Poems by Poornima LaxmeshwarVolume 2 | Issue 1 [May 2022]

Kaka explains how to define a woman by her cooking with examples

by Poornima Laxmeshwar

Volume 2 | Issue 1 [May 2022]

E.g. – 1

X’s stuffed brinjal:

[Brinjal half-sliced + stuffed with onion + tomato + authentic masala, slow cooked with peanut powder + jaggery, garnished with coriander.]

Tastes best with hot jowar bhakri + butter on top.

Keyword is balance.

E.g. – 2

Y’s menthehittu:

[All dals + some rice + some methi seeds + some jeera + some pepper + some dhaniya + some blah blah blah.]

Tastes best with hot rice + a spoonful of ghee + a pinch of salt + any pickle.

Keyword is endurance.

The aroma of hing clouds the senses but not the taste: twist of tale.
Roasts the ingredients one-by-one-by-one-by-one. Tolerance is a slow build.
Orders the flourmill woman to grind the flour to the finest bit. Here, perfection comes to those who don’t compromise.

E.g. – 3

Z’s sugar poli:

[For dough – maida.]
[For stuffing – sugar powder + cardamom + poppy seeds + cocnut.]

Best suits any mood when served hot.

Keyword is practice.

The stuffing is never more than the dough. So, there is never a mismatch. Proportion is an intimate understanding just as an opinion is.
Roasts until right brown which means crunch isn’t a hoax that smells like a promise of freedom.
Thin as wafer, as quiet as silence.

Who’s the best cook as per your taste, I ask.
The best cooks are always men, he says.