An 'Edible' Education

The Kochi-based Sanaa Abdussamad runs 'Kidchen', where children ranging from three to 10 years are taught the joys of cooking

Photo by Albin Mathew 

By Shevlin Sebastian

When Sanaa Abdussamad announced to a class of five-year-olds, at Kochi, that she was going to make spinach chips, there was a collective groan. One of them says, “I don’t eat spinach because I don't like the taste.” Many children nodded their heads. Unfazed, Sanaa gave them all paint brushes and says, “We will put butter on each spinach.” So the children had to use the brush in a similar way to painting on a piece of paper.

Thereafter, the children sprinkled some herbs and spices like oregano. And each child put it on a baking plate, which was put inside an oven. When it came out, it was like thin crisp paper. “I gave them a tiny flake,” says Sanaa. The children liked it so much that they mobbed Sanaa. “In the end, we made four batches, so that the children could take some home,” she says.

Sanaa runs 'Kidchen' or Kids' Kitchen. This is an introduction for children, aged three to 10, to the joys of cooking. And, she imparts the kitchen skills of chopping, baking, whipping, and folding.

They make all kinds of food, like bread, pizzas and burgers. “But it is all prepared in a healthy way,” she says. So when the children make pasta, the dough, which is made by them, consists of vegetables. “Instead of adding colour, we will make a red pasta made of beetroot,” says Sanaa. “Orange pasta is made of pumpkin or carrot.”

Many children ask whether they could make cup cakes. So, instead of sugar, Sanaa uses dates. “So, in the end, they are eating a healthy snack,” she says.

She also teaches them to make eggs, appam and dosa but in a baked version. “I don’t use fire around the kids,” she says. “For boiling, I use the induction stove. The knives we use are nylon. It cuts fruit and vegetables but not skin.”

While the exercise is primarily about food and cooking, through these classes, Sanaa is also teaching subjects like vocabulary. “We don’t use words like 'yummy' or 'yucky',” says Sanaa. “So, when we are tasting something we use words like acidic, pungent, bitter, sour or sweet. The children know that honey and sugar, while they are both sweet, can be described differently. Honey is sticky, while sugar is sweet.”

When three-year-olds bake cookies, Sanaa will give them circular cookie cutters of different dimensions. “And I will tell them to cut one of each size and then stack them in ascending order,” she says. “This is similar to playing with blocks. So, 'Kidchen' is an 'edible' curriculum.”

Sanaa does classes in schools and on weekends, sometimes at her home or in a restaurant. “So far, there has been a lot of positive feedback,” she says.

Indeed, there is. Parent Angeleena Andrews says, “I have two daughters, Isabelle, aged six and Abigail, who is four. They had a blast. They learnt a lot of new things. And they are now more than keen to help me in the kitchen.”

Adds Sanaa: “Moms have told me their children would never eat spinach but have started doing so,” she says. “Many of them have also started eating more vegetables and fruits. I have realised that when it comes to children you just need to present things in an interesting and creative way.” 

(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)