Ammamma's Kitchen: Cherished Family Recipes from My Kerala Home Paperback – May 28, 2020

This is a serious effort by a good author who has taken the time to do a good job of writing and photographing a good book.There aren't many Kerala cookbooks available, so this book doesn't have much competition. It's a good selection of Kerala dishes prepared in the same way that my friends from Kerala do it. I have westernized some of the recipes because I think they turn out better my way, but that's my choice. The important thing is that this book is a good starting point if you want to try Kerala cooking.Ingredients readily available if you have a good Indian grocery nearby. You will want things like curry leaves, which are an important seasoning. Even if you don't have an Indian grocery nearby, you should be alright so long as you order some spices online and make some substitutions so that you use what's available to you. The key for much of this is having the spices that make the food taste like the food of Kerala, and a few simple techniques. It's likely that you'll need to make a few substitutions, like perhaps using tilapia fillets instead of some of the fish indigenous to Kerala waters.If you're not used to spicy food, keep in mind that Kerala food can be super spicy hot, so be careful when using hot peppers. I reduce all of the hot pepper quantities dramatically and they still seem plenty spicy to me.