About the Book
*WINNER* - FORTNUM AND MASON AWARDS DEBUT COOKERY BOOK 2023
‘One of the Best Cookbooks of 2022’ – Delicious Magazine, Bon Appetit, New York Times, LA Times
Accompanying book of the much-loved Sri Lankan restaurant in the heart of London's Borough Market
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'Cynthia takes us on a journey through the stories and memories of her family to decipher the rich oral tradition of Sri Lankan cooking. This book makes me hungry to travel, explore and eat new things, especially curries' - Yotam Ottolenghi
'A thing of great beauty and heart. The food jumps out at you with a promise of deliciousness. I want to cook every single recipe' - Anna Jones
'A joyous book, stuffed with tantalising food and beautiful writing. Cynthia’s recipes and reminiscences speak with warmth and heart and soul to the experience of those of us with roots elsewhere' - Shamil Thakrar, Dishoom
'This book is a diamond in the rough: a proper (and honest) insider’s guide to Sri Lankan home cooking via Cynthia’s kitchen. I picked up this book for the food, but I’ll treasure it forever for the stories' - Meera Sodha
Rambutan tells the story of Sri Lanka’s unique, spicy, fresh, vegan-friendly cuisine that deliciously combines Javanese, Malay, Indian, Arab, Portuguese, Dutch and British influences. Cynthia serves up a feast of over 80 simple recipes, including coconut dal, hoppers, cashew nut curry and her mum’s slow-cooked Jaffna lamb curry. You'll also find recipes from the bustling Borough Market restaurant of the same name, including crunchy fried potatoes with turmeric, pineapple curry, sticky chicken rice and black pork curry.
Stories of family and travel combine with beautiful landscapes and candid photography to show both ancient and modern Sri Lanka. From crispy hopper pancakes to spicy drinking snacks, this exuberant guide is for beginners and experienced cooks alike.
About the Author :
Cynthia Shanmugalingam is a British-Sri Lankan cook who grew up in Coventry in the UK, visiting Sri Lanka every childhood holiday and eating dishes adapted by her mother and grandmother at home.
She has run pop-ups and street food stalls since 2014 and is the founder of a social enterprise street food truck, Kitchenette Karts, which helps ex-offenders get a start in the food industry. In 2019 she started doing Sri Lankan Rambutan pop-ups and in 2023 opened her widely critically-acclaimed Rambutan restaurant in the heart of London's Borough Market. She has been featured on BBC news and WePresent alongside a spectrum of print media.
Review :
'It’s not just a collection of recipes, although those are diverting enough: for black pork belly curry and crunchy fried potatoes with turmeric, for coconut dal with kale, prawn curry with tamarind and so much more. It’s also an exquisitely illustrated journey across the culture and history of Sri Lanka, via its food. It is a song of coconut and sambols, of tempered spices, fresh curry leaves and fruit with salt and chilli.'
'"Curry Everything" says the title of the curry section in this delicious book. To which I reply: "Bring it on!" But that's not all. Cynthia also takes us on a journey through the stories and memories of her family to decipher the rich oral tradition of Sri Lankan cooking. This book makes me hungry to travel, explore and eat new things, especially curries.'
'Cynthia’s gorgeous book is full of the sorts of recipes, stories and images that burst with soul and personality, it’s impossible not to fall in love with her and her food. The honesty, humor and generosity of spirit that flows from each page is a true gift to anyone who reads it'
'This book is a thing of great beauty and heart. The food jumps out at you with a promise of deliciousness. I want to cook every single recipe'
'Rambutan is a joyous book, stuffed with tantalising food and beautiful writing. Cynthia’s recipes and reminiscences speak with warmth and heart and soul to the experience of those of us with roots elsewhere, of growing up feeling slightly displaced, of having to come to terms with different cultures'
'This book is a diamond in the rough: a proper (and honest) insider’s guide to Sri Lankan home cooking via Cynthia’s kitchen. I picked up this book for the food, but I’ll treasure it forever for the stories'
'Passionate, beautiful, eye-opening & totally engaging. This is a book I struggled to put down, not just for the incredible photography or delicious sounding recipes but the storytelling around family and history which cements this as one of those books you need on your shelf'
'The vivacity of storytelling, of spices and the freshest produce grown in the sunniest of climes is poured into recipes that beguile and transport the cook if not to Sri Lanka then at least to the kitchen'
'Rambutan takes us by the hand to Sri Lanka, a tantalisingly delicious cookbook filled with spirited tales, cooking knowhow and tender family stories'
'Full to the brim with bright, vibrant, colourful recipes. I love this book and want to cook and eat my way through every page!'
'For those of us in the Sri Lankan diaspora food remains one of the principal ways in which we remember the country of our birth. Cynthia evokes memories of grandmothers grating coconuts, kitchen fires that seemed to burn all day and, most of all, the sharing and the talking around a table laden with food'
[Shanmugalingam] offers recipes from across [Sri Lanka], all illustrated with vivid photographs that capture intense tropical colors of dishes both savory and sweet…Shanmugalingam's recipes reflect the diversity of Sri Lanka, home to Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian religious traditions, each with its own inventories of favorite and forbidden foods.
With her vivacious writing style, enhanced by images of her ancestral homeland and its people, Shanmugalingam's energetic narrative and tasty recipes offer readers a veritable feast for the senses…Rambutan is a cookbook to be savored for its abundance of accessible recipes and celebration of Sri Lanka's joyful food culture. It invites readers to experience the fascinating trajectory of one family's culinary history.
‘A mix of memoir, travelogue and stunning photography – shot through with tantalising recipes from lacy egg hoppers to her mum’s Jaffna lamb curry’
‘Mouth-watering recipes for curries, sambols (coconut side dishes) and more’
