10-year-old Malayali chef prepares 33 dishes in 1 hr, kid grabs record

KOCHI: Idli, uthappam, paneer tikka, corn-fritters, mushroom tikka, sandwich, waffle... don’t mistake it for a restaurant menu card. These are among the 33 dishes prepared by 10-year-old Malayali chef Saanvi M Pragit within an hour. Her effort has earned her a place in the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records for making the maximum number of dishes in an hour by a child.
Hailing from Ernakulam, Saanvi is the daughter of Wing Commander Prajit Babu, an Air Force officer currently based at the Naval base Visakhapatnam, and Manjma H K, a corporate trainer and dancer. Saanvi, a Class VI student at Navy Children School, Visakhapatnam, set the record on August 29 at the age of 10 years 06 months and 12 days.
Of the 33 dishes, 27 were fire-cooked and six were non-fire cooked. In fact it was the first time she cooked using a gas stove and managed a four-burner stove like a professional during the record-setting performance. She was inspired by her mother Manjma, a reality cookery show finalist. Manjma said Saanvi showed fascination for cooking at the age of 2 when she started watching her mother and grandmother cooking in the kitchen.
“At the age of 2, in order to make her sit quiet I used to give her a small portion of Atta to knead, which she would happily do. Her toys were mostly utensils. Later, she started helping me with cooking and when I participated in a cookery reality show in Ernakulam, she accompanied me. Knowing her passion, we trained her and she picked up very fast,” said Manjma.
Saanvi has participated in many cookery shows for children and won honours. She showcases her culinary skills on her YouTube channel named ‘Saanvi Cloud 9’. Saanvi is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and is adept at horse-riding.
“Cooking is my favourite hobby but I never thought I could create a record. I am happy about the achievement and hope I would try for the world record some day,” said Saanvi.