Thirteen-year-old Kethareswari likes the simple, but tasty sathunavu served in her corporation school. “There’s sambar rice, boiled egg and sundal,” she says. But her favourite dish is the soya-chunks biryani made at home. Ask her if she would she like it if the biryani was served instead of the sambar rice in school, and she grins: “Definitely.” “We like anything different,” adds her friend Rihana.
Tasty alternatives
Students under the Tamil Nadu Government’s noon-meal scheme could soon be eating a scrumptious meal of biryani and masala muttai for lunch, thanks to Chef K. Damodaran. Damu has been invited by the government to train sathunavu cooks on a variety of new recipes that could replace the mundane sambar and sundal.
Chef Damu says that he has always wanted to cook good food for children who cannot afford it. When Jayashree Muralidharan, the district collector of Trichy, asked him if it was feasible to serve better food for children under the noon-meal scheme within the cost stipulated by the government, Damu was more than willing to help. He says, “I had already prepared a menu with 13 recipes, taking their nutritional requirements into consideration.”
After several rounds of discussions with officials, 25 village schools in Srirangam district were identified. “I made vegetable biryani and masala muttai for the 350 children who were under the noon-meal scheme,” says Damu. The menu was an instant hit — the kids loved it and didn’t waste food too. “There was an increase in their attendance the next day,” he adds.
Damu also gave a cooking demo the same day to 250 noon-meal workers. He taught them ways to maintain hygiene in the kitchen and explained the need to properly wash and dry vegetables and utensils before cooking. Soon, M.C. Sampath, Minister for Rural Industries and Noon Meal, wrote to Damu and a cooking workshop was held at a corporation school in Chennai. “About 450 cooks and coordinators from 16 districts, including Coimbatore, Pollachi, Madurai, Salem and Thoothukudi attended the demo,” says Damu.
He taught them to prepare dishes such as tomato biryani, kondaikadalai pulao, vegetable biryani, bisibelabhath , keerai sadham , tomato egg, masala egg and pepper egg. “The recipes and cooking methods come within the cost stipulated by the government,” explains Damu.
Damu taught them to innovate: instead of serving boiled potatoes, he suggested frying the potatoes with masala. Add grated coconut to boiled gram instead of serving it plain, he recommended. “The aim is to make children eat and not waste food,” he says.
Chef Damu has written to the government expressing his willingness to train sathunavu cooks in rural areas. “I have received intimation to start from August,” he says. Damu’s priority is schools with minimum facilities. He hopes his recipes will be served to all children who are under the noon-meal scheme in the State.
It’s not just about serving tasty food. Damu wants to train cooks on spotting rotten eggs and vegetables. They will be taught to wash vegetables with salt and turmeric before cooking. “For instance, if rotten eggs are dropped into water, they will float up. The same is the case with brinjal,” explains Damu. “This way, we can reduce food poisoning .”
A CD containing cooking demos and a recipe booklet for noon-meal cooks are also in the making, he adds.
Good food can make all the difference to a child, says Damu. She will be healthy, come to school regularly and in turn do well in studies. “Every child should eat heartily and be like me,” he laughs.
