By P.T. Bopanna
The once popular Kodava dish Thengé-motté pajji (coconut and egg chutney) has vanished from the Coorg table.
This writer believes that the disappearance of the dish has more to do with the notion among Kodava women that eggs tend to shoot up the libido in the man.
There is this mistaken belief among women, especially in Coorg, that eggs induce ‘heat’ in a person.
However, the excuse given for avoiding the liberal use of eggs is that they contain too much of cholesterol which is bad for the heart.
But who can tell these women that the former chief of Tata Steel, Russi Mody, used to have 16 eggs for breakfast and lived up to the age of 96 years!
Moreover, coconut and ghee are a big no-no for these diet-conscious modern women.
A few decades ago, women in Kodagu (Coorg) were robust, unlike the women nowadays. It was even considered in the Kodava society that men should die in the battlefield and women at childbirth.
Because of the mistaken notion of eggs being ‘heaty’, it is difficult to revive the once popular dish. Who can tell these women that research now shows eggs are not bad after all, while ghee is good, and coconut is being touted as the new wonder food.
As long as women control access to the kitchen, it is difficult to revive the once popular dish of Thengé-motté pajji.
Sharing the link to Thengé-motté pajji recipe:
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