TASTY MANTRA
The Definition and Meaning of
TASTE and TASTY
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Long back I
had a maid who used to cook quite well.
One day I invited
some colleagues and their families (including my boss and his family) over for
dinner and I decided to ask the maid to cook the food.
Apart from the
usual fare of daal, rice, roti and a vegetable dish, I asked to
her make chicken curry (which was her “signature dish”).
She cooked
delicious chicken curry for us every Sunday and we really loved it.
At office, I
often boasted about how lucky I was to get a good maid who cooked delicious
food and I especially praised her chicken curry. So everyone was quite keen to
taste this much hyped inimitable chicken curry.
“These guests
are very special and they especially are looking forward to eating your chicken
curry,” I told the maid, “so make it tasty. Please make the chicken curry
really tasty.”
Now I did not
know one thing – the definition of “taste” and “tasty” in my maid’s dictionary.
As far as my
maid was concerned, “taste” meant rich (oily) and spicy and making food “tasty”
meant adding plenty of oil and lots of chilly powder.
So when she
cooked the chicken curry she made sure that she added generous amounts of oil
and chilly powder. In fact, she had prepared the dish in copious amounts of oil
and “richly” spiced (especially chilly powder).
The guests
arrived.
Everyone was
eagerly waiting in anticipation for the chicken curry.
The dish
arrived and it looked very appealing and mouthwatering – yes, the chicken curry looked sumptuous, succulent pieces of chicken floating in rich opulent gravy.
The moment we
started eating the chicken curry our tongues were instantly on fire.
Yes, our tongues, our mouths, our whole insides were blazing and we all broke out into a sweat.
Never before had we
ever tasted something so hot and fiery.
The rich greasy gravy further added to the
pungency and the “kick.
Everyone kept
drinking glass after glass of water to cool down their insides which had been
set on fire by the red-hot chicken curry.
Had it not
been for the “bland” vegetable dish and daal, which saved the day, the meal would
have been a complete unmitigated disaster.
Next morning,
surveying the leftovers, our maid was surprised to see that that there was
plenty of chicken curry left over in the fridge, whereas the daal and vegetables were wiped out clean.
This was
exactly the opposite of what she had expected.
I told her
what had happened and asked her: “why did you put so much oil and chillies in
the chicken curry?”
She said, “but
you told me to make the chicken curry tasty. And how can a dish be tasty unless
it is rich and spicy?”
“But what
about the vegetables and daal – they were quite okay,” I said.
“You didn’t
tell me to make the vegetables and daal tasty, so I made them normal,” she said.
‘Okay,’ I
said, ‘from now on make everything “normal”. Please don’t make anything
“tasty”.’
Epilogue
A few days ago
I ordered Biryani at a local restaurant in Wakad near Pune.
Now, to the
best of my knowledge and experience, Biryani is supposed to be mildly spiced.
But the
Biryani served to me was so highly spiced, terribly red-hot and greasy that for me it was
impossible for me to eat.
So I called
the manager and told him not to make the Biryani so spicy and greasy and that he
should tell the cook to put less oil and chilly powder in the Biryani.
Do you know
what he said?
He said: “Sir,
how can food be tasty unless you put oil and chillies? And most customers like
“tasty” food.”
I instantly remembered
the words of my erstwhile maid.
Well, they
were the culinary “experts” and maybe I am out of sync.
Now I know the
meaning and definition of the terms “taste” and “tasty”:
“Taste” means
rich (oily) and spicy and making food “tasty” means adding plenty of oil and
lots of chilly powder.
HAPPY EATING
(and Happy Cooking)
May you always
enjoy “Tasty” Food
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2013
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Did you like this foodie story?
I am sure you will like the 27 short stories from my recently published anthology of Short Fiction COCKTAILTo order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-81910
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-ka
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9 mr2o
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9
About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramwamankarve@gmail.com
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
3 comments:
I know!!I am a sufferer too..where taste is confused with grease and spice! and I for one whol likes simple or to put in others words 'bland' food.
Hi Aparna
Yes, this grease and spice is bad for health too. Unfortunately most new restaurants cater to these tastes. I look for places which serve "bland" food.
All the Best
Happy Eating
Vikram
That was a "tasty" blog post. :)
Post a Comment