AN Indian street food chef has astounded customers — with his ability to dip his bare hands into boiling hot oil unscathed.

    Ram Babu regularly attracts hundreds of spectators, who come to see the daring cooking technique at his roadside stall in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

    The 60-year-old cook can bury his bare hands into searing cooking oil heated up to 200 degrees Celsius for frying fritters.

    He said, “People from far away come to see me frying pakoras without burning my hands. I have been doing this for more than 40 years but have never suffered blisters or any burn injury.”

    When Babu — who fries potato and aubergine wedges at his stall — 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 realize, 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.

    “Ever since that day I decided to not use spatula. I have never been hurt, it feels as if I am putting my hands in water.”

    Babu, who sells over 100 kilograms of fries each day and makes around £20 (US$30.5), added, “People go bonkers seeing me doing this, they keep asking if I have done some magic — but I simply smile and say this is all God’s magic.” Over the years, he has earned a huge fan following, with customers traveling from across the capital to sample his crispy fries.

    (SD-Agencies)