The Rules For Eating With Your Hands In India, Africa And The Middle East

Eating with hands:

Watching a black and white James Bond 007 movie, the child asked “Why the hell he is running so mad”? “To reach a phone cabin”, explained his mom. “Oh Bond does not have a mobile?”, whispered the child. These questions definitely come to innocent minds that are brought up in iPhone age. But what the world would be like before cutlery?

During the summer, Oprah Winfrey happened to be in India and had a traditional dinner with an Indian family. She was eating sitting on floor when she inquired if people in India still eat with their hands. Her question and her observation was taken as a harsh criticism on Indian culture but that is still the custom in various sub-continent and Middle east countries and even in Africa too.

Although some take this to be uncivilized or even barbaric as people from West do not know how to eat with hands. But here we explain how things happen in various cultures without being rude to anybody as we talk about customs:

In India

Indians would wash their hands, yes they religiously wash hands and then use their right hands to scoop their food from the utensil where it was served onto a round-sheet like bread called ‘chapati’ or ‘roti’ or ‘naan’. The bread is eaten with curry or meat or veggies or even a mix of two or three with just a smart ease and convenience. Then the person uses his/her fingertips so the food could reach the mouth. People do not bring their plate to mouth nor do they lower their head either too. People keep taking small morsels of food one by one till they are full and the food does not reach their palms nor do the fingers enter their mouths. Their technique is very simple. They use their thumb to give a friendly ‘push’ to their food to inside the mouth. Some feel that using fingers, they can mix the food better producing a better taste. Some feel that using hands helps to connect brain to stomach and that is great for digestion as the use of hands adds a personal feeling to food.

In Africa

African culture also recommends using right hand for food. Fufu is a popular food which is made from a root of a plant like sweet potato that is boiled in water and mashed then given shape like balls. This is served with meat and soup. The person eating food should pick it using thumb and next two fingers to pick and then push it into the mouth. The host would place two water bowls to wash hands, one for before food and other for washing after the food. Some people also lick their fingers as they finish food.

In The Middle East

Eating with hands is almost the same like India and Africa. The traditional way of mixing food is different in all three places. Indians would keep mixing the food even while their mouth is full. Africans would do the other way and Arabs would place a common large plate in center of the table or in the middle even when they sit on floor for eating. Using right hand and washing hand before and after food is common in all three places. Arabs also enjoy hand-to-mouth eating and the etiquette doesn’t differ much from Africa and India than in the Middle East. It’s all the usual to use right hand only or scooping food using fingers and then wash your hands before and after the food.

You too, brace yourselves in USA

Some people have started eating with hands in USA too. There are places like Zak Pelaccio’s which is basically Malaysian-inspired Fatty Crab that encourage eating with hands. If you find someone deterring taking food by hand, you can enlighten him of the pros of taking food by hand to add taste and personal feeling.