An Indian street chef has been dubbed super hands - thanks to his
ability to dip his hands into boiling hot oil unscathed. Ram Babu
regularly attracts hordes of spectators, who come to see his astonishing
ability.
The 60-year-old snack seller can bury his bare hands into searing
cooking oil heated up to 200C for frying fritters. He boasts: "People
from far away come to see me frying pakoras without burning my hands. I
have been doing this for more than forty years but have never suffered
blisters or any burn injury."
When Babu - who fries potato and eggplant wedges at his roadside stall
in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh - started selling the deep-fried food to
make ends meet at the age of just 20, he never thought his small snack
stall would see such a large turnout.
But as the demand grew, Babu stopped using apparatus to save time -
opting to spoon them out with his hands. Babu said: "Using the heavy
spatula was time consuming. One day, there was a throng of customers at
the shop and I had no helping hand. "In panic, I mistakenly put my bare
hands to take out fries. Before I could realise, my hands were there
deep into the pan of bubbling oil. I immediately took my hands out
expecting blisters covering my hand but surprisingly there was nothing.