Serendip: My Sri Lankan Kitchen

by Peter Kuruvita

In Serendip: The Collection, Peter Kuruvita, acclaimed chef from Flying Fish in Sydney, takes us on a rich and rewarding journey through the traditional cuisine of Sri Lanka, its culture of family and ceremony, and the colourful approach to life on this beautiful island nation. Offering Sri Lankan curries of every kind as well as traditional snacks, breads, sticky sweet treats, and recipes for curry powders, chutneys, sambals and pickles, Serendip: The Collection is a treasury of delicious and flavoursome dishes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

Peter Kuruvita (born October 1963) is an Australian chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his rich culturally inspired cooking, highly influenced by his Sri Lankan father and Austrian mother.

Reviews

[Annsartwell]

My brother, Matt Sartwell, just sent me this book which is so gorgeous and mouth-watering- even if I hadn't been an exchange student in Sri Lanka, it would have been compelling--the memoir bits are so compelling, especially the opening where the author relates his father's ill-conceived but successful plan to catch a ferry from India to Sri Lanka by jumping the family's London-bought minibus onto two dugout canoes strapped together with rope--but the visceral food memories evoked by the recipes have transported me.

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any faults of the book in this review are squarely on the publisher Murdoch Books and not the author-chef.

This cookbook is an odd size and makes some absolutely awful design choices. Most of the book’s writing is literally unreadable with thin and/or odd fonts on a fake parchment colored background.

If one struggles through the poor design, a sweet story of a chef’s family and food can be found. The photography is superb showing the culture of Sri Lanka and the food. But I just can’t get over the eye strain of trying to decipher the recipes through the small, thin print on a poorly chosen colored background. This cookbook’s design do not make it user friendly to have open on a kitchen counter to make the recipes.

I will return this cookbook to the library and keep utilizing the incredible “Rambutan: Recipes from Sri Lanka” by Cynthia Shanmugalingam to explore this delicious cuisine.

[Aasinathena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful read about my motherland <3 !!!

[Vivienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst all the recipes are delicious, I didn't really come across anything particularly new. Peter Kuruvita is a great presenter.

[Thulasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well presented traditional Sri Lankan recipes. One of the best book I have seen and use to cook Sri Lankan food. The photos are Great as well.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this from the library, but think I will buy my own copy.