Sweet Hands
July 5, 2006
When I was growing up, it seemed that no-one even knew where Trinidad was located (let alone Tobago!). Things are different now. Just recently, I stumbled across three references to Trinidad and its cuisine in mainstream American print media. Saveur, one of America’s top food magazines, published an article devoted to Trinidad Carnival in their March 2006 issue. Chile Pepper Magazine also featured Trinidad in the very same month, giving special attention to Trinidad’s local Congo chile pepper. Topping both these articles was the release of Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago, by Ramin Ganeshram, a 247-page cookbook full of recipes and anecdotes wholly Trinidadian.
Books on Caribbean foods are a dime a dozen, but not since the ever-popular Naparima Girls’ High School Cookbook came out in 1988 has such a comprehensive book solely on T&T cuisine been published.
Sweet Hands is not a flashy cookbook with color photos for every recipe, but it is well-written and very complete. The book covers all types of Trinidadian main dishes, street foods, appetizers, breads, soups, drinks and desserts. All the classic dishes are included: Pelau, Callalloo, Buljol, Doubles, Dal Puri and Buss Up Shut, to name a few. Ganeshram’s recipes are easy to follow, making them amenable to the amateur cook as well as to the die-hard Trinidadian gourmand.
Though of Trinidadian descent, Ganeshram currently resides in New York, and has written her recipes with the North American cook in mind. She is true to her Trinidadian roots, listing traditional local ingredients, but always offers substitution suggestions for her non-Caribbean readers – collard greens for dasheen leaves, cilantro for shado beni. The glossary of ingredients and dishes at the back of the book is an excellent reference resource to those unfamiliar with the cuisine. In this regard, Ganeshram educates her readers on the finer points of Trinidadian foods.
Sweet Hands is more than a textbook, however. As I read through the book, I found myself getting the urge to return to Trinidad and Tobago to visit all the places she mentions and to seek out the food experiences she describes, from high tea at the Pax Guest House in Tunapuna, to roti at Shiann’s Roti on Cipriani Boulevard. I doubt Ganeshram intended Sweet Hands to be used as a travel guide, but it certainly could be read as a handbook by the food-obsessed wanting a Caribbean vacation.
Some people use cookbooks simply as references for meal-making; others read cookbooks like novels. Both types of readers will be happy with Sweet Hands. Ganeshram’s personal anecdotes and stories about friends and family make the book highly readable. The pages are littered with histories on ingredients and culinary traditions, so even if you’re not looking for what to make for dinner, you’re bound to come across something interesting.
Being of Trinidadian descent but living in the United States myself, I appreciate Ganeshram’s book as a clear and accurate explanation of the food and culture of Trinidad and Tobago. In her introduction, she mentions that “an inordinate number of people don’t know where Trinidad and Tobago is”, and I have to agree. I have encountered this lack of knowledge often, and constantly find myself following any reference to T&T with the explanation “off the coast of Venezuela”. Things are changing, however, and I believe that Sweet Hands will contribute to the public relations of Trinidad and Tobago here in the United States and elsewhere. Meanwhile, as more and more people get their hands on Sweet Hands, don’t be surprised to see more culinary tourists heading to Trinidad.
Sweet Hands:
Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago
by Ramin Ganeshram
Hippocrene Books
March 2006
$29.95/Hardcover
ISBN 0-7818-1125-2
Well, I’m amazed at your experience. I’ve never had to explain to anyone where Trinidad is. They might not know what part of the Caribbean it’s in, but everyone knows it’s part of the West Indies; and given T&T’s performance in this year’s World Cup, everyone outside of North America will certainly have heard of the country once again.
Well, yes, times are changing. I guess you had one experience, and Ramin Ganeshram and I had another. I wish everyone knew T&T is part of the West Indies, but I admire your optimistic view of the public’s knowledge of geography. Did the T&T soccer players have a map on their jerseys? Just wondering.
‘T&T soccer players??” You don’t know they are the Soca Warriors? You’ve been out of the loop really long, too long, come back
I still have to explain to some people that it’s not in Jamaica, but most everyone knows it somewhere in the Caribbean
i live in ONTARIO CANADA, whats the closest store that i can purchase this book.
thank u for your help & time
Hi Jay,
Amazon.ca sells Sweet Hands, so you should be able to have it shipped right to you.
Thanks,
Meredith