Authors Maya Kerthyasa and Wayan Kresnayasa shine a light on the depth and diversity of Balinese cuisine by sharing native recipes and ingredients from across this widely beloved island. The insightful cookbook includes more than 80 recipes through seven chapters: Paon (the traditional kitchen); Foraging & Farming; Food from the Hills; Food from the Sea; Food from the Fields; Food from the Pasar; and Ceremonial Food. It also considers the links between food and worship in Bali, sacred fare (food for medicinal and spiritual purposes), and zero-waste cooking (because the traditional Balinese kitchen has always been a sustainable place). Maya, who is Ubud based and a descendent of the Ubud royal family, and Wayan, who has worked widely in the US and now oversees plant-based Indonesian restaurant Tanaman, take readers on a journey through rice fields, food forests, coastal towns and bustling markets. Their food focus is equally wide ranging, from elaborate ceremonial cuisine to dishes that rely only on the simplest ingredients enjoyed at their unadorned best.

Paon is an essential book for lovers of Indonesian food and culture telling the nuanced and largely untold story of the island: everyday Bali, modern Bali, agricultural Bali. Life beyond the tourist traps.

Other cookbooks by this author

• Paon: Real Balinese Cooking