Indian food a hands-on experience

TONIGHT'S special: spicy butter chicken with rice. Your nose reels in the exotic scents in the room but your eyes stay fixed on the dish before you.

To your left is a pair of chopsticks and to your right a fork and spoon. And of course, there are your hands. What's your weapon of choice?

The majority of you will grab the cutlery without hesitation, gulping down the hot curry and freshly steamed rice. The rest will probably reach for the chopsticks, finishing your meal with the occasional clatter.

And I bet none of you will opt for your God-given tool. The very idea leaves you staring at your hands blankly without the faintest notion of how to tackle this potentially embarrassing task.

There's no denying it. Indian food tastes better when eaten with your fingers. I'm sure everyone has dined in an Indian restaurant at least once. So it should be no surprise to say that the curries are full of robust flavour and spices, capable of setting your taste buds on fire.

The precision and passion that goes into preparing such dishes is, quite frankly, inspiring. And what justice do we give them? We stab at the food with a fork, knife or spoon and some even with chopsticks.

If you so much as think of picking up a piece of silverware in the presence of an Indian dish, say goodbye to the towering opportunities of taste. To put it simply, it's incredibly insulting.

Ever thought of eating pizza with chopsticks? No, I didn't think so.

Indian foods are designed to be eaten by hand. Breads, such as roti and naan, are meant to be broken and dipped into curry, while rice is blended with other dishes, such as chicken tikka masala and aloo gobi, to make each mouthful unique.

Isn't it the same as dipping a chip in salsa? It makes perfect sense.

Unfortunately, in the West the use of fingers has been referred to by many as uncivilised and rude. No wonder it's on the verge of extinction.

Think back to when you were last in an Indian restaurant. It's extremely uncommon to see anyone using their fingers in public since it is deemed unhygienic and barbaric. Rather, the method is used at the dinner table by Indian families behind closed doors.

The philosophy behind this is that in India, eating is seen as a sensual activity, besides being a cultural custom. By using your hands, you will be able to enjoy the process of eating with all five senses, the highlight being that you can feel the temperature (to avoid burning your mouth if too hot) and texture of the food, giving an added dimension to the experience.

On the other hand, as perceived by the Western world, this way of eating would be unacceptable, unless you're dealing with chicken nuggets or chips.

A prime example was the Indian challenge on New Zealand MasterChef . According to Emma Boyd, a contributor to the Fisher & Paykel "Our Kitchen" food blog , many contestants had forgotten vital ingredients and "the collective grasp on Indian cuisine faltered". Too right.

However, when it came to the judges, it was a different story.

Actually, it was worse. They commented that one of the contestants "used her spices with sensitivity in order to enhance and not overpower her dishes".

It seemed like a safe remark and I guess they wanted to appear professional. But they didn't even consider eating the food with their fingers, using forks and knives.

Where was the sensual delight in eating the food? Having an Indian challenge and not even being "Indian" about it must've drained all the flavour away. Oh, and never mind the fact that none of the judges were Indian ...

What puzzles me is that everyone knows how to use cutlery but hardly anyone knows how to eat with their bare hands. The fingers are a pleasure to use. And they are under your command.

There's no clashing of knives and forks during awkward silences at the dining table, nor is there the clumsy fall of rice grains from your chopsticks.

The secret to eating gracefully is to use your thumb: blend all the bits of curry and rice together to form a small pile on your plate and pick it up in the four fingers of your hand. Bring your fingers to your lower lip and, using your thumb, pop the food inside your mouth. Voila! With a few more meals as practice, you'll be eating like a native in no time.

A blogger on a popular online food discussion board "Chowhound" posted: "I love eating with my hands! It is unfortunate in the Western world it's ... looked down upon, but I just like the sensual experience of eating with my fingers."

My point exactly.

Don't get me wrong - cutlery is an admirable tool choice when tackling the task of eating. However, it fails to provide the same intimacy with food that fingers provide. Using your fingers is the most natural, hassle-free and convenient way to eat.

The hand is not something you have to buy or have made for you; it's a given. It doesn't even have to be stuck in the dishwasher. And there are no storage issues.

Give them a wash, put them back in your pockets and save them for the next meal. And whether you're right-handed or left-handed, it doesn't really matter. There's no fuss about which utensil is held in which hand or how you hold it.

It's just a matter of having an intimate relationship with food, taking your experience to a whole new level.

So the next time you dine in an Indian restaurant, ditch the cutlery. Instead, dig in, give your fingers a try and lick it all up. Just don't forget to wash your hands.

Neeshah Dahya, Year 13, St Cuthbert's College