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| Pic courtesy: http://chefkaori.wordpress.com/ |
He whispered in my ear "Rajani whatever, go ahead and make this as I told you. Don't forget to add 'Ajinomoto'!
Ajinomoto! When I found a packet of that in a Store in Rajajinagar and brought it home, my friends laughed their heads off and started shouting "Ajjina moTTo"(Grandma's Egg in Tulu).
Whatever, I was cool and I asked our master chef Shivanand Shenoy to assist me in making fried rice. Shivanand had a way with cooking. He was a perfectionist. He'd lost his mother when he was in school and that made him a compulsory cook but his cooking was mostly restricted to GSB dishes. He was excited that finally our home kitchen goes Chinese, almost competing with Rice Bowl and Continental Restaurant on Brigade Road!
He kept the rice for cooking and chopped the veggies as I directed him. Others were watching with eyes wide open! We didn't have a wok to prepare Chinese food. All we had were two Hindalium vessels, one tall and the other wide! The wide one was used for making sambar for lunch and was kept for scrubbing. I looked at Narayan Kini and Narayan sensed danger! He's the one who washes/scrubs vessels, as he's not good at cooking or chopping veggies! He said "I just remembered that I've to give these recorded cassettes to Dr Murthy. I'll go to Rajajinagar and be back in 15 minutes!
Rajajinagar! We're staying in 3rd block Rajajinagar and he said he's going to Rajajinagar! Very good. I knew what he meant. He meant 4th block where their Anand Disc Club, an LP record lending library was situated. I told him to hurry up, or else he won't get the fried rice. He grinned wide, nodded and disappeared like an arrow! I managed with the tall vessel.
The method was rather easy. fry the veggies, add salt, pepper, ajinomoto and soya sauce, mix in cooked rice and finally garnish with vinegar.
I made a pantastick fried rice(It was sticking to the pan/vessel) and just when I switched off the gas and kept the hot fried rice on the dining table, Narayan appeared with a broad smile, nodding his head approvingly!
We all sat down and helped ourselves. Strange but true, we all shared the food equally those days, irrespective of individual capacities!
The fried rice which can be renamed as Chinese Khichdi was consumed within a minute by all, exclaiming with superlatives like -
"Solid mhaaraayre....top....super....bhayankara....class....!"
I felt like Nala Chakravarty as they all flattered me and showered me again and again with praises!
This fried rice business went on for a few days, almost on alternate evenings!
Then one day Narayana and Kedar(One of the parasites) seemed enlightened and they declared "The secret is Ajinomoto. It enhances the taste of Fried Rice. We must try and add it in other preparations!"
Since that day, the two Ajinomoto Crazy guys almost enacting Charlie Chaplin in the movie 'Modern Times', added Ajinomoto to sambar, daalithove, rasam, upkari and almost every food preparation. They also went to the extent of adding it to tea coffee and buttermilk! I later read about the ill and addictive effects of Ajinomoto and realised why I started developing murderous attitude towards the two innocent guys Narayan and Kedar of late!
Within one month, the 50Gm packet of Ajinomoto ran over and a disgusted, frustrated, furious myself announced like Julius Caesar -
"Friends, roommates, countrymen! Henceforth, I won't bring Ajinomoto into our kitchen. Ajinomoto is the worst enemy for mankind after the Hiroshima bomb! If anyone is seen or even heard pronouncing AJINOMOTO, he will have to buy the ticket to the next KSRTC bus and go home!"
Narayan and Kedar looked worried and depressed. I don't know if they cried or had bad cold but they did sniff and sob a little.
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