BIBLICAL WARS
With the publication of Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible, does this mean, the ultimate curry biblical war between Madhur and Pat Chapman, whose own Curry Bible has recently republished? Pat's original was first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1997. The new edition is now out, details below.
THE NEW CURRY BIBLE
Published by Metro, May 2004 at £19.99. ISBN 1-84358-087-X 208 pages. 150 colour pictures. 280 x 230mm. This definitive, gorgeously illustrated book for all curryholics, brings together a wealth of information on how to prepare a perfect Indian meal. All the favourite curry house dishes are arranged in menu order, with descriptions, recipes and pictures of every one. Some are compared with their authentic classic counterparts. All are easy to cook giving superb results. Step-by-step colour sequences, ingredients, utensils, store cupboard list. An illustrated A to Z of Spices. Menu suggestions. The Daily Telegraph's Max Davidson said of Pat's Curry Bible: “A truly authoritative book. Chapman is to curry what God is to the Old Testament.” Pat Chapman's Curry Bible has been republished in May 2004. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, click pat@patchapman.co.uk, and I'll advise you how to obtain your copy. Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible was published in October 2003. Pat tells the story.
Pat Chapman’s Curry Bible was published in 1997 by Hodder, and sold out in two months, going out of print five weeks before Christmas. 45% of all annual book sales take place in those five weeks, but inexplicably, Hodder declined a quick reprint. Instead they waited a year until they brought out the paper back version. This too sold out before Christmas, and having learned nothing from the previous year, and because the paperback sales were lower than the hard back, Hodder again declined to reprint. Eventually I obtained my rights back (no mean feat) and the book was republished in May 2004 by Blake Publishing. I signed the contract on 2nd July 2003. Unbelievably, on 14th July I discovered another publisher had elected to use my title. Ebury Press was to publish Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible on 2nd October. Book titles are not copyright, though it is unprecedented for publishers to copy a distinctive title in recent use. I contended to Ebury that though the words ‘Curry’ and ‘Bible’ are in common use and are therefore generic, that in combination they are distinctive and attributable to me, and I have built part of my reputation on this title. [I had a similar problem when registering Curry Club in 1982. Jordans, the registering company, refused at first saying the words were generic. It took seven years to convince them that in combination the words were distinctive and unique.] Surely Curry Bible is in the same category? Is there not a danger of the public being confused into buying the wrong book?
Random House lawyers bluntly replied that because my book is out of print, because their book size and cover differs from mine, because Madhur is an ‘icon’, and because no one will confuse her for me, they will not be changing the title There will be no chance of any passing off, they say, therefore I have no legal claim against Ebury. Not having experience of copyright law, I obtained legal advice. A solicitor I know felt I did have a strong case. For a second opinion he recommended I talk to a junior Lincoln’s Inn silk; “he’s a bit pricey, but he’s good”. A ten minute phone call (£100 +VAT) found the barrister equally confident. “We need a heavy-weight silk” declared my solicitor. And he found two; “a smoothie and a rotweiller”. I chose the latter – £500 per consultation. All was set to meet. Then I took stock. Appearing in the High Court to try for an injunction would cost at least £15,000 per day for my legal team, and much more for rotweillers. If the case got bogged down, it could take days. The stakes for me were winning and a change of title or damages for loss of sales, or loosing and payment of the plaintiff’s costs “and you can be sure they’ll be expensive” cautioned my solicitor, as well as my own. And the odds: one judge might decide for, another against. Not wishing to loose all I owned, I called it off. Ebury won without a fight.
Ironically, on October 11th 2003, I appeared on BBC TV’s Saturday Kitchen with Madhur. She was there to promote her Curry Bible. As it happens her book is in her usual style, and takes a very different slant on the subject to mine, including many recipes from non-curry nations such as Vietnam. We talked of many things, but I didn’t ask her why she’d used that title, nor how many people would buy her Curry Bible thinking it was mine. I didn’t even rant. Fortunately, now my book has been republished, lots of people are again buying mine. I don't know if they are mistaking it for hers, but I hope so. My publisher wanted an adjective to preceed Curry Bible. It’s hard to upstage "Ultimate". I asked you the public for ideas. You came back with the "Original Curry Bible", the "Best Curry Bible", the "Only Curry Bible", the "Supreme Curry Bible ", the "Ultimate, Ultimate Curry Bible" and "THE Curry Bible". There were a few unprintables, but you all showed me so much support, and I thank all who contacted me and all who have bought the book. Incidentally, my publisher chose to use the word : New Curry Bible". Not really original, and maybe a wee bit confusing, since the content is the same as my first version. But hey, who cares. At least it's back and you love it. So if you haven't yet bought yours, here again are the details:
THE NEW CURRY BIBLE
Published by Metro, May 2004 at £19.99. ISBN 1-84358-087-X
Pat Chapman can be contacted on pat@patchapman.co.uk
PAT CHAPMAN REVIEWS MADHUR JAFFREYS ULTIMATE CURRY BIBLE
Peter Ward has designed a sumptuous 352 page book, containing 200 recipes. Rows of shiny red chillies on the jacket sparkle out of a velvety matt black background. The sub title says “India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Kenya, Great Britain, Trinidad, Guyana, Japan, USA”. This gives you your clue as to the book’s content, confirmed after a glimpse inside where you’ll also find recipes from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, Vietnam and Hong Kong. The endpapers depict a colourful map of the globe with dotted lines criss-crossing it, explorer-style. Entitled ‘The Curry Trail”, it indicates the voyage Madhur says took her five years to complete. In her introduction, Madhur tells us: “For the purposes of this book I have designated as a curry any Indian or Indian-style dish with a sauce. “It is not my definition”. It was the early British, she explains, created the word ‘curry’ ... “but it seems to have stuck”. Madhur continues: “As an Indian who has lived for long periods in both Britain and America, and has travelled extensively around the globe, I have sampled curries, some familiar and some quite unexpected, on six continents.” So be warned.
What links this global curry take, somewhat tenuously in certain recipes, is the use of spices. Since the book is entitled Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible, it begs comparison with Pat Chapman’s Curry Bible, pub 1997, my book. Clearly Madhur has a totally different interpretation of the subject matter. My Curry Bible features the recipes one gets at curry restaurants, comparing some with their authentic roots. Madhur doesn’t do that, nor is she likely ever to do so. Whether this is the Ultimate book on the subject of curry or not, is debatable. Madhur’s choice of recipes are idiosyncratic rather than definitive. So if it’s curry house you want, stick with my book. But if, as many do, you adore Madhur’s style, with her refreshing global perspective on spicy dishes, this book is for you. The 26 page historical introduction takes the reader from India and into the wider world of curry. As one would expect from Madhur, the 200 recipes are well-written, unambiguous and they should work. One third of the recipes are Indian, 20 are Pakistani, 13 are South African. The remainder are split between the 15 remaining countries. Some have an authentic base, but others have a modern twist, especially the nine attributed to the USA. Since the States are not noted for excellence in curry, we find with relief that these are all Madhur fusion, many, she tells us, cooked for her violinist husband’s music parties. The six recipes attributed to the UK are mostly from old Raj cookbooks. ‘Hard-boiled Eggs in a Curry Sauce’ (p116) and ‘Cold Veal Curry-in-a-mould’ (p76) for example are hardly everyday British dishes, though you may find the latter as intriguing as Madhur says she does.
Two recipes attributed to the UK which drew my attention are ‘Cardamom and Black Pepper Chicken’ (p 105), of which Madhur states: “many versions are to be found floating around in London’s Indian restaurants”. I have to say that in all the years I have been reviewing such restaurants, I have never encountered this dish. That aside the recipe looks appetising. On the other hand who doesn’t know Chicken Tikka Masala? Madhur has fallen into the trap by saying it is easily one of the most popular dishes in the UK. and “I am forever being asked for its recipe.” (Me too!). But again I’ve never heard it referred to as ‘Silken Chicken Tikka Masala’ (p101) and if it’s curry house recipes you want I would say that this is one of Madhur’s weaker recipes. On the other hand her Duck Vindaloo (p108), and Royal Chicken Korma (p84) are both as far removed from the formulaic curry as the good lady herself, and they are delicious, authentic recipes. And Madhur does not encourage short cuts. For example in her ‘Spicy Peanut Sauce’ for Satays (p299) she correctly uses roasted peanuts rather than taking the shortcut with peanut butter. Eighteen attractive full page colour food photographs by William Lingwood, with graceful styling by Penny Markham and Lucy McKelvie appear throughout the book, and these are interspersed with some historical sepia and colour photos, mostly from the V&A. It is always possible to nit-pick. The ingredient ‘Tamari’, used twice in the Japanese-style Beef Curry (p72) is not explained there, nor in the glossary. (It’s wheat-free soy sauce). On page 180 Madhur refers to the word ‘chownk’ as “interesting. Hold on to it,” she writes “I will return to it shortly,” (presumably to define it). She doesn’t. (it’s another word for ‘tarka’; a fried topping for lentils). The amusing photograph of a red cockerel, opposite the title page does not inform us that this is gallus gallus, the jungle fowl. There is information about it on page 78 but no cross-referrence to and from the relevant pages. Indeed none of the photos are captioned. Boiling live crabs may not appeal to all (Kerela Crab Curry p132), though Madhur does allow a frozen crab alternative. And the proofreading of p150 gives us an irrelevant full stop and some repetition in the text. Such errors lie in production, not with the author. But for a publisher of this magnitude, and a price tag of £25 they should not have slipped through. But let me stop here before I am accused of bias. This is an excellent book. It may not be the ultimate, but there is plenty of information new to me, and I look forward to cooking from it. But woops, my website is not here to sell rival books! This is the Curry Bible you need:
THE NEW CURRY BIBLE
Published by Metro, May 2004 at £19.99. ISBN 1-84358-087-X
Pat Chapman can be contacted on pat@patchapman.co.uk
