Once my grandmother said ‘if everything is there anyone can cook. You should learn to survive even nothing is there'. I really made fun of her. Still she did not leave me!
Once suddenly my husband's uncle visited us.
My husband was on his official tour.
If no one is there I feel very lazy to cook. Moreover, I can survive by eating anything. It need not be a particular food. Just any healthy vegetarian food is enough.
I have only ‘ridge gourd' at home. He was a guest and came to our house for the first time. Here I was left with such a boring vegetable.
Courtesy Google.
But I have to do something. I remembered my grandmother. She says if required spices are properly used you can make even grass into a tasty dish. She was really a great cook.
Just I removed the skin of the ridge gourd. Cut into pieces while thinking.
Few pieces I cooked with yellow-green gram Dal. I always used to keep curry leaves fried and stored. With oil or without oil. I was not having a fridge at that time.
I added little curry leaves, salt, turmeric, few green chillies tempered with split black gram, cumin and hing and with two red chillies. Dal was ready.
Second item.
I fried the ridge gourd's skin with a little oil and green chillies (after a thorough cleaning). Added little tamarind, salt, turmeric and ground into a paste. Then tempered with garlic seasoning. Ridge gourd chutney was ready.
leaving a dozen pieces, I made curry with remaining pieces by adding onion paste (one onion, 2 red chillies, little jeera ground) Curry was ready.
That dozen pieces I mixed with little gram flour with quarter spoon rice flour and made pakoda type. Deep-fried item.
I cooked rice. Little I kept a side and made little tamarind rice. Prepared little rasam.
His feast was ready. Dal, curry, chutney, pakoda with tamarind rice rasam and curd.
Courtesy Google
He enjoyed the lunch so much. Very happy for my hospitality even in the absence of my husband.
Later he told my in-laws and their relatives whether they asked or not,
‘‘Their Dil served me a great lunch. She is a very good cook. She fed me festival-type food. Six-course meal’!
My Fil was very happy. My mil too felt nice.
I thanked my grandmother for her wisdom and foresight. Because of her later I got the confidence I can start an eatery joint.
I could manage my guest and take care of my in-law’s prestige and name with a single vegetable ridge gourd. Haha. In normal time I don't consider it as a tasty vegetable at all.
That day my grandmother and god saved me from becoming a bad host.
I am a very lazy fellow to search and post photos. My youngest follower asked me what is Ridge gourd? Haha. So these are.
Image source Facebook
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