BURST OF FLAVOR:
The Fine Art of Cooking with Spices
Kusuma Cooray
University of Hawaii Press, 2001
Photos: some
Ease: 3-6
If you love South Asian spices as I do and would like to experiment with their vibrant exotic flavors in new ways, Chef Cooray has taken the guesswork out of it for you in this lovely book. A native of Sri Lanka and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, Ms. Cooray marries south Asian flavor with Western technique and presentation. Each recipe includes plating directions so you can re-create her exquisite presentations for your guests at home.
These recipes will require a pantry well-stocked with Indian and South Asian spices (fenugreek, cardamom seeds, lemongrass, black mustard, kalonji, curry leaves, etc.), and many also require the time to make sub-recipes for sauces, spice mixes, relishes, and garnishes. A typical example is “Blackened Spicy Ahi with Pineapple Relish and Mint (yogurt) Chutney” (27), in which sashimi-grade tuna is coated with a spice mix including yellow split peas, coriander, cumin, cardamom, fenugreek, black pepper, sesame, and cayenne. Out of this world. A simpler dish that delivers equally on taste and vibrancy is the simply-named Chicken with Leeks and Mushrooms (95) – but when the chicken is seasoned with garlic, coriander, turmeric and wine vinegar, and cooked with shiitake mushrooms and 2 colors of cherry tomatoes, the result is unexpectedly subtle and deep.
This book also includes recipes chock full of delicious and unexpected flavors in side dishes such as red potato salad with coriander and cumin (194), creamy saffron spinach (138), sauteed cabbage or mashed potatoes with black mustard seed and cumin (both on 143), butternut and apple compote seasoned with garam masala (142). New worlds of flavor await you.
