Taste Canada Award 2020 Best Regional Cookbook
“Coconut Lagoon modernizes Indian cuisine, pushes the boundaries, and creates something truly world class.” —Steve Beckta, owner of Beckta Dining and Wine
Buy Book“Joe Thottungal takes readers on a delightful culinary journey into the colourful world of Kerala cuisine and celebrates its authentic flavours. Highly recommended.”
—Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire and High Commissioner of India to Canada
With its tranquil beaches, lush mountains, and incredibly delicious cuisine, Kerala, located in southwestern India, is often called paradise on earth. It’s a place where traditional dishes are born of a unique geography and enhanced with spices such as mustard seeds, curry leaves, and coconut milk. In fact, it’s one of India’s most exciting culinary regions.
Coconut Lagoon by Joe Thottungal, is a collection of 80 easy-to-make recipes designed for home cooks. The cookbook features authentic regional dishes such as mango pickle, dosa, Malabar parathas, biryani, Thrissur-style fish, and banana fritters, as well as more widely known Indian recipes that are loved around the world, such as chai, butter chicken, and poori. You’ll even find traditional vegetarian dishes that are served at the Onam sadya, the annual harvest festival.
Handy sections on ingredients and equipment as well as basic how-tos teach home cooks how to navigate the cuisine with confidence. Moreover, the book offers a list of gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian recipes, making it an ideal reference for those with special dietary requirements. Coconut Lagoon is a delicious tribute to family, food, and home, Kerala style.
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“Although a confident cook, I wasn’t brave enough to tackle preparing Indian dishes prior to reading this book but I am now! The supplied ingredient guide plus Joe’s helpful and interesting descriptions for each recipe make this book even more useful and enjoyable.”
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“Even the Kerala-Style Veggie Stew, which has quite a few ingredients, was straightforward. The end result was pure cozy, spicy comfort, and it was so delicious I even impressed myself!”
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“Joe Thottungal takes readers on a delightful culinary journey into the colourful world of Kerala cuisine and celebrates its authentic flavours. Highly recommended.”
–Vikas Swarup, author of Slumdog Millionaire and High Commissioner of India to Canada
“Chef Joe Thottungal always cooks with passion and love, and he brings the authentic aromas, flavours, and textures of south Indian food to his restaurant Coconut Lagoon. It is the benchmark of Keralan cuisine.”
–Peter Joseph, chef of Michelin-starred restaurant Kahani
“Coconut Lagoon modernizes Indian cuisine, pushes the boundaries, and creates something truly world class.”
–Steve Beckta, owner of Beckta Dining and Wine
“Joe Thottungal is a rare talent when it comes to making delicious and exciting food. A Coconut Lagoon book, full of his secrets, will be a welcome addition to anyone’s collection.”
–Marc Lepine, chef of Atelier
“For a great primer on South Indian cooking, pick up a copy of Coconut Lagoon […] The end result was a pure cozy, spicy comfort, and it was so delicious.”
–Rachael Ray In Season Magazine
“Save room on your bookshelf for Coconut Lagoon by Ottawa-based chef Joe Thottungal. It’s a stunning collection of South Indian dishes created with home cooks in mind.”
–Elle Canada
“My copy of Coconut Lagoon, now spattered with ghee and coconut oil, gets an unequivocal thumbs up.”
–Taste and Travel Magazine
“If you’ve never cooked Indian food (from scratch), do yourself a favor, quiet the apprehension, pick up this book and see what you’ve been missing out on. With Coconut Lagoon, Chef Joe Thottungal has masterfully managed to translate his food that patrons of his restaurant savor in Ottawa into a book that beautifully guides home cooks in creating delicious Kerala cuisine in their own homes.”
–Honest Cooking
“Thottungal has brought a slice of exotic Kerala to home cooks with his easy-to-follow directions and eye-catching photographs. Thottungal’s passion and love for Kerala fare are evident in each and every recipe and are the ultimate guideposts for anyone who wants to know more about the distinctive food of Kerala.”
–New York Journal of Books