Cuisine
The Old Man And The Punjabi Pinni
by KHUSHWANT SINGH (Chandigarh)
Chandigarh, Punjab
Fauja Singh has been a brand ambassador for Adidas and recently became the poster 'boy' for PETA.
He could well become an icon for pinni producers too.
The West has taken fancy to the Punjabi sweet, thanks to this 100-plus marathon runner. Fauja has been telling the Europeans that pinni could be their passport to fitness.
He proudly says, "Main sverey uthde hi alsi di banni hoi pinni khanda haan ... mainu vekh ke hun taan goreaan ne bhi pinniaa(n) bnaoon te khan shuru kar ditti hai" (I have pinnis the first thing in the morning ... Now people around the world have started making and eating pinnis).
"Whenever I go for a marathon run or for an athletic event in Europe, the media keeps chasing me and asks me the mantra to stay fit. I tell them about the nutritious pinnis. Now pinnis have become a routine diet in many households abroad," Fauja says.
Pinni is made of flax seed (alsi), nuts and jaggery cooked in rarefied butter.
"A lot has been written about pinnis in newspapers in the West and they have been marketed in a big way through loudspeakers and pamphlets, during my events. Now pinni is a popular sweet among the people in the West. You can get ingredients of pinni, sufficient for two months, for just 30 pounds sterling," he added.
Meanwhile, Fauja, who is fond of buying new shoes and warm suits, went on a shopping spree at Sector 17 in Chandigarh the other day. There he was thronged by a legion of fans, who sought his autograph and got pictures clicked with him.
[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
January 4, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), January 05, 2012, 5:49 PM.
Pinnis are pure power for the body, but only if the body is used!