The charm of the chutneys
Credit: iStock Photo
Unlike animals, who were chomping on green vegetables and enjoying a nutritious buffet, humans were not as fond of eating the green vegetables.
Spinach, fenugreek, coriander, and mint leaves had all started wilting. These leafy greens and herbs were feeling sad and lonely and they realised that unless and until they came up with a solid plan, their lives would continue to be miserable.
Seeing their friends — the various fruits and vegetables — becoming popular and well-loved, the leafy greens felt envious. Each one came up with a secret plan to not just improve its fortunes but also to form winning partnerships. But who said that success and fame were easy?
Spinach, better known in India as palak. knew that no human would dare touch her long leaves. No one would eat her in her raw form, not even if they were starving. She knew that where taste was concerned, she just didn’t have it in her.
So, she thought long and hard. For days. She eagerly watched all the chefs cooking in the kitchen. She constantly spied on them, overhearing a word that instantly grabbed her attention. Steaming. Steaming didn’t sound like it was torturous. She decided that a little bit of steaming would do her no harm and in fact it would help her turn into a smooth paste that could be used as the base of many dishes. And voila, delicious palak paneer, palak mushroom, palak aloo appeared on dining tables. Palak was so happy with the new-found love she was getting from people that she even underwent an image makeover to emerge as palak pakoda. Oh so crispy and crunchy! And when nutritionists and doctors discovered the many benefits of Palak, the ‘Queen P’ became famous all over the globe.
Seeing her good friend’s culinary success, fenugreek leaves or methi too jumped into the kitchen through an open window. If her friend palak could benefit by undergoing a good steam, she could do it too. The steam would kill some of the bitterness in her leaves, making her more palatable to the humans. Methi matar, methi aloo, methi gobi, methi roti, appeared on dining tables making the foodies drool.
Now coriander was getting jittery. With palak and methi jumping into kitchens and making their presence felt in breakfasts, lunches and dinners, poor coriander was feeling lonely. She had long thinking sessions where she weighed her pros and cons. Her leaves were neither sturdy like palak nor were they bitter like methi. So, the hot sauna sessions aren’t for me, she thought. In fact my leaves are delicate like a butterfly’s wings. Perhaps I may be better off garnishing dishes than sitting inside them. This is the wonderful idea that changed her life.
For some time coriander was content with this light presence in the kitchen, sitting prettily on top of the dishes. But slowly ambition set in. She wanted something more from her life than just looking pretty. But a shudder went up and down her spine when the thought of being steamed, boiled, sautéed or fried entered her mind.
That’s when the idea of becoming a chutney came to her. This is a perfect answer to my problem. Oh, why didn’t I think of it before, she thought, feeling happiness ripple through her.
I’m sure salt and jeera will help me. Even my good friend mint will lend me a little of her pungency. I can even ask lime to squeeze in some time and energy for me, as he always likes to help everyone. If I can get chilli to lend me her spice, then I’m sure to become popular. And if I rope in an onion who wished me good morning yesterday, then I’ll be unstoppable. I may not become an entire dish by myself, but I’m sure the status of a companion dish will not elude me, she thought. I may even become a popular companion dish that people will crave. I’m nice, and I’ve heard that good things happen to good vegetables, she dreamt.
When she asked her friends for help, everyone agreed instantly. And thus, the green chutney was born. Her fame spread far and wide, so did her taste. The more popular it became, the more partnerships she formed. Dhokla, aloo tikki, samosa, bread pakora, kebabs, paneer tikka, everyone wanted to be friends with green chutney. She suddenly found herself everywhere.
People fell in love with this green dish so much that they wanted her presence on the dining table all the time. Some even opened restaurants in her name. But she always remained humble and kind, never letting her success change her good nature.