Haath Ka Kamaal !

The other day I was watching a cookery show in one of the regional channels- the presenter was the director of a catering college and a well known chef too. Armed with my pad and pen I eagerly looked forward to adding yet another recipe to my collection. At the very start when he announced he was going to prepare suraa ( a type of fish ) kuzhambu (or sambar),my enthusiasm took a beating. Being a veggie, the very name put me off ! To kill a lazy afternoon I anyway decided to watch ( curiosity got the better of me, I guess !).

The host - a man of generous proportions (khathey peethey type – like Obelix of Asterix fame !)- set about the task of preparing the dish while giving a running commentary. Whoosh! He dipped his hands into a bowl of water and took out the pieces of fish and placed it on a dish. (by now I was feeling a little queasy- but curiosity continuing, I watched ! ). Using his hands he took out onions, tomatoes ,chillies, garlic- ginger paste and put them into the kadhai for frying. Wiping his hands in his white apron (no doubt a new apron being used for every show ), he proceeded to take out the spices and the required masala from the containers using his hands once more. Not once did he use any spoon or spatula except while handling the kadhai ! By the end of the show, there he was standing with the dish laid out before him -with his apron clearly (rather, messy !) bearing the proof of his efforts !

The secret probably lies literally in his haath ka kamaal ! Whether suraa kuzhambu is prepared using only hands to get that extra flavour or not I cannot say -for obvious reasons ! In the meanwhile only those who dare to prepare suraa kuzhambu in the above mentioned manner ( using only hands !) can pass a judgement on that ! After all yeh to zubaan wali baat hai !