Poetry: K Pankajam

K Pankajam

The Powerful Dominion

 

Small glass jars with  colourful powders sit majestic

crowned with smiles they make people crave for food

They are like cosmetics that make an average girl elegant.

Their smell leaps and twirls, makes my kitchen aromatic. 

 

Sambar splashed with mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves

with red chilly in coconut oil make one gasp deep, stir appetite.

Simple rasam with pepper, cumin and turmeric keeps corona under check.

But be aware, spices can also mask the taste of rotten foods.

 

The humble ravakesari is  delicious in  taste and smell,

cardamom plays the magic, drowning tongues in a sea of saliva.

Jaggery banana chips with dried ginger powder is great to munch

So also pazhampori, the king of snacks, don’t miss to taste it.

 

My grandma using firewood cooked mouth-watering dishes in  earthen pots

My Mom challenged our taste buds  using iron kadais on kerosene stove  

But my culinary skills can’t match with those dainty dishes even with  modern machines.  

I fear the future generations might do away with kitchen for processed  foods.

 

Life fast, costs high, sustenance hard, work time longer, no time to live,    

Adulteration, fast foods and junks snuff out  lives  untimely

Wish people realize this and be contented with least comforts, no luxuries .    

And awareness bring light to the people to consume healthy food.  

 

What goes down our gullet decides our health and welfare

Not too spicy, not too oily, the cook is the king of the dominion.

The art of cooking is like the art of living,  and kitchen,  the throne. 

To take the good and drop the bad is for us to decide.  

 

Rasam = soup made with tamarind, tomatoes, spices and aromatic herbs
Ravakesari = made from rava,  sugar, cardamom, ghee, saffron and dry fruits.
Pazhampori = prepared from ripe banana just like bajji.

 

 

A Smacking Snack

If one has to blame my taste buds 

please wait; I bet, the sight 

of the crispy orange delicacy 

just makes my mouth watery

invites me to try its tang 

and you can’t blame me

if my hands try to grab it.

 

What a pleasure to munch it

that makes one’s taste buds content! 

Besan flour with green chilies 

form a delicious blend 

to make one salivate.

Forget your medical charts for a while

and help yourself with some.

---

Setu, June 2022