Sept_13

as decision makers, but only in an
advisory capacity.
What is a prominent change in
family structure over time?
Earlier, one was always surrounded by
people. For instance, a young married
girl was conscious of her mother-inlaw’s
likes and dislikes and adapted
herself accordingly. Nowadays, families
are smaller. Many young couples
live by themselves. Even in a joint
family, there is much more freedom
and individuality now. Youngsters are
much more conscious of their own
preferences.
Yamini V
Your daughter Geetha says that she
has learnt much from watching how
you took care of your husband, his
mother as well as the children.
I don’t think we thought about all this.
I just did it. In fact, from 1979, four
generations have lived here in this
very house. It required some adjusting
but it was never difficult.
What do you expect from your
children now?
Just that they should get along well
and be happy. My son married an
American girl and so did my grandson.
I am proud of their choices.
I am sure it was the broad-mindedness
prevailing in our family that allows us
to welcome people from different cultures
and languages as our own.
And how do you spend your day?
I take care of the house and supervise
the kitchen work in the mornings.
In fact, I have always loved cooking.
Even when I am not feeling too well,
I enjoy cooking. So my son has made
a wooden stool for me to sit upon
and cook.
What is the secret of your joy in
the kitchen?
When you have a husband who
says, ‘Prepare the dish however you
know and I will give it a new name,’
then you obviously feel encouraged.
FROM SMT DORAIAMMAL
NEELAKANTAN’S KITCHEN
Sojjiappam
A traditional sweet dish, sojjiappam
is one of the most favourite preparations
in the family. An interesting
variation of the famous poli, it is easy
to prepare and keeps for a few days.
Ingredients
For dough:
• Maida (plain flour): 1 cup
• Ghee: 2 tbsp
• Powdered sugar: 1 tbsp
• Kesari powder: 1 pinch
For filling:
• Semolina: 1 cup
• Sugar: 1 cup
• Coconut: 1 cup
• Jaggery: ½ cup, powdered
• Cardamom powder: 1 tsp
• Oil for deep frying
Method
To prepare the dough, mix ghee into
the maida well. Add sugar, kesari
powder and enough water to make
soft dough (softer than for chapattis).
Cover with a damp cloth and
set aside. For the filling, mix semolina
and sugar in a cup of water in a
thick bottomed pan. Allow to cook
on a medium flame until it reaches a
dough-like consistency. Mix coconut
and jaggery and cook on a medium
flame until the moisture evaporates
and it becomes dry. Add this to the
semolina mixture along with cardamom
powder.
To proceed with the sojjiappam,
make small lemon-sized balls of the
dough and make the same number
of balls with the filling. Heat oil in a
pan to deep-fry the sojjiappam. Roll
the semolina dough on a plastic sheet
with a rolling pin into a 2-inch circle.
Place the stuffing on top. Now draw
the edges of the circle inwards to the
centre and stick it together by pinching.
Gently flatten with your fingers.
Deep fry 3-4 at a time on a low flame
until crisp. Serve as dessert.
Pratibha Jain, an author and
translator from Chennai, is the
co-author of two award-winning
books Cooking at Home with
Pedatha and Sukham Ayu.
Her area of specialisation is
documenting Indian traditions
through research, translation
and writing
harmony celebrate age september 2013 33