Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad And Tobago

by Ramin Ganeshram

SUPERANNO Chef-journalist Ramin Ganeshram introduces readers to the rich, eclectic cuisine of her father’s homeland, Trinidad—where African, Indian, Chinese and British culinary influences come together in a unique blend. Updated with new recipes, a detailed travel section for visitors to Trinidad & Tobago, a foreword by New York Times columnist Molly O’Neill and stunning color photos, this collection of 175 recipes will appeal to any enthusiast of Caribbean cuisine and culture. Original.

Genres: Cookbooks

271 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2006

About the author

Ramin Ganeshram is a veteran journalist who has written for many prestigious publications such as THE NEW YORK TIMES, NEWSDAY, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, and BON APPETIT, among others. She is also the author of SWEET HANDS: ISLAND COOKING FROM TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. Additionally, Ramin is a food writer and professional chef, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. STIR IT UP! is her first book for children.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trini cooking is even more heavily influenced by East Indian cuisine than I had realized. Only with ingredients I am even less likely to find in the store here! I felt like every other recipe called for a fruit or vegetable I can't get. That's not a criticism, I prefer knowing the authentic version and making substitutions myself to getting an Americanized recipe. But I probably won't be making many of these dishes. Almost half the book was desserts, most of which were described as extremely sweet, which is not to my taste. I may try mango cake, which seems to be roughly the same as pumpkin or banana cake. Don't know why mango never occurred to me, since I've even made that sort of cake with passion fruit and guava... Maybe because when mangoes come my way I eat them up fresh!

I can't say I especially enjoyed the book, as a read. The author's voice was pleasant, especially when she talked about her family, but the writing style wasn't great. There are some nice color photos (by the author's husband) 2/3 thru, but the images on the pages were tiny and for some bizarre reason colored orange. It was hard to make the dishes out. Especially for people who haven't seen the food in real life, a good photo can be a big help in having it turn out right. The lists of ingredients and the cover were also orange. And each page used multiple fonts, which I generally don't find aesthetically pleasing.

So, this definitely fails as food porn. As to the quality of the recipes I cannot comment, as I haven't tried them and haven't had Trini food. I would recommend this primarily to people who are familiar with the cuisine and want to learn to make it for themselves. Bonus if you like orange.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad and Tobago includes a variety of traditional island dishes including both sweet and hot main meal meals using beef, chicken, pork, goat, and lots of fish. There are also a lot of spicy vegetable main meals and side dishes and some really nice desserts, many making use of the sweet taste of coconut.

The recipes in this book are simply delicious, extremely filling, and will be enjoyed by even the most finicky audience. The food is often quite colourful and beautiful looking, even when I cooked it, which strangely seems to add more enjoyment and taste to the meal. One should note, however, that many of the recipes in this book are so tasty because it takes a good deal of time to prepare these dishes. Some of the meat marinades need to be prepared two days in advance and many of the dishes include dry chickpeas and split peas that have to be soaked overnight and then cooked before the recipe can be prepared.

[Jason Pabon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The recipes in this book come out really good. I love to cook and try cooking new things from different cultures. the detailed recipes in this book really made the cooking experience awesome and the food was great.

[Cloda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite possibly my favorite ever cookbook. I am so inspired.