Book Review: J B Lobo's Home Encyclopaedia

JB Lobo's Home Encyclopedia is the only recipe book my grandmother ever referred to when cooking, so almost every woman in my family has a copy. The book is plain text, there are no glossy pictures and an average of 3-4 recipes on each page. A bare bones recipe book, it expects the reader to have a good grasp of cooking. It does have some rare recipes like that for suckling pig Manglorean style that are difficult to find elsewhere. While it claims to have recipes from other parts of the world, remember that this book was written over 25 years ago, so those recipes aren't completely authentic. But the Manglorean recipes are really good. More than half the book is taken by the home encyclopedia which has home remedies for everything from sore eyes to snake bites and scorpion stings. There is a section on how to guard against burglars, how to clean ivory articles and how to buy a cow by checking her udders. There is even a section on sex education. While the book at 900+ pages is quite heavy, only 250 pages or so are dedicated to recipes. I do wish they would come out with a version that has just the recipes. It would be so much easier to manage while trying to cook from it. The book is also published in Kannada as Gruha Sangaathi & I think it has both a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian version. Rating : 4 / 5

Some Manglorean Recipes

Some of my recent Manglorean Recipes with pictures.

1. Moong ani Keerlyache nisthe - Green gram and bamboo shoots
 

2. Charmuri/Jhalmuri - Puffed Rice snack


3. Sambhar


4. Dosas & Idlis


5.Mussels Masala Fry

6.Mince Cutlets/ Indian burger patties

Recipe : Squid / Calamari Chilly Fry

I don't know, if any of you have had this at home. Its more Malyali than Manglorean, but the taste reminds me of food from my childhood.

My recipe is here on : http://jhovaan.blogspot.com

Recipe : Sannas

Recipe for Sannas, added to my food blog.

Click here : http://jhovaan.blogspot.com/2006/07/sannas-rice-cakes.html

Recipe : Prawn Bajjes (Pakodas/Fritters)

Prawn bajjes were an evening treat we relished as kids. They weren't made very often because of the high price of prawns & financial prudence dictated that they were better suited for a curry that would go a longer way especially with potatoes and green mangoes added to the mix.

See my recipe on http://jhovaan.blogspot.com

Recipe : Sheera / Sweet Upma

For recipe, look here

Recipe : Idlis

Check out my recipe on http://jhovaan.blogspot.com/

Recipe : Haldikolyacha Patolis (Turmeric Leaves Patolis)

Turmeric Leaf Patholis are different from Jackfruit leaf patholis.

Mom made some when I was home last week.

More details here