O Tama Carey

As much as I love cooking – which is fortunate, because I’ve spent a good part of my life toiling at it – there are still times when it just feels like an essential and annoying chore. Mostly it’s fine, as I tend to have very strong and specific …

Dhal (also spelt dal, daal or dahl) refers to either a dried lentil, bean or pea – sometimes split, sometimes whole – or to a dish made from any of these. It’s a small word that covers a multitude. Originating in India, dhal has proliferated all …

When I was pregnant, I sought out something wholesome to watch, which is how I got hooked on The Great British Bake Off. I started from the beginning and, scarily, managed to watch 14 seasons before the small person was born. I loved every moment. …

Potatoes are nothing short of perfect. There is nothing they cannot do, no way they can’t be cooked, and each way is best. A perfectly boiled too-young potato, straight from the ground, is one of the sweetest things I have ever eaten. A crispy hot chip …

I’m not sure if it’s only me, but I feel when you’ve been cooking for a long time there will be dishes you create that you love but that somehow you forget about. Ones you cook all the time that become favourites and then for some reason disappear …

If you were an alien landing on Earth, you’d be forgiven for thinking tomatoes are in season all year round. They are, of course, always available in supermarkets and grocers, thanks to greenhouses, but it is a far and sad stretch from seasonality. …

It was an unpleasantly sweltering day and I was doing errands, probably feeling slightly harassed. I walked into the fruit shop and was stopped in my tracks by the sweet perfume of strawberries and mangoes. It was heady and alluring, the smell of summer, …

As I write, I am in a little port village in France, an hour north of Bordeaux. It was once a town of flour mills but is now home to fishing boats that catch eels in the estuary in winter. There’s a slight chill to the air and it’s misty and autumnal. …

Spring has sprung, warmth is creeping in, asparagus is popping up and fresh peas abound. It is truly a glorious moment. So, to take advantage of the delicate vegetables at our disposal, here is a recipe from the current menu at Lankan Filling Station. …

Staff meals in a commercial kitchen can be anything from delicious to indifferent to very bad. Regardless of the quality, if you have worked in a restaurant, I can almost guarantee at some stage you have been served pasta – usually penne or some other …

I was pleased to learn there is a phrase to describe that experience where you discover something new you’ve never heard of before and suddenly it’s everywhere. It’s called the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, and it happened in a big way to me with …

First, I would like to apologise for not sharing this recipe sooner – it is simplicity itself and the base recipe for endless dinners, lunches and breakfasts. It’s one of my staples and a favourite for many dishes I have cooked and eaten. Poor lentils …

Seasonality of produce is complicated in this country of many climes, and many of the things we eat are as introduced as the majority of the population. When I think of autumn, I think of mushrooms, so let’s close our eyes for a moment and pretend we …

As the temperature starts to cool, I suddenly begin craving warm puddings straight from the oven. These feelings usually overcome me in the evening while sitting on the couch – an inconvenient time due to no forethought or preparedness. I suspect my …

This is a long recipe, so I shan’t waste space talking about it too much. Its length is due to the specific nature of the chopping methods and to the separate steps of the sauce. And it does involve deep-frying, which may make you less inclined to give …

I love a seafood broth any which way. There’s something celebratory about it that feels lush and decadent and as though care has been taken – probably because a good one involves a bit of extra effort and thought. I remember the classic Provençale …

It’s seconds away from Christmas Day, which leads me to wonder how you possibly have time to read the paper and, even more so, how you have room in your brain to contemplate a new recipe. No doubt your Christmas menu was planned weeks ago, the shopping …

With the weather properly heating up, we are hurtling towards more beach time, sunscreen and mangoes in a way that is thoroughly Australian. Go into any fruit and vegetable shop and you will likely find trays of mangoes for sale despite dire warnings …

As the weather rapidly warms, thoughts turn to outdoors, beaches, quick and easy dishes and Aperol spritzes. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen sweating over a hot stove, it’s wonderful to have something that’s easy and delicious that can be …

Dealing with whole crabs can be a real crowd divider. While most people agree that crabmeat is sweet and unctuous, many people will only go with the luxury of eating it when someone else has done the hard work and picked it for them. Admittedly this is …

Sausages are an easy go-to meal and so often combined with mashed potato. Rightly so, a classic and comforting dish, simple to make, hearty and oh so good for winter eves. Beans and sausages are an equally good combination in my mind and are often braised …

Making one’s own pastry is an admirable skill everyone should acquire. But it can be time-consuming and is sometimes not worth it, especially when it comes to filo. I have been known to make filo and it has been delicious and rustic and oh so satisfying, …

Mulligatawny is a dish I’d heard of growing up. My mum spoke of it – it was a soup her mum made for her when she was sick. As far as I was concerned, it was Sri Lankan and a mythical cure-all soup with an excellent name. Somewhere in my memory Nan …

There are endless shapes and names that fall under the category of pasta, and learning about them, making dough, rolling and shaping is a pastime that can be endless and obsessive. The feel of the dough when rolled to the point of delicate silkiness is …

I have mentioned this many times before in various places, but I feel that it shouldn’t be understated: I love Asian breakfasts. (“Asian” as a blanket word is not great, particularly in terms of food; however, I do think we can make an exception …

The end of daylight savings signifies a definite shift to our rhythms, the way we feel and the way we eat, whether or not the weather complies. And yes, there is a little chill to the morning air, but I am not entirely convinced that we won’t still …

Wrapping a piece of fish before you cook it is an excellent way of dealing with its delicate flesh, as it offers a certain amount of protection. Make a parcel of it, add other ingredients and suddenly you have a lovely little package filled with flavours, …

We have a very roomy balcony that, at various stages, has produced a small to mediocre number of edible delights. I have great intentions and visions of the bountiful beauty it could be but, at this moment, even watering it can be a chore. Our intermittent …

With the end of January fast approaching, it’s time to reflect. Have you spent the past few weeks eating and drinking too much? Entertaining and at parties? Dressing up and cleaning up? But even as the silly season winds down and life returns to normal, …

There is great beauty in cooking traditionally, learning about the flavours and techniques of countries and their dishes, how they came about and their origins. This can be a never-ending process, once you get into it and learn the ways, but it will allow …

We are thankfully living in an age where cultural appropriation is frowned upon, and rightly so, but when it comes to food and cooking, I feel as though the edges are a little blurrier. If you look at any country’s cuisine over the past few hundred …

I know it’s not for everyone but there is something about the tactile nature of eating food with your hands that makes me happy. I love having to make a little effort, constructing or building something before the reward of a delicious mouthful. There …

You know how there are some recipes that are so common in your world that you assume everyone knows about them? Like the orange and almond cake. In my mind, it’s so familiar that mention of these two ingredients together instantly conjures a complete …

I was thinking spring thoughts and these delightful, fluffy dumplings came to mind. If you have never had them, think of a cross between gnocchi and a delicate, simple ravioli filling. The mix is made and left to rest in flour or semolina to firm up and …

When you stop to think about it, the word curry is quite clever – it’s a term that covers an almost endless array of dishes. The flavours it covers range wildly, and traditional versions are found all over Asia and bastardised versions have been adopted …

Winter’s end is near but there is still time for us to talk about braised meats. Slow cooking has the advantage of being easy: combine a pile of ingredients, add some heat and you’re done. Put a pot in the oven in the morning and, with no fuss, dinner …

For most of my life I have very firmly been a summer person. I love being hot, swimming, beaches, tropical islands, barbecues and picnics, glary daytime sun and long sultry evenings. It feels energising. Winter traditionally made me a little grumpy, feeling …

Having a few mussel dishes up your sleeve is a very handy thing. They are relatively cheap and easy to source, you can cook them faster than it takes to decide on takeaway and they play agreeably with so many flavours. Go buttery with lots of garlic, …

One of the things we have learnt in these times of Covid is that lasagne, despite its Italian origins, seems to have made its way into the Australian psyche, becoming a strong contender for a spot as one of our national dishes. We have adopted and bastardised …

Naming dishes can be fraught with danger, especially when you are making up a recipe that hasn’t existed before and is a culmination of techniques and flavours picked from here and there. Calling these little beauties doughnuts feels wrong even though …

The idea of seasons is so important, they indicate change and movement yet are cyclic and are constantly returning. Here in Australia, though, they are somewhat curious, as we live by a European notion of them that has never really correlated with the …

I am all too aware that this recipe has the potential to be dismissed. Not only does it use a fiddly, lesser-known cut of fish, but you must also deal with the idea of deep-frying at home. If you are willing to try it, however, the rewards will be great. Let’s …

If you don’t know what a mallung is then please allow me to introduce you. Also known as mallum, it’s a Sri Lankan side dish that is usually purely vegetarian. Like a salad, which can be anything really, so too is a mallung. And like a refreshing …

There is something very satisfying about eating pie in any of its various forms. It’s comforting, usually easy to eat, and often, but not always, better with some saucy bit on the side. The variations are endless; what you put in, the type of pastry …

One of the interesting things about food and eating is how throughout your life your tastes can morph. I spent most of my life blissfully on the fence about the idea of cake. There were some delicious ones of course, but my cravings generally veered towards …

I have a love-hate relationship with eggplants. We had an auspicious start, years of deliciousness, until we hit a rocky patch, in no small part due to me. And, although it’s smooth sailing once again, the memory of that fractious period refuses to …

I love a cocktail. I love the glasses, I love the ritual of making them, I love aperitivo hour and I love nothing more than sitting at a bar drinking them while eating snacks. My go-to is a dirty martini, the murkier the better, although if there is a …

Plump, ripe, fresh-picked berries, still warm with the heat of the sun, are true summer bliss. These fruits have a delicate nature, and are small and vulnerable, needing to be handled with care. I don’t think there are any berries I don’t like, although …

Apologies, but this recipe does come conditionally: you will need a spaetzle maker; a little obscure, I know, but relatively easy to find and inexpensive. I bought mine on a trip to Italy prior to ever actually having made them. It was autumn, up near …

As much as I admire rhubarb, I still think it’s a tricky beast. For a start, it has an identity crisis: it’s a vegetable masquerading as a fruit. Second, its leaves contain high amounts of oxalic acid, which is poisonous. You would need to eat a lot …

Potatoes are nothing short of perfect. There is nothing they cannot do, no way they can’t be cooked, and each way is best. A perfectly boiled too-young potato, straight from the ground, is one of the sweetest things I have ever eaten. A crispy hot chip …

Back in the good old days, when you could move more than five kilometres and make plans in advance, we booked a holiday house for Christmas – 10 days by the beach with a smattering of overlapping friends. Our restaurants were closed, which meant any …

I love citrus, a family of fruits all with a sour tang and varying degrees of sweetness, their history a tale of hybrids. There were four firsts – citron, pomelo, papeda and the mandarin, the only sweet one – that were mixed and interbred so successfully …

Before you dismiss the idea of cooking crab because you think it’s too hard, please give me a moment to persuade you that it’s not. I think most people will agree the flesh from a crab is delicious. It’s succulent, sweet and slightly salty, with …