I recently laid my hands on “Cook in a Jiffy” by Rohan Wickramaratne. According to the blurb, “Rohan is a graduate of the University of Colombo, and is a self taught cook. Cooking is one of his hobbies, and he dares to experiment with various foods, especially local foods. He is conscious of the medicinal and nutrient aspects of food and tries hard to maintain both in his cooking”. He has just obtained the necessary certificates that qualify him as a baker. The book is invaluable in that you not only save time, and most importantly, bring up a healthy family. “I dare you to try this book and say this is no good” says he, on the cover.

The surprising part of the book is that no quantities are given, (except in very exceptional circumstances). There are some unusual curries, like Ramyawathie’s Dhal and Potato Curry. This I tried out and found to be exceptionally good. I also tried out his Tom Yam Soup which was fantastic.

He gives his method for Coconut Cream. By this method, you can save on the amount of coconut you use for a day. You grind the scraped coconut in a blender and put it away in a canister in the deep freeze. You can then take out as much as is necessary. I tried out his Prawn Paste too, and it was a real “rice puller”.

There are two unusual soups, both of them not generally known. One is the Chicken and Pumpkin Soup and the other, the Stuffed Bittergourd and Chicken Soup.

His conversational way of writing makes it all the more readable. The book is available for sale at his residence, 79/2,Hathbodiya Road, Kalubowila, Dehiwela, priced at Rs. 500.