Cookbook Review: Mavis Kookt

The best cookbook I've found yet on the food of Surinam, the former Dutch colony, with recipes for all the Surinamese classics, such as pom, roti, moksi-aleisi and various curries.

The immigrants from Surinam who settled in the Netherlands in the 20th century brought with them a bounty of ingredients, dishes and foodways. But there is still a lot to discover. After all, the Surinamese have traditionally kept their culinary secrets to themselves. As the Surinamese kitchen continues to gain in popularity in the Netherlands and ingredients from the motherland become more widely available here, it only seems fitting to review a Surinamese cookbook on this website.

The best cookbook I've found in this thinly populated genre is based on the recipes of Mavis Hofwijk, an Amsterdam-based caterer from Paramaribo, Surinam, who settled in the Netherlands in the 1960s. Her take on Surinam's interesting creole kitchen - a rich brew of South American, African, Asian, Dutch and European influences - has its own authentic taste and exotic character.

The book's title simply means 'Mavis Cooks' and this straightforward approach is brought home with a gritty design - some pictures are out of focus (this is presumably intended to be artsy) and often do not look all too appetizing - but somehow this adds to the authenticity. More importantly, the recipes work and Mavis' anecdotes, explanations and intros bring her food, culture and ingredients to life. As a caterer, she has clearly reduced the recipes for at-home use (often too much so, so that I find myself doubling the amounts if I want leftovers), but this does make the book handy for singles and two person households, for a change.

If you've always wanted to learn how to make roti, moksi-aleisi or pom, this is the book for you. In fact, the 'Massalakip' (Surinamese chicken curry) recipe alone makes the book worth its purchasing price.