Book Review | Adieu 2012 … ending the year with ‘The Pondicherry Kitchen’ book review

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’…”
Alfred Tennyson

Wrapping up a season is hard enough, wrapping up a year seems unreal. How time has flown. 2012 certainly passed in a heartbeat. I’m still trying to catch my breath.

I blogged lots. About things I enjoyed. Food. Travel. Events. People. Lots of colour too. Lots of food events that were so worth the while. So much happened in 2012. On top of the list was the Delhi Bloggers Table, loads of fun at Olive with Saby, events, the Aussie Masterchefs, reviews, some great, some not so … but a wonderful learning experience.

Then again, I didn’t have time to blog about lots more that I made. Just didn’t seem to get organised enough to post. Some stuff was so worth it. There was baking … plenty! Wish I had time  to share everything.

Then there was cooking too … loads of it! Curries, pastas, wraps, grills, stir fries, no bake desserts. You might have enjoyed these as well. It’s strange how when something comes out really nice, I first think of the blog. 2012 saw loads of chocolate at PAB. LOADS.

This was something I really enjoyed! There was some I didn’t get to share. Hopefully this new year shall be better. We hung onto the wings of time, hoping it would slow down a bit, but as usual it left us breathless. ‘Us‘ as in everyone and their friends that I speak too. We look at 2012 in a sense of disbelief. HUH? Gone? Already? What?

As always, I had loads more to do, but somewhere along the way social media grabbed chunks of time with both hands. I fell off twitter for a bit and got consumed by FaceBook. I had vowed that I would weigh my time carefully when I decided to cut back on my twitter addiction. Out of the frying pan, into the fire … I love FB though!

I had many things to do before the year ended. Loads didn’t get done. This book review was important for me as I missed the book launch at the French Ambassadors residence as I was busy that evening.

The Pondicherry Kitchen is as interesting as it sounds. It’s a quaint unassuming book with recipes that offer a peep into a cuisine less known. I haven’t heard of some of the recipes; a deep South Indian influence in the ingredients used. There aren’t too many photographs to go by, the few that are there don’t do full justice to the recipes within.

The Pondicherry Kitchen – Traditional recipes from the Indo-French territory by Lourdes Tirouvanziam -Louis

The coastal town of Pondicherry has seen the influence of a host of cultures, and it’s not surprising that its cuisine reflects this history. A fragrant potpourri of flavours, primarily from the Tamilian kitchen and—resulting from three hundred years of occupation by those universally acknowledged gourmands—the French, the food here also reflects eclectic borrowings from Indian, Moghul, French, Portuguese and Malaysian cooking. In The Pondicherry Kitchen, Lourdes Tirouvanziam-Louis captures the unique culinary heritage of the town. Several years of research—digging out old recipes, collecting the culinary secrets of senior people, sourcing foodlore that has been transmitted orally through generations— have coalesced in this book, and the delicious recipes in it. Spiced with anecdotes that give an insight into the culture, The Pondicherry Kitchen is a wonderful, easy-to follow cookbook.

It was natural choice for me to reach for the pages with rasam, a warm starter or soup, that is one my husband loves. It’s been years since I’ve found an authentic good great recipe. This one left us longing for more. Perfect for the season, a hearty clear soup which is lentil based and has the kick of the Indian spice box!

Red chilies, curry leaves, tamarind, asafoetida … all these come together to treat the palette in a robust way. The last I had a soup or rasam as good as this was when my sister visited from the US 5 years ago. She made it for Mr PAB, one that he remembers to date. This was as good. It’s a spicy adult lentil based clear soup, and would need to be toned down a bit for kids. {It serves a hearty 4 rather than the 6 as the recipe says}.

Tomatoes are in abundance this season, the next recipe I reached for was this tomato chutney. I have never made one with golden fried onions and the recipe had me quite intrigued. Once again it didn’t disappoint. Bursting with flavour and colour, this is a great chutney to compliment an India meal. Goes well with idli, dosas, rice and with most Indian dishes; a lovely change from the regular chutney.

My experience from the book was all good. It embodies everything Indian cuisine sets out to do … adds colour, delights the palette, is made from natural easy to source ingredients, and has the little story or connect thrown in here and there.

Don’t miss a post

Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India