What makes me most happy, most content? I don’t have an iota of doubt about that. Whenever I can cook and feed a few, whenever I can be of help, or whenever I can teach anything and everything I know; (I know there are some who dread me teaching them Pythagoras theorem); especially if they are strange people whom I have never met in my life before. If that few can be in hundreds then I am super-duper excited, and when that is without any notice, it makes me challenge myself.
I love it, when it comes to cooking and feeding, I did it all my life and my one and only benchmark is my Valiammachy and my Amma was good at it too.
Food is the only thing we will say enough when full, theres a limit to what can be eaten by anyone, everything else one can ask for more and can have never ending desires.
My Valiammachy transformed to a very capable lady, when she started her life at Kayamkulam after Valiappachen completed his studies and started working. She was ever so willing to do any odd, mean and hardy jobs, she never complained ever. She believed in dignity of labor and in equality, she was so hardworking, worked tireless from dawn to dusk with a lot of willingness and happiness.
It was an ordeal giving her house hold help, I remember my Amma telling us, how the house help would get prosperous around the waist and Ammachy would get her white Chatta and Mundu grey around her waist.
If we travelled to Kayamkulam early in the morning, we knew what to expect, Valiammachy would be sitting and washing the pots and pans near the well in the square cemented area, with chakiry and chaaram (coconut husk and ash) while the house help would be listening to her veerashoora kadhakal (brave stories).
Making a note here of the most sustainable cleaning product Chakiry and Chaaram.
Ammachy was a kind soul and kept working and cooking all the time and she believed in serving everyone with love. That was her magic potion.
I am grateful to God for having given me the mind to enjoy the same traits and follow a lot of her ways in cooking till date.
I take a lot of pride in following her ways. I don’t believe in buying short cut mixtures and compromising anything I cook. I do from scratch cutting and cleaning fresh ginger, garlic, onions, chilly and using combination of red chili, coriander, turmeric powder and whole spices or my own home made garam masala and sambar powder.
Ammachy was awesome; she taught me certain fundamentals fish should be washed clean so clean that the water should look like tears. Meat shouldn’t be rinsed to lose all the blood it should be washed clean but never make it look white.
Rice and all grains to be washed clean with no mirk and stones!! And vegetable and fruits too clean and clear.
Those days we didn’t have to address adulteration of food and poisonous chemicals in vegetable, which has become a business now. Remembering good ole Maveli naadu vaana kaalam!!, Kallavumilla chathiyumilla ellolamilla polivachanam. (There was no lie, cheat, and false statements in our vocabulary during the reign of Maveli.)
Today there were 10 people working here and at lunch time they asked me to recommend a take away place, I had to tell them they are asking the wrong person, it was too late to get any food. I told them if they are OK to eat my rice and curry then all I need is 30 minutes. I was so excited in spite of all the ailment I had, I just had to remember my Valiammachy who would pick anything and create a curry that was so mouthwatering.
She would be walking around the yard plucking grass for her cows until 12 noon, and when she walks past the plavu (jack fruit tree) near the dining room she will pick a few of the chakkakuru (seeds of the jack fruit) in the flap of her nearly grey Mundu with the vishary (fan) and take them to the kitchen peel the skin and grind coconut and make a pachady. This is the best pachady I have ever eaten in my life and I know I will never get that ever again.
It took me less than 30 minutes to serve them rice and curries and I told them I can do this for the next 7 days until work finishes. They are super-duper happy to save time and I am so excited, I connect to the life of my grandparents and parents. The simple joys of life which I can never get anywhere ever.
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