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Tom-Tom is a deep-sided drum that is part of a modern drum kit. The modern Tom-Toms come with rims but the original was cylindrical with no snares. Tom-Tom is also a drum-hit used mostly to signal something. You must be wondering where all is this leading to. The word came to me quite literally on a drumbeat. My friend was desperately trying to signal me not to shoot my mouth off when an offensive little busybody was trying to sass his way to jump the queue at the ATM. Now this is nothing out of the ordinary in this part of the world but about time, we at least flexed our vocal muscles against the total disregard for decorum. I started a caustic discourse, which worked because the oaf glared at me and went to stand in line. My friend looked relieved and started to breathe again. The last time I was in a verbal battle of this nature the outcome was rather embarrassing, the person I was ticking off was the cashier trying to reach the Teller counter to get behind it!
Back to the Toms. Remember Tom, the Piper’s son who stole a pig and ran away? And then there is Tom, the lovable but dumb cat of Tom and Jerry fame. However, the Tom who gets all my votes is the elf Tom Thumb, the hero of English folklore no taller than a thumb. A mythical little fellow, full of mischief and utterly adorable. Mind you, he is not your standard dwarf but a Knight of the Round Table who assisted Sir Arthur in solving Dame Ragnelle’s riddle. When he was seriously injured by the notorious traitor Mordred, and taken to Fairyland to recover, he refused to admit to his elfin nature and renounced the fairies. He declared that he was a MAN and a Christian at that. Admirable! Finally, a male who stuck to his beliefs and his manhood. He resisted the temptation of fairies no less. A man of firm resolve, a rarity indeed. Wonder how his injuries healed, for he allowed no one to touch him or administer to his wounds. My take is, he made Tom’s Yum Curry and ate it daily till he grew strong again.
I have the privilege of being privy to the recipe and am tom-tomming it here. Our man Tom did not have the luxury of specialty stores so he had to make the paste from scratch, we on the other hand can buy it off the shelf. Let’s begin by getting a good quality Tom Yam paste. Use any amount of veggies you want. Tom used baby corn, carrots, brinjal, broccoli and an onion. He managed to catch and skin a chicken and used the breast part (there’s something about men and that part of the anatomy, human or otherwise, and no amount of resolve works here!). Did they grow coconut palms on the English coasts during those days? England does have a splendid coastline, and they must have had a few coconut palms dotting the seascape. Oh, I forget, Tom was in fairyland and here everything is available including coconut milk. You will also need lime leaves. If you do not get the Kafir lime leaves don’t worry any variety of lime leaves will do. Some jaggery and basil leaves and we are ready to cook. The paste has salt so you may not need any additional.
Dice the veggies into cubes, flatten the chicken breast with a mallet and cut into thin strips. In a wok take some oil and heat it till it smokes, put in the chicken and give a few vigorous stirs, add the veggies all together and continue to stir. Add the Kafir lime leaves, jaggery and the Tom-Yam paste (it is spicy so go slow on the amount; you can always add some more after you have tasted it). Cover the wok for a few minutes to let the flavours blend. In a bowl mix   a tin or two small cartons of coconut milk  with  ½ teaspoon of cornmeal. This prevents the coconut milk from curdling. If you have the strength to tolerate the putrid fishy smell then add some fish sauce (also available in departmental stores, if you use this then please do not add any salt), makes it more authentic. Take the lid off the wok, pour in the coconut milk, and turn down the heat. Let it simmer gently and check for seasoning. Before serving, add the basil leaves. The curry should be neither too thin nor too thick. You may also add cubes of boiled potatoes if you cannot do without extra carbs. In that case, leave out a couple of vegetables. Jasmine rice or sticky rice goes very well but your regular rice tastes just as good. Add a few lime leaves in the rice after it is cooked, this makes the rice a delicacy on its own. I can bet my thumb that just the aroma of the spices and the lime leaves alone got Tom his strength back.
So, when you cook up this yummy dish do give the ingenious little elf his due.

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