You don’t want to try this.
With profound apologies to all the enthusiastic people who have been cooking and plating Lovely Food and also to those who hate write-ups before the recipe finally appears.
It all started with a request to the spouse - Would bhabhiji cook up a South Indian meal for three? Soon?
How soon?
Welll, tonight.
Tonight???? I’ve got answer sheets to check, deadlines to meet! Ohhh, okay...but nothing fancy. Rice, pumpkin sambaar and avial, with Kerala papads. Only.
And then, that night, my poppet came down with fever, the lights in the whole colony blew out and---the mealwallahs never turned up. Just an abject phone call, sorry bhaisab,urgent kaam aa gaya.
The scene next morning: worried witless at the feverish little being following me wanly with her eyes, wondering how to manage the day, I came upon this big casserole with rice filled to the brim. Something snapped, fury and frustration seethed within; mother, teacher, housewife, all helplessly battling with each other. In a red haze I shook out the rice in a paraat, and vengefully mashed it into a mushy mass. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I threw in masalas, besan and went mash, mash, mash....Kept a pot of water to boil, mumbling " I don’t know " to my husband's questioning gaze. I really didn’t know what I was doing. But suddenly the mashed mass became a dough.
I made rolls of that dough and dropped them into the boiling water, not really caring what happened to them. For all I knew it would turn into a mess which I would have to throw out guiltily.....
As the water boiled fast and furious, I calmed down, and the rolls cooked beautifully. Soon, I picked them out, sliced off a tiny bit to ensure it was cooked and let them cool. Meanwhile, the husband had decided to take leave and stay with the daughter. I decided to drop off the answer sheets a little late, and proceeded to slice the rolls, make a seasoning and toss the slices in it.
The three of us loved it and mental peace was restored. My colleagues clamoured for the 'recipe'. I just grinned and avoided saying much. This was the first time that extreme irritation-no, fury- had found its way into a dish of mine.
This happened many years ago.
Yesterday I remembered it. I had some leftover rice too. Calm and relaxed, I hummed as I mashed it and added stuff. It became soggy, stuck to my fingers and it was with dismayed difficulty that I managed to make the rolls and do the rest. But alas! the slices seemed too soft and finally I decided to shallow fry them. The verdict? Good, but not as good as 'those'!
That's when I realised, fury is an important ingredient of this 'dish'. Believe me, you don't want to try this when you are not angry.
Still want to try it? OK, here goes:
SLICED FURY
Leftover rice 1 cup
Besan 1/2 cup approx(depending on the dryness of the rice)
Jeera 1/4 tsp
Saunf 1/2 tsp
Chilli pdr to taste
Haldi pdr a pinch
Salt
Mash (vengefully) all the above ingredients except besan, and any other you may like to throw in. Add as much besan as necessary to make a dough that can be shaped into 4-5 short logs (like for gatte).
Boil 2 1/2 cups water and add the rolls one by one. Let the water boil continuously. Separate the rolls with a fork once in a while and let cook for around 5 minutes.
Remove, drain, slice when cool.
Make a seasoning in1tbsp ghee with rai, hing, jeera,a medium sized onion thinly sliced(opt), chilli pdr/ green chillies and curry leaves. Add the slices and toss to coat them evenly. Let them heat through thoroughly to make them a little crisp.
Serve with a sprinkling of salt and a dash of lemon juice; sauce or green chutney.
