30th November 1997

Adding spice with a touch of glamour

A date with a Dish from Paradise Island

By Nelun Wickremesinghe
Printed by Aitken Spence.

Available at all leading book stores

Nelun Wickremesinghe who has dedicated this book to her mother has incorporated and varied traditional local food to both improve and glamourise the dishes. The pictures by Dayan Witharana make this slim volume a plush book worthy of a gift to friends both here and abroad.

It is moreover, a useful book since it comes in the form of a diary cum cookery book which makes it handy for a housewife who plans her menus by the week.

Take that famous polos curry cooked, in this book's recipe with stuffed chicken, ginger and almonds. I presume one could substitute cadju for almonds. There is fish cooked with rambuttan, with tomatoes, goraka, lime etc.

Kurumba sambol with maldive fish, green chillies and lime juice, Savoury pittu made with prawns, garlic, onions and lime, pickled bandakka, bean curd with pineapple and ambul thiyal made differently with butter mustard sauce, are just a few of Nelun's recipes.

It is a book which is excellent in providing imaginative dishes that have been made the same old way from the time of the old Kussiammes sweating away at an open fire. There are desserts as well, made differently. In fairness to Nelun I have not given details of her recipes. It is a book a buyer can possess and use with pride.

- Roshan Peiris

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