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WHAT IS AN IMPORTANT ‘QUALIFICATION’ FOR A COORG GIRL TO GET MARRIED?  

By P.T. Bopanna

IN A LIGHTER VEIN!  A few decades ago, the first question a boy’s side would pop out during match-making was to find out whether the girl knew how to prepare akki otti (rice chapathi), the most important menu for breakfast in a Kodava  household.

Though nowadays this may raise the hackles of women libbers, the fact still remains that if a woman from Coorg knows how to prepare akki otti, she has a better chance of making her marriage work!

Akki otti still remains the most popular dish. In some Kodava households, it is served for dinner also. The secret of the popularity of akki otti is that it goes well with any curry or chutney.

However, the priority in the match-making market in Coorg has changed these days. With women becoming career-oriented, it is a badge of honour for a prospective girl to claim that she does not know cooking. This is to say that she has no time for the kitchen and not ready to mess up her fingers cutting onions and vegetables. Moreover, it is so downmarket to say that she cooks!

But not many girls realize that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And cooking akki otti could in fact be the best recipe for a successful marriage! These days, there are mixies and roti presses that make it easier to do the kneading for akki otti.

It is said nowadays there is division of labour in the kitchen and men do the kneading for akki otti and women do the rest.