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| Image Credit : http://cooksjoy.com/blog/2012/09/coconut-jaggery-kozhukattai-sweet-dumplings.html |
Her cotton saree safely tucked under her legs, she sat down
on the ground with the pot of dough and filling in front of her. Tradition demanded that cooking to be done on the
floor.
Her grandchild
Vignesh had been pestering her for a Khozakattai (rice dumplings) since the
last few weeks. Her energy levels off late have been so inconsistent that she
could not muster up the courage to venture into the kitchen for the last few
days.
Today was different.
It was her late husband’s birthday, she got up early and was bustling with activity,
before 8, she had already taken her bath, been to the local temple to pray for
her late hubby’s soul, arranged for a charitable lunch outside the temple; for the poor and returned in time to see off
Sid & Shobna to work.
It had always been a tradition to prepare sweets on
auspicious occasions. Birthdays & anniversaries
would warrant a feast at home and today was no different. Conveniently she had remembered Vignesh’s
demand and prepared the rice flour the previous day.
She now sat down to make little pouches out of the dough, it
would then be filled with small portions of coconut mixed in treacle of jaggery,
and steamed to produce a divine treat called a Khozkattai.
Shobna’s sister Parvati was visiting, soon she came down to
the prayer room, and finding Kuchalambal, engaged in kitchen, sat down on the
floor besides her. She had just finished
her engineering and was about to fly off to the US for her Masters.
‘Paatti’ teach me how to make these cute pouches, she exclaimed.
“Sure” replied Kuchalambal, extending a cup of sesame oil. “Rub
this on your palm and pick up a bit of dough”
Soon the duo was engrossed in making rows of
Kozhakattai. To Kuchalambal’s delight, Parvati
picked up the trick very fast and could keep pace with her own speed. Soon the
dough was all finished but they were left with a lot of filling, enough for making
at least two dozen more dumplings.
“Oh Paati”, Parvati exclaimed. “What do we do with all the surplus fillings
now”?
Well! Exclaimed
Kuchalambal,” I had asked the maid to prepare the ingredients, and was not careful
in supervision, no wonder we have wastage on our hands”. What would you do as a
manager Parvati?
“Had I been the floor manager of a factory”, Parvati earnestly started recounting the
options. “I could store it in the freezer and wait till the next demand for
more Kozhakattai’s come up, which could be an indefinite wait, and your raw material
could spoil in the meanwhile leading to losses”.
“You could prepare more dough and use all the fillings to
create few dozen spare Khozhakattai’s ; which then would require more efforts to
liquidate, there would be some additional input cost of production with no current demand for the product. That’s like
liquidating your raw material inventory to create finished goods which need additional
upkeep and storage and possible wastage”.
“Or you could innovate and use the fillings elsewhere, and
create some new delicacies, which will be lapped up by the consumer at a
premium and create additional income for your unit. The new items could also be
given as freebies with the existing products adding to customer delight.
“Which of these options will you use Vignesh”? She smiled at
her grandson listening keenly to the discussion.
“Paati” How old fashioned of you! Replied the bright nine years old.
First off all in the modern world we do not prepare things
on our own, we buy online.
Moreover traditional snacks like Khozhakattai’s are not ‘In’,
because they can’t be ordered online, we prefer snacks of the European and Chinese
variety which are readily available online. It is just that I am lucky to have
my ‘Paati’ with me who creates all these wonderful traditional delights especially
for me, replied the little one with an adoring smile.
But Patti, what were the options in your good old days?
Asked Vignesh
“Well children”, our times were indeed challenging.
Resources were limited and mouths to feed were large. Neighbours used stroll in
and out of our houses and neither was our kitchen out of bounds to others, so
we had to prepare for lot many people than we had members in the house. We
never were alone in the kitchen so guidance from elderly ladies in the house
kept wastage to the minimum. People
never used weights and measures; a fair guess by the experienced lady of the
house was enough to ensure the finest balance and delicacy in the output.
“We did not have any dashboards and measurements, yet we were
not allowed luxuries of wastage, so we were careful as to how much of raw
material we prepared. You see modern management may not have been born yet in
the good old days, yet the finest of qualities of humans and their products
were born many centuries ago. What you call management today is only the methods
of your struggle to deal with large volumes, we in our times used to feed the
entire village out of our kitchens in our own style without wasting a morsel”.
‘But the point to be noted is that life will throw up many
challenges to you as you grow, you have to be judicious about the resources at
your disposal, you could have situation
wherein you hired extra help, who are
waiting it out on the ‘Bench’. You have to own up the responsibility towards
these people who are then dependent on you for their livelihood, they then have
to be used like the extra filling. You cant afford to compromise them due to no
fault of theirs.
“Similarly you could have extra dough and no filling, go out
and prepare extra filling, and feed the masses, there will be people who will
be grateful to you. The more you give, the more you will get back in return”.
So saying she leaned against the wall, and slowly stood up,
collected the plate of dumplings. The water was boiling now, the cauldron ready
to steam the dumplings, soon the heady smell of the delicacy would waft through
the air. As Vignesh would make a killing on a plate full, Kuchalambal would
watch from the background lovingly.
Tenaciously she would then pick up one piece of Kohzhakattai
and savour it with guilt; her blood sugar levels did not permit her the luxury
of more than one indulgence.
Saree : A traditional Indian ladies dress ; a length of cloth used to drape around the body
Kohzakattai : also knows as Modak, a dumpling made of rice floor, with stuffing to suit the tastes, available in sweet, spicy varieties
Paati: Grandmother
