Books

Influenced by its neighbours and the countries closest to it, Burmese food draws techniques and ingredients from Thailand, India and China but uses flavours of its own to make something subtle, delicious and unique.

The food of Burma is little known, but MiMi seeks to change that within these pages, revealing its secrets and providing context to each recipe with stories from her time in Burma and her family's heritage.

Beginning with a look at the ingredients that make Burmese food unique – as well as suitable alternatives – MiMi goes on to discuss the special techniques and equipment needed before delving into chapters such as fritters, rice and noodles, salads, meat and fish and sweet snacks. Within these pages you'll find 100 incredible recipes, enabling you to create a taste of Burma in your own kitchen.

 

Hardcover | Bloomsbury | 272 pages

 

Author: Vishwesh Bhatt

One of the South’s best chefs invites you to grill, stew, and fry your own way to a more expansive and delicious dinner.

A Vishwesh Bhatt dish conjures an evolving American South. Peanut Masala–Stuffed Baby Eggplant alongside fried okra, tossed in tangy chaat masala. Collard-Wrapped Catfish with a spicy Peanut Pesto. These much-loved dishes are stars on the menu at Snackbar in Oxford, Mississippi, where Bhatt has been the executive chef since 2009, earning him Best Chef: South (2019 James Beard Awards) and induction into the Fellowship of Southern Farmers, Artisans, and Chefs in 2022. His food draws from his Indian heritage and is unpretentious, inventive, and incredibly delicious.

I Am From Here organizes 130 recipes by ingredient, emphasizing staples, spices, and vegetables that are as beloved on the Indian subcontinent as they are in the American South. Summer means okra, tomatoes, corn, and peas. Winter brings sweet potatoes and greens: mustards, collards, kale, and spinach. Rice is a constant throughout.

Bhatt vividly recounts the special meals cooked by his mother and grandmothers—vegetarian comfort food such as Khichadi, custardy rice pudding, and Stewed Gujarati-Style Black-Eyed Peas—and presents them alongside dishes he’s shared with friends, colleagues, and family across the decades. Recipes run the gamut from uncomplicated roast chicken and Citrus-Herb Rice Salad to dinner party–worthy Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Tandoori Spices.

Writing for the home cook, Bhatt includes recipes for making your own spice mixes, including a versatile chaat masala. A mix-and-match meal-planning guide will help you pair dishes for different occasions. And every ingredient is within reach even if you’re cooking far away from the warmth of Mississippi. This cookbook thoughtfully, and persuasively, expands notions of what it means to be, and cook like, a Southerner today.
 

Hardcover | WW Nortan | 320 pages

 

From renowned chef Chris Scott comes a first-of-its-kind, richly narrative cookbook that celebrates an under-explored foodway in the African diaspora: Amish soul food.

In HOMAGE, Chris Scott tells the remarkable story of his family over seven generations via comforting dishes and vivid narratives: From his enslaved ancestors to his great-grandfather, who migrated to Pennsylvania after the Emancipation Proclamation, to his own childhood in Amish country, and, ultimately, his successful restaurant career in Philadelphia and New York City.

In this tribute to those who came before him, Chris Scott shares 100 dishes born of a unique blend of Southern, German, and Dutch cuisines, including Chicken Fried Steak with Sassafras Country Gravy, Charred Radicchio Salad with Roasted Grapes and Shaved Amish Cheddar, and the ultimate Whoopie Pies.

Stunning photography evokes the rich history of these distinct cultures. HOMAGE is a must-have for home cooks who love JUBILEE and Carla Hall, who enjoy soul flavors or Midwestern food, or who are drawn to cookbooks with vivid storytelling, a sense of place, and a new point of view.

UNEXPLORED FOODWAY: One of the many unexplored foodways in the African diaspora, Amish soul food is a novel cuisine in the publishing world. HOMAGE is a celebration of Black culture and food, and an exploration of a culinary region—one that has never before been highlighted in a cookbook.

…AND YET THIS IS A FAMILIAR CUISINE: The Great Migration from the South in the decades following the Civil War, combined with the strong influence of Dutch, German, and Scandinavian settlers over a wide swath of the United States, from New York and Pennsylvania deep into the Midwestern states, makes the recipes in the book new variations of familiar dishes. From collard greens to spätzle, country fried steak to German chocolate donuts, this is recognizable, delicious food that will resonate with anyone who enjoys Southern, soul, and German, Dutch, or Scandinavian cuisine.

 

Hardcover | Chronicle | 272 pages

 

Lanka Food

Serendipity & Spice

Author: Tama Carey

From the publisher:

Lanka Food is a comprehensive guide to Sri Lankan cooking from acclaimed Sydney chef and restaurateur O Tama Carey.

Sitting on the edge of the Indian Ocean, just below India, is a tiny teardrop-shaped island called Sri Lanka – Lanka is Sanskrit for island, in Tamil meaning 'that which glitters'. It is a country full of contradictions, and the food of Sri Lanka is equally hard to pin down. While the dishes are slowly gaining international recognition, the foundations and building blocks of Sri Lankan cooking are complex. They reflect the many diverse peoples, history, flavours and ideas that have overlapped to create a cuisine that is distinct yet difficult to define.

It was O Tama’s love of the addictive pancake-like Sri Lankan staple hoppers that drove her to start professionally cooking the food from her youth, her heritage and her travels. In Lanka Food, the Lankan Filling Station owner brings her knowledge together with recipes that demystify vegetable-dominant curries, hoppers, and the full range of spices and curry powders that enliven Sri Lankan dishes.

With essays that further contextualise the cuisine, this cookbook is a guide for people wanting a deeper understanding of the culture and the central place of food, and serves as a wonderful starting point for cooking and sharing Sri Lankan feasts with friends and family at home.

 

Hardie Grant Books | Hardcover | 288 pages