the recipes include tips and hints to use ingredients that， to some， including me， are new。 The illustrations are lovely。 A must have kitchen cookbook ！ Thanks to Workman Publishing Company for this gift of a cookbook。
Smitha Agy
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On the curry tail by Raghavan Iyer is an excellent source to 50 recipes from around the world， which is from Asia， Africa & The middle east， Europe & Oceania， and The Americas。 The book is not only about recipes but inspires the reader with curry culture from Eurasia， European and Western Curries， Asian and Eastern Curries， Middle Eastern Curries。 This book describes recipes that are authentic， classic and traditional recipes from different part of the world。 Thank you NetGalley and Workman Publ On the curry tail by Raghavan Iyer is an excellent source to 50 recipes from around the world， which is from Asia， Africa & The middle east， Europe & Oceania， and The Americas。 The book is not only about recipes but inspires the reader with curry culture from Eurasia， European and Western Curries， Asian and Eastern Curries， Middle Eastern Curries。 This book describes recipes that are authentic， classic and traditional recipes from different part of the world。 Thank you NetGalley and Workman Publishing New York for an advance copy for my honest review。 。。。more
Sofya
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On the Curry TrailAuthor: Raghavan Iyer⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was such a fun and interesting cookbook！ I really enjoyed how the book featured recipes of curries from all over the world and gave some history on the dishes。 The book is organized by region （Asia， Africa + the Middle East， Europe + Oceania， and the Americas） and， while there are some commonalities in the recipes， it really highlights the unique flavors of the different areas。 The recipes all sound delicious and I already have a few bookmark On the Curry TrailAuthor: Raghavan Iyer⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was such a fun and interesting cookbook！ I really enjoyed how the book featured recipes of curries from all over the world and gave some history on the dishes。 The book is organized by region （Asia， Africa + the Middle East， Europe + Oceania， and the Americas） and， while there are some commonalities in the recipes， it really highlights the unique flavors of the different areas。 The recipes all sound delicious and I already have a few bookmarked to make for dinner。 The beautiful， colorful illustrations are just an added bonus to this great book！I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to try something new in the kitchen and learn a little history as well。Thanks to NetGalley， Workman Publishing Company， and Raghavan Iyer for an advanced copy of the book。 All thoughts in this review are my own。 。。。more
Florence
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I absolutely love curries and this book was full of information and some recipes。 I love the illustrations。 I will have to purchase this book in its hardcover form for my cookbook collection。
Melissa
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*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley。I originally thought this was just going to be an informational/historical book around curry。 Much to my pleasant surprise it included recipes as well and was part cookbook and part historical/informational。 Not a bad combo。I love curry; and while I can't always take the heat， having this information and recipes at my fingertips means that I can alter and still get all the wonderful flavors that comes with the rest of the ingr *This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley。I originally thought this was just going to be an informational/historical book around curry。 Much to my pleasant surprise it included recipes as well and was part cookbook and part historical/informational。 Not a bad combo。I love curry; and while I can't always take the heat， having this information and recipes at my fingertips means that I can alter and still get all the wonderful flavors that comes with the rest of the ingredients。 And there are so many good ones in here。 I've made the Koshari already （one of my favorites and I needed something to go with my feteer meshaltet） and the roti is probably on the docket soon。But the real gem of this book is that it is split up into regions， with information about how curry originated or how it was used in the area， the types of ingredients and flavor profiles， and then the variation on recipe; one from each area within that region。 The book is split into Asia， Africa & the Middle East， Europe & Oceania， and the Americas。 There are a few commonalities amongst the curries， but largely they all reflect a unique profile。If you adore curry， this would be a great recipe book to add to your collection。Review by M。 Reynard 2022 。。。more
Angela
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This was an interesting and unique book。 A lot of history of curry in different parts of the world， and then recipes specific to that culture。 With tips and techniques， and just a whole lot of fun in a recipe book。 But it's not just recipes。 It's an enjoyable book to be read as well to learn more about curry。 This was an interesting and unique book。 A lot of history of curry in different parts of the world， and then recipes specific to that culture。 With tips and techniques， and just a whole lot of fun in a recipe book。 But it's not just recipes。 It's an enjoyable book to be read as well to learn more about curry。 。。。more
Rhonda Lomazow
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A wonderful book about curry。Really a fascinating journey as curry traveled to different countries。Lovely illustrations delicious recipes really enjoyed。#netgalley #workmanpublishing
Yvonne Walus
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Love， love， love this book。 It has everything: unique yet simple recipes， handy tips， the history behind culinary trends， amazing artwork that makes you hungry。 It's also an armchair travel book， with recipes from France as well as Fiji。I valued that lesser-known curry cuisines like Nonya （Chinese Malay） and South African （Cape Malay） were also represented。 I highly recommend serving Bunny Chow （officially and descriptively titled Lamb Potato Stew in Bread Bowls） to your as a simple yet unusual Love， love， love this book。 It has everything: unique yet simple recipes， handy tips， the history behind culinary trends， amazing artwork that makes you hungry。 It's also an armchair travel book， with recipes from France as well as Fiji。I valued that lesser-known curry cuisines like Nonya （Chinese Malay） and South African （Cape Malay） were also represented。 I highly recommend serving Bunny Chow （officially and descriptively titled Lamb Potato Stew in Bread Bowls） to your as a simple yet unusual dish。I learnt that British Vindaloo is a Goan adaptation of a Portuguese dish， and that chicken tikka in tomato soup became chicken tikka masala。 This cookbook is a must-have for all curry lovers out there。 。。。more
（a）lyss（a）
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