Spice & Kosher - Exotic Cuisine of the Cochin Jews

This interesting book explores the cuisine and roots of the Jewish community of Cochin and is a welcome addition to my collection of books on Indian regional cuisines. In addition to the religious rituals that were strictly followed by the Jewish community, it also explores the significance of spices in cooking. There are quite a few interesting Jewish recipes in this book. Like a scholarly work, most historical works cited are included in the foot notes.However, when it comes to individual recipes, there is no reference source to the history cited. In the chapter on breakfast dishes the very first recipe states that "appam is one of Kerala's signature breakfast dishes, a fermented flat bread made with rice and coconut, it originated in the homes of Jewish settlers in Cochin". There is no historical reference cited here. The following recipe for appam includes egg as an ingredient. Perhaps the use of eggs may be a Jewish modification.But according to eminent Indian food historian K.T. Achaya, appam a circular pancake of a toddy fermented batter of rice, cooked on a well-seasoned clay dish was a breakfast dish in ancient Tamil country (which included Kerala), served with sweetened milk or coconut milk. It was a dish served by kaazhiyar and kuuviyar - vendors of snack foods on the seashore, as described in ancient Sangam poems Perumpanuru, Mathuraikanchi and Silappathikaram. Since very ancient times appam, puttu, and idiyappam were all popular in south India and these recipes traveled with maritime traders to other parts of Asia.There was also one recipe that left out the main ingredient in the list of ingredients - crunchy rice spirals called murukku. The ingredient list only lists urad dhal powder but the recipe begins "mix rice flour and urad dhal powder with butter". For those unfamiliar with Indian cuisine this would be confusing.

It's a little difficult to decipher what you're supposed to do in some of these recipes because historical factoids are mixed into some of the recipe instructions. At other points, the recipes don't have quite enough instruction. However, beyond these minor issues (everything can be figured out with a little common sense), this book is amazing! It's all the history that's difficult to find about a community that's been isolated and under-rated for centuries. It's exactly what I've been looking for. My partner and I keep kosher at home, but allow ourselves to eat whatever we want when at restaurants (Reform foodies), so it's nice to have recipes we can use to cook Indian at home.

These are age old recipes by the Jewish settlers in India who have since then migrated to Israel. These recipes are from the older generation who have been making the dishes for 200 years or so. The younger generation have no idea about them nor do they relish them. So the elders in the community thought of putting the recipes together and producing this book. I love them as I remember tasting all of them cooked by my Mom...and now want my kids to taste them.

If you are interested in Indian history and cuisine, this is a really special cookbook. I give it only 4 stars because in the one recipe I've used so far, the instructions didn't correspond precisely to the ingredients, but I was able to figure it out. I was interested to learn about the spices and the use of coconut oil which I tried for the first time.

Some pictures would improve greatly this book

Comfortable for reading.

"Spice & Kosher" is a book that traverses the history of a community in an ancient kingdom through 2000 years. Factoids abound in this book which is part tradition, part religion and more than 200 wonderful recipes.The fascinating book explores the importance of spice in cooking and the roots of the Cochin Jewish community and also offers a full glossary of the all the magical elements in the Cochini kitchen in addition to the ancient religious rituals that were strictly followed by the Jewish community.As Dr. Sassoon, one of the authors states: "In Cochin, where we grew up - and so did our ancestors for more than 2,000 years - it was fresh coconut milk-laced, highly spiced, aromatic dishes of tropical grains, vegetables, fruits and nuts and permitted meats that were quintessentially kosher and Jewis,. For the Cochinis, these continue to be Jewish food in Israel.”For me it was interesting to note that some of the recipes like the 'puttu' and the 'string hoppers' were similar to those made in parts of Sri Lanka. There must have been some historical links for it is a fact that good foods finds its own way to as wide an area as possible. Many recipes in the book are totally alien to me despite the fact we live a few kilometers across the sea from Kerala. I have already tried a few recipes. Avial which is a medley of nutritous vegetables is my favourite. It is also no wonder that the world is now catching on to the long-hidden treasures of Keralan cuisine, after the heavy dose of North Indian cooking that our tastebuds have become so familiar with. What the book offers us is a refreshing change."Spice and Kosher" wil be a true discovery for all those who love good food.

Recipes are good but many ingredients are not easy to call by. Most recipes are quite lengthy to follow and instructions are not always clear.

sent this to my daughter. she's absolutely delighted with it and can't wait to try some of the recipes.

The book is extremely informative on the cuisine of Kerala Jews of yester years. From personal study i realize the recipes are original and bloody dam good when prepared.CON: The physical quality of pages and printing on the book i received was horrible.Smudging on pages, crumbled pages and misaligned printing. Looks like there is no quality check for books from amazon. I was in hurry to use the book so did not return and wait a week for new one.

Being a native of Kochi, I am familiar with this cuisine. But the book gives me opportunity to go into its minute details and refine my knowledge. Something I found interesting is that the Jews realized the magic of coconut and they applied it in their recipes. To put it in another way, they accepted Kochi cuisine and adopted it into theirs. The book is really informative and the recipes worth trying. Thank you Dr.Essie Sassoon, Bala Menon and Kenny Salem for bringing out such a book!

I've tried a couple recipes so far, and they are excellent. There were no pictures, but I thought the recipes stand on their own. Definitely one of the those rare finds that I will treasure. I would recommend this book.