Product Description

Rohan Candappa, author of bestselling humour books such as the "Little Book of Stress" and "The Curious Incident of the Weapons of Mass Destruction", is the son of a Sri Lankan father and Burmese mother. He grew up small and round in South London, riding his chopper bike and supporting Leeds United. But every day his mother would conjur delicious meals out of thin air. His father cooked too, with fiery flavourings, black curries and green coriander chutneys. Their home became the focus for family gatherings and feasts of such delicacy and exoticism that you'd never have known Norwood lay outside the window. Yet somewhere in his twenties, Rohan forgot his culinary heritage and it wasn't until he was bringing up his own young family that he began to think more about his identity as a second generation immigrant and the binding, identifying power of the family meal caught his imagination. And so he began this beautifully written, funny, poignant memoir of his heritage and his home. Of curry leaves and curried chips. Hot chillis and hot dogs. Pataks and Heinz. About the past and the present - and the place where time should cease to matter...the family kitchen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114487 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

The Times
"His history, sharply funny, is about the positive, zestful contribution made by immigrants to British life."

Sunday Telegraph Travel
"Evocative memoir."

S Sunday Express
"A vibrant taste of what life was like growing up in 70s suburbia...a heart-warming memoir, peppered with revealing annecdotes."

Customer Reviews

A mouthwatering feast of Life, Love & Lentils (!)
Not a book to be read when you are hungry and on a long train journey, some of the mouth-watering recipes will send you hurtling toward your nearest grocers to purchase exotic ingredients and coconut milk. The descriptions of wonderfully simple dishes like Chicken Kyaukswe and Potato Curry encourages you to surrender your copy of Jamie Oliver to the nearest charity shop, together with purchasing an airline ticket to India or, at the very least, a trip to Soho/Tooting. There are many recipes in this book but not just those of the victuals variety. Mr.Candappas take on life, love and living is equally as heart warming with humorous, generous and poignant tales of his immediate and extended family. If you have ever enjoyed a curry, with your family.....

Happy Yummy
I am a busy mum of three, work 4 days a week and expecting no 4 soon.

Its been a while since I've picked a book that actually was "un-put-downable" and that I did not fall asleep after reading a page or two- at night (which is what's happening with Harry Potter's latest adventures right now..)......

Of course I can totally relate to the author's experiences coming from old Ceylon myself....and the recipes- fantastic to have a hard copy of these finally. Well done Rohan- am now looking for your other books..

The story of the British Curry
WHY is curry so British? Why is food, and more importantly, who cooks it, so essential to our understanding of who we are. Rohan Candappa tell us in a very readable and entertaining way why something as simple as memories of food can be held in our subconscious forever. Memories that can be unlocked just from an aroma, which then transports us back to an age we had long left behind. His humour is the strong point in this book, it's very off the wall and reminded me of Bill Bryson's style of writing. Some of the childhood memories he shares with us are so sad but never self pitying, they are sandwiched between wonderful old recipes, some memories are just daft, others are hilarious. Buy this book just for the recipes, you'll also get for your money a wonderfully told tale of a first generation immigrant's childhood in England in the 1970's. Bon Appetite!