Osama loved mutton korma and scrambled eggs, says his Afghan cook

Al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, simply loved to have mutton korma for lunch and dinner, and scrambled eggs for breakfast, says his illiterate Afghan cook, now a fruit seller.

London, July 20 : Al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, simply loved to have mutton korma for lunch and dinner, and scrambled eggs for breakfast, says his illiterate Afghan cook, now a fruit seller.

Giving a rare insight into the world of Osama, 65-year-old Akhtar, told The Telegraph that the job of feeding the terrorist did not require much skill.

Enjoying a quiet retirement now, tending to his fruit orchard near Kabul, Akhtar claims that for most of the five years he was with bin Laden, he used to prepare bin Laden's favourite dish of mutton korma, for both lunch and supper. Breakfast would typically involve scrambled eggs.

"If he was here today, then of course I would prepare him a mutton korma," the paper quotes Akhtar, as saying, adding that, "It was his absolute favourite, with a pilau full of almonds, orange peel and raisins."

Akhtar also claimed that that his Saudi employer, who often grumbled about his health and was a picky eater, rarely letting anyone else prepare his food, mainly due to worries about being poisoned.

He said that life in bin Laden's cave, close to the Pakistan border, was predictably austere, and dominated by prayer and talk of jihad. Bin Laden slept little, rising at midnight to fit in an extra set of prayers on top of Islam's standard five cycles.

Akhtar claimed he shared a room with bin Laden and Abu Maz, his Palestinian assistant. There was only one bed and bin Laden gave this to Akhtar because he was the oldest.

Every afternoon bin Laden delivered lengthy lectures to his followers offering Koranic justification for holy war. But he had a lighter side to him.

"He was always making so many jokes. He was always happy before he went home to Saudi Arabia and would say 'Uncle, I have four wives waiting for me. It's time for some fun'.

"We Afghans do not talk about our wives in this way," he concluded.

ANI