Kokni Delights” recipe book

[Jeanne Hromnik]

On the subject of recipe books:

 

Being starved of things Goan here in South Africa, I was intrigued by the title of this one, recently published here by Kampress. I asked the author if 'Kokni' was the same as 'Konkani'. Her response:

Kokni and kokani is more or less the same thing – there might be a slight difference in the way of cooking but perhaps not a major diff

 However I think Goan dishes are quite a bit different to the original kokni dishes – I often see recipes that come on TV from Goan chefs -

 

Any comments?

 

SOME INFO ON THE BOOK

 

Kokni Delights is a journey not only into the world of Indian cooking but also into the history of a vibrant community. The publication is a step-by-step guide to traditional Indian cooking, recipes which had been passed down over the generations.

 Parker explains: “My family comes from the Ratnagire area which is situated near Chipplun, while my in-laws come from Kalusta and Kotwal. Therecipes in this book, stems from these villages.”

 Food lovers can expect to find traditional Indian dishes for any occasion as the book features ‘common’ Indian dishes which will not necessarily be in a conventional cookbook. Parker said, “You will find recipes for example brinjal (eggplant) curry and fish curry which we call ‘aatoni.’ There are also an abundance of Indian sweetmeat recipes such as rhot (semolina plain cake), naan kataai (semolina biscuit), dudhri (baked milk almond pudding) and sandhan (boiled rice cake).”

 

For more details on “Kokni Delights,” contact Nujmoonnisa Parker on 084 240 9635 or send an e-mail to najp...@iburst.co.za.

 

AND A REVIEW (by Sumaya Samsodien)

I HAVE tried and tasted many recipes and I love reading cookbooks, but
was never requested to review one. While paging through Kokni Delights,
I came across the taystee wheat porridge recipe that made me reminisce
over my childhood memories; remembering nostalgically the days my late
father prepared this dish for the family on many a Saturday morning.

Being a Muslim, to this day I close my fast in Ramadaan and on weekends
with the traditional taystee wheat recipe. This recipe is great when not
feeling well as it revitalises the body with the correct nourishment.

The recipes in Kokni Delights were perfected in the many villages across
India and have been handed down from generation to generation by a
vibrant community full of history, rich in culture and diversity. There
are numerous dishes to choose from that cater for all - the meat lover,
vegetarian, fish eater and my favourite sweet delicacies. A few tweaked
and, dare I say, modern recipes are included.

The dishes are quick and easy to prepare. So if you want to expand your
Indian culinary repertoire, Kokni Delights is an excellent book to have
on your shelf and can make for a wonderful gift for the new bride.

[Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك نورونيا‎]

There are diverse spellings for the language and the region -- Konkani is widely used in the English language today (with the 'a' not pronounced too strongly). It is also called Konknni, Concanim (in earlier times specially).

Kokni is another rendering of the same word, which refers both to the language and the region along the west coast of India.

Since there is a lot of diversity in these areas still, there are differences based on geography, religious grouping or even caste. 

I guess when the author said "more or less the same thing" she was suggesting that it could be somewhat different because (i) it came from a region just outside of Goa (ii) it came from a religious background too.

Whenever a chance arises to visit the Konkan (Sawantwadi, Vengurla, Sindhudurg, etc) I don't miss the food there. Their fish preparations are particularly yummy! It is also interesting to see how is similar in some ways, yet different in others.

While we are on this topic, I would recommend that those around in Goa check out the *Wada Kombda* brand simple restaurants that serve fish/chicken-based Malvani food.  Very nice though unostentatious and reasonablypriced! 

Incidentally the coastal Konkan region is sandwitched between the Marathi culture of Maharashtra and the Konkan culture of the coast/Goa/further south. It's probably a region that is seen to be Marathi with a Konkani touch (by the rest of Maharasthra) and Konkani with a Marathi touch (by Goa and further south)! 

Sorry for going way offtopic from the subject of books! FN

PS: Jeanne, do tell us something about the books written by your late dad, and his work! 

FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 (after 2pm)

#784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India 

http://fn.goa-india.org http://goa1556.goa-india.org

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Third Thursday Goa Book Club" group.
To post to this group, send email to goa-bo...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to goa-book-clu...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/goa-book-club?hl=en.