Left out of Food

mira4bai4

Having just dinned on a Chickpea Korma dish and as usual discussing the attributes of Indian cooking my wife and I came up with a real problem. I think that it might be a con mind you as something does not quite fit. Well, so we eat with our right hand, don't touch utensils and bowls with our left, okay can cope with that but c'mon, how does anyone prepare and cook food if the left is out of bounds. I know that it is a con as I have seen at the langar 50 or so Indian ladies making chapattis all together and it was certainly a double handed operation, also all of the food prep and mixing is not one handed. Don't believe, me try it yourself, chop an onion with one hand, try the chapattis one handed. It must be a con, otherwise its magic.

So please, enlighten me on this one as I am really confused and that is dangerous, if I play by the rules I will starve.

Nick-H

Yes. Perhaps we have an oversimplified view of this custom. Another thing, when peopple are eating with their right hand, they will pick up the glass and drink with the left. Makes sense: it would just get covered in food if they used the same hand!

Perhaps it it just the putting of food into the mouth that requires the right hand?

Most Indian customs seem to have an easy relationship with practicality

Further guidance please?

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SHIMLA

Of course preparing the food is a double handed operation. One can also use both hands while eating - I do, especially when working through Tandoori chicken ! Try eating a Tandoori chicken with only one hand - the difficulty is doubled and the pleasure halved.

Customs are customs, one must adopt what is convenient without offending anybody and today hardly anybody is offended if you use your left hand while eating.

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cyberhippie

Like Nick and Shimla have said this mannerism seems to be ignored when it just isn't practical to do things with one hand!
I try to follow the rule where I can as I think do local Indians, really though a lot of these customs and traditions seem to be dying out, it's the same with not wearing shoes in someone's house I also try to follow this tradition but as often as not my host waves me inside without taking off my shoes!!

Dino

It is so good to hear this !! Last visit to India I only really enjoyed Tandoori Chicken as a room service dish as in the privacy of my room I could rip into it with both hands and not worry about the one-handed custom.It was really only thali like meals that were easy to eat right handed in public,for me anyway.

ddevadatta

Not sure one needs to take the right hand only as an absolute rule. I think it has to do more when you are in public to use the right hand only. We use both hands for so many things but right hand/fingers for eating. Use right whenever possible and for most dishes.

I remember when I led a Business India seminar at the city I used to live in. I explained eating with fingers this way after I asked the audience why they thought Indians eat with their fingers while we in the the west discourage our children at even an early age from doing so.

I think there are two reasons: It gives a better opportunity to mix the foods more evenly for better taste but also because Indian foods are best eaten when they are piping hot and the fingers serve as a better temprature (a buffer) gauge than our lips and tongue which are more sensitive to heat.

I was suprised how many indians came to me after the seminar and said that was the first time they had heard of it and it made sense and made them feel better with eating with their fingers in the west.

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sadhuji

as one of my friends used to say - rules are for fools.

he used to partner me in contract bridge games, but his advise is valid for many situations!!!!

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