From Waste to Taste
That it happens to be World Environment Day today was a mere fact until the time that the clock signaled afternoon. The day dawned just like any other Thursday, on any other week - giving a false sense of hope and gaiety that the approaching weekend would be a source of happiness and fun. Most unemployed mothers look forward to the weekend with an eagerness that is only matched by their children's own excitement at the prospect of the whole family getting together and spending some happy enjoyable time. Most employed fathers and mothers, however, tend to look upon the weekend with relief and as a source of having some really long hours of uninterrupted sleep.
So it is in our home too. And as I sat folding the laundry and mulling over the prospect of yet another mirage-like weekend, my thoughts turned to the topic of lunch. There was some food in the fridge and I thought maybe I'd make a light meal. I remembered that some idlis had been left over from yesterday and I planned on making the upma-like snack that mum used to make for us when we were kids. It's really a very simple and quick meal that takes just a few minutes to make. First, you'll need to either neatly dice up the idlis with a knife or just roughly scramble the idlis using bare hands. Next, heat some oil and sputter some mustard seeds, and then add some whole red chilies and curry leaves to the pan. Depending upon your preference for spices you could add a bit of turmeric and red chilly or black pepper powder. Finally, tip in the diced/scrambled idlis. Don't forget to add salt for seasoning, and then just give the whole thing a good enough stir so that the idlis get coated evenly with the spices and get lightly fried all over. Now, turn off the heat and your meal is ready to eat - piping hot!
While this recipe is an all-time favorite and always brigs back some fond childhood memories, I decided on the spur-of-the-moment to try out something new. The idea came when I had opened the fridge door to take out the idlis and my eye fell on the rather grim-looking packet of some ancient brown bread. I say 'grim-looking' because when my husband had bought it and put it away on the kitchen counter (to be conveniently forgotten until the time that he chose to remember it) I had taken one look at it and decided I didn't want to mess with it. The sheer look of disdain that the tough-looking, sliced bread packet had given me seemed to say in a grating tone, " Listen lady, you'll need some really strong teeth to bite into me and a hardy jaw to chew me up! And I'll be damned, if I'm gonna let your gut get to me!!" I had wondered aloud to my husband asking him what had attracted him to this brazen 'brownie' to make him pick it up and give away his hard-earned money!
And so the brown bread had sat on my kitchen counter, scowling away at me until I decided I didn't want to see it's face and put it away in the fridge to cool off. And there it had lain for a while. As the days passed I had dared to put my teeth and jaws to the test, and feeling I had enough guts to digest the little temerarious slices, I had ventured to cut down their number by eating a slice now and then. But still half the packet rested in my fridge sneering away at my efforts to cut it down in size. And as more days rolled by I felt an age almost slip past when at last the idea to decimate the enemy came to mind. My excitement (at the prospect of revenge) and relief (I had made up my mind to throw away the bread when I spotted my husband today morning favoring a pack of soft white bread) was only heightened by the knowledge that today was the day to do one's bit to preserve the environment and one way was to reduce waste in any way possible!
And so I went about eagerly trying to get some taste out of waste. Experimenting with mum's recipe, I added some sliced onions, chopped tomatoes and green peas to make the dish taste better and also be healthy too. I also added a bit of coriander powder and some mutton masala, the latter of which just happened to be idling away in my kitchen. The vegetarians could use garam masala if they prefer. But remember to 'bhuno' the masalas properly after adding the tomatoes as they do with north-Indian dishes. And only after the oil starts to show, add the green peas and cover and cook for a while. Then, add the idlis and stir. Finally, I simply tore away at the tough brown bread slices and added them to the idlis in the pan. Giving the entire mixture a nice stir, I added some coriander leaves for garnishing and voila - my meal was ready! Yes, it did taste nice and I was happy the experiment had turned out fine. Anyone wanting to try out the recipe can add vegetables of choice to it like carrots, capsicum, cauliflower, cabbage etc. Really, it's all about cooking what you like and not leaving anything to waste. And I hope we can do this not just on a particular day but on any given day. It's one of the least things we, the unemployed mums, can do for the environment. Bon appétit!
So it is in our home too. And as I sat folding the laundry and mulling over the prospect of yet another mirage-like weekend, my thoughts turned to the topic of lunch. There was some food in the fridge and I thought maybe I'd make a light meal. I remembered that some idlis had been left over from yesterday and I planned on making the upma-like snack that mum used to make for us when we were kids. It's really a very simple and quick meal that takes just a few minutes to make. First, you'll need to either neatly dice up the idlis with a knife or just roughly scramble the idlis using bare hands. Next, heat some oil and sputter some mustard seeds, and then add some whole red chilies and curry leaves to the pan. Depending upon your preference for spices you could add a bit of turmeric and red chilly or black pepper powder. Finally, tip in the diced/scrambled idlis. Don't forget to add salt for seasoning, and then just give the whole thing a good enough stir so that the idlis get coated evenly with the spices and get lightly fried all over. Now, turn off the heat and your meal is ready to eat - piping hot!
While this recipe is an all-time favorite and always brigs back some fond childhood memories, I decided on the spur-of-the-moment to try out something new. The idea came when I had opened the fridge door to take out the idlis and my eye fell on the rather grim-looking packet of some ancient brown bread. I say 'grim-looking' because when my husband had bought it and put it away on the kitchen counter (to be conveniently forgotten until the time that he chose to remember it) I had taken one look at it and decided I didn't want to mess with it. The sheer look of disdain that the tough-looking, sliced bread packet had given me seemed to say in a grating tone, " Listen lady, you'll need some really strong teeth to bite into me and a hardy jaw to chew me up! And I'll be damned, if I'm gonna let your gut get to me!!" I had wondered aloud to my husband asking him what had attracted him to this brazen 'brownie' to make him pick it up and give away his hard-earned money!
And so the brown bread had sat on my kitchen counter, scowling away at me until I decided I didn't want to see it's face and put it away in the fridge to cool off. And there it had lain for a while. As the days passed I had dared to put my teeth and jaws to the test, and feeling I had enough guts to digest the little temerarious slices, I had ventured to cut down their number by eating a slice now and then. But still half the packet rested in my fridge sneering away at my efforts to cut it down in size. And as more days rolled by I felt an age almost slip past when at last the idea to decimate the enemy came to mind. My excitement (at the prospect of revenge) and relief (I had made up my mind to throw away the bread when I spotted my husband today morning favoring a pack of soft white bread) was only heightened by the knowledge that today was the day to do one's bit to preserve the environment and one way was to reduce waste in any way possible!
And so I went about eagerly trying to get some taste out of waste. Experimenting with mum's recipe, I added some sliced onions, chopped tomatoes and green peas to make the dish taste better and also be healthy too. I also added a bit of coriander powder and some mutton masala, the latter of which just happened to be idling away in my kitchen. The vegetarians could use garam masala if they prefer. But remember to 'bhuno' the masalas properly after adding the tomatoes as they do with north-Indian dishes. And only after the oil starts to show, add the green peas and cover and cook for a while. Then, add the idlis and stir. Finally, I simply tore away at the tough brown bread slices and added them to the idlis in the pan. Giving the entire mixture a nice stir, I added some coriander leaves for garnishing and voila - my meal was ready! Yes, it did taste nice and I was happy the experiment had turned out fine. Anyone wanting to try out the recipe can add vegetables of choice to it like carrots, capsicum, cauliflower, cabbage etc. Really, it's all about cooking what you like and not leaving anything to waste. And I hope we can do this not just on a particular day but on any given day. It's one of the least things we, the unemployed mums, can do for the environment. Bon appétit!
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