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Tuesday, February 07, 2006 - (see all news for this day)
eating with hands - 08:01 PM
(filed under 'bahrain')
in western society, it's considered very uncouth to eat with your hands. i have no idea why. maybe they think it's unclean or something, but if you wash your hands well, there's nothing unclean about it.
years ago, i once shared a meal with a friend which was made to be eaten with the hands. you scooped up a small amount of some stuff which was made to a pasty, mashed potato type consistency (could have been semolina, but don't quote me on that) & then you used that to dip into yummy, meaty sauce.
since we've been here in bahrain, we once went to an ethiopian restaurant & ate a dish there with a type of bread that was used to pick up the meaty dish, also to be eaten with the hands.
i really love eating with my hands! i can't put my finger on exactly why, but there's something about eating with your hands that makes a meal so much more enjoyable. perhaps it's that you're literally getting more in touch with the meal. maybe that you're getting your body involved more in the eating process, or maybe just that you don't have that metal taste of utensils interfering with the taste of the meal.
kalyani, our housekeeper, is sri lankan. traditionally, sri lankans eat with their hands & she has done so on the occasion that she's brought her lunch with her & eaten it here. from what i understand (& please do correct me if i'm wrong), it's the same with some traditional bahraini meals.
a day or so ago, kalyani had for her lunch a really nice arabic dish with rice & some chicken to go with it. she gave smiley & i some to try & it was delicious so i asked if she'd cook it for us the following night. so i've been practising eating this dish with my hands. i've seen kalyani shape the rice, using just one hand, into kind of egg shaped balls & then just pass it into her mouth (or smiley's if she's giving him some) really easily & cleanly. when i try it i end up with rice all over my hand & spill more as i'm trying to get it into my mouth.
it's trickier than it looks. however, since i enjoy eating like that so much, i'm going to persevere & keep trying. i suppose i shouldn't really be surprised that kalyani is so much better at it. she has had about forty-five years more practice than i have.
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