Seductions of Rice

Seductions of Rice is one of our favourite and most used cookbooks. It is a book about rice, rice flavoured dishes and dishes to eat with rice and is one my "desert island cookbooks"!

It is immaculately photographed with pictures from around the world including the Philippines, India, China, Japan, Thailand, Spain, etc.

Alongside the photos are wonderful anecdotes that the authors have collected in their travels and cooking adventures all around the world.

But of course a cookbook would not be complete without recipes! And this book has lots of great recipes!

All of the recipes I have tried have been easy and delicious! And many are vegetarian! They have even included a glossary on the special ingredients used and what to substitute if you cannot find a particular ingredient.

We have barely sampled the dishes but so far I have learned the technique of dry roasting spices and the delight of listening to mustard seeds as I prepared the following Indian recipes : Kerala Coconut Chicken Curry, Bengali Potato and Cauliflower Curry, Okra with Poppy and Mustard Seed, South Indian Lentil Stew, and Green Beans with Coconut Spice.

That leaves us with recipes from the rest of the world to try out (China, Japan, Thailand, etc.)!

We love this book so much that we asked for their other two cookbooks for our wedding and our eagerly awaiting their next cookbook on baking.

My only minor complaint is that even though there are pictures of the Philippines, I could not find any Filipino recipes! Surely, a dish like Adobo, which goes so well with rice, merits mention!

Seductions of Rice, Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid, Random House, ISBN 0-679-30932-2