Paati Puts Purpose On A Plate

"Good morning! Inniki enga paal rasam eppidi unnarudhu nu kaam-chitharen (Today I will show you how to prepare thenga paal rasam),"" announces the frail voice of 9-year-old, Bengaluru-based Saraswathy Narayanasamy,

- RAMA R

Good morning! Inniki enga paal rasam eppidi unnarudhu nu kaam-chitharen (Today I will show you how to prepare thenga paal rasam)," announces the frail voice of 9-year-old, Bengaluru-based Saraswathy Narayanasamy, on her Instagram page, @neiyerpaati. Draped in enviable South cotton, wearing a simple gold chain around her neck, and sporting a small black bindi topped with vibhuti, Saraswathy projects a kind of disposition that's rare to find among her contemporaries.

Her warmth-filled voice, spirited demeanour, and granny-like audacity assert her presence on social media. All with an intent and grace to share what she loves—recipes that warm the tummy and the heart.

Saraswathy paati, as she is fondly known among her followers, is the ninth of the 16 children born to her parents. Her twin sister passed away six months after birth, and her mother when paati was 11. With her father not keen to hire a cook for this large family in Kozhikode, paati, who found motherly love in her maternal aunt, had to pick up the ladles as a little girl.

"My chitti (maternal aunt) didn't particularly teach us cooking but I learned by observation and inquiry. I watched her make sambar, rasam, molagutal, erissery, mor kozhambu, and vettal kozhambu, etc. But she did teach me to make sweets," she shares.

Not just cooking, paati attributes her learnings of kitchen etiquettes to her chitti. A clean towel tied around the waist while cooking and a different cloth to wipe hands were habits she adopted from her aunt.

"Mysore pak first-class aa pannuven (I make Mysore pak really well)," she adds with a coy smile.