Food and Cooking of Africa and Middle East: A ... (ISBN 0754815285)

One of the best African AND one of the best Middle Eastern cookbooks:
Note: Amazon might have this listed by Mark O'Shea. It is not by him but by two women, Josephine Bacon and Jenni Fleetwood. It's hard to believe, but in under 300 pages, the authors have managed to assemble a "greatest (culinary) hits of" TWO major, highly diverse regions--Africa and the Middle East. As a North African with many cooking-minded friends from the (West Asian) Middle East and from West and East Africa, I can assure you that many of these recipes appear in a form at least recognizable to cooks hailing from each of these regions. I say recognizable instead of authentic, because in every country, there exist so many different variations of the same dish--ethnic variations, regional ones, and even one family's preferred version versus another's--that I don't think any cookbook, restaurant, or native cook can rightly claim "authenticity." The Amazon price for this coffee-table-size and -quality book is wonderfully low, at least to me (I paid the unfortunate list price in a bookstore). Every single recipe is gorgeously arranged by food stylists and photographed in full color. Many recipes illustrate each step of preparation with mini full-color photos. The authors begin with an illustrated and surprisingly detailed multi-paged overview of both African and Middle Eastern cuilinary norms and standards. A few pages provide lists of the typical ingredients you might need to search for/amass before embarking on African/Middle Eastern recipes. The recipes included here are ones very contiguous between even the furthest Asian reaches of the Middle East--Persia/Iran, for example--and interior, tropical Africa. A multi-cultural minded cook could easily prepare one of the Persian rice dishes, for example, alongside a Kenyan stew. Fans of South Asian (especially Indian) cookery will warm quickly to the many delicious North and East African tagines/stews provided here. Since coastal Africa is itself a mix of interior indigenous, Arab, Persian, South Asian, and European cultural elements, coastal African food from all over the continent will please many palates from around the globe. The recipes are for the most part very easy to prepare, with very clear instructions and thoughtful descriptive paragraphs prefacing each recipe. The authors have clearly traveled in the region, as many of their little tips and hints are consistent with my own experience. All of the famous "national" dishes with which you are familiar--Moroccan Bisteeya and Couscous; Ethiopian Doro Wat and Injeera bread; Tanzanian curries; pan-African plantain dishes; West African joloff rice; Persian wedding rice; pan-Arab kebab and kofta; Levantine stuffed grape leaves; Egyptian grilled pigeon--are here assigned thoughtful recipes which I believe would meet with many native cooks' approval. I'm impressed with the extensive bread, rice/starch, dessert and beverage sections, which some authors are wont to overlook somewhat. Some examples include East African coconut chapati flatbreads; Shirin Polo (a festive fruit-and-nut pilaf); North African chilled Almond Milk; Moroccan Mint Tea; Orange-Blossom and almond milk-and-rice pudding from North Africa; East African fried banana fritters; and rose-flavored Turkish Delight sorbet. Highly recommended for Western cooks interested in expanding their culinary horizons, or for cooks from one of the included countries interested in discovering links between their own cuisine and that of other regions or nations.

Virtually every recipe is a hit!:
I bought this book craving new flavors, and this book did the job well. I've tried many of the recipes from the book and all but one have been successful and DELICIOUS! The instructions are easy to understand and the ingredients are easy to find. I HIGHLY recommend this book, its a staple in my cooking shelf.