Much Ado About Nothing

"I am bored and confused".

"What? Why?" - me.

"I dont know what to prepare for lunch".

 "Its the usual. Roti."

"I know. But I need to prepare some subzi. I am bored of the same vegetables - Potato , Palakoora, Cabbage, Carrot, Beets. We are not eating anything different."

"What to do? I like Brinjals and Bhendi. But you dont like it. You like Bitter gourd and Kunduru.  But I dont like those. We both dont like bottle gourd and beans is too costly and good quality is not available.  What to do? Those are the only veggies that suits both of us."

"I am not getting different varieties of vegetables here like in Chennai. We dont get many vegetables like Chow-chow, Snake gourd, Plantain stem, Plantain flower, Knol-khol and others. Atleast try to get something different next time from the market. Try for some Cauliflower."

"Okay."

Few days later at the supermarket:

It was again the same old vegetables, but nicely packed. Suddenly something caught my eye. It was neatly packaged and said "Veg Dil Pasand" with a nice little bar code. I wanted to impress my wife and quickly added one packet to my basket.

Back at home:

"See... I have bought something new for you. Some new variety vegetable like you asked. Dil Pasand."(I was sure of getting some brownie points this time)

"What? I have never heard of it." (I thought I could smell a fully burnt brownie).

I showed her.

"I have never seen anything like it before." (This time I could even taste the burnt brownie).

It was looking pale green and looked a lot like a green tomato, but much harder. It had a thicker skin.

"But I dont know what to make of it or how to prepare it. I dont even know how I am supposed to cut it."

"Just make some subzi with it and add dal also... As for cutting, cut it into medium size pieces. We can safely manage that way."

"Can we give to the baby?"

"I am not sure. I will check in the Internet about it later. "

"Wait. I have an idea. Lets ask our maid about it. She is sure to have used those, being a localite".

"............ Ikkada raa ma".

"Yean amma. Ye-mi kavala?"

"Idhi choodu. Idhi ye-mi thelusa?"

"Thelledhamma.".

"Idhi peru thelusa?"

"Ledhamma. Idhi marketlo nenu choosthanu. Kaani peru thelledhu."

"Sa-ray. Paravaledhu"

"Okka idea ma. Ikkada corner-lo vegetable shop undhi kadhaa. Nenu akkada aduguthaanu"

"Sa-ray."

After some 5 minutes....

"Vaalukku kooda thelledhamma. Vaallu Knol-Khol nu cheptharu".

"This is not Knol-Khol. That guy is stupid" - Me.

"Why worry? I will check in google. You will know in two minutes" - Me.

Two minutes became two hours.

I started researching. I tried searching Dil Pasand under images.

I got a lot of pictures of those "one-quarter of a circle" things thats loaded with hydrogenated vegetable oils, coconut and artificially colored papaya tit bits (Tutti Fruti) that you see in the local bakeries. All those sights of 100% pure transfat and saturated fats made me cringe.

I tried lots of other options like tomato like vegetable, green tomato look alike vegetable etc. etc. All my tryst with google and search for this elusive Dil Pasand had no results to show for.

I ended up reading about Cumatos (a hybrid between a Cucumber and a Tomato, which again proved to be a hoax). I was reading about Kekiri a cucumber type vegetable grown in Sri Lanka known for its Ayurvedic properties. (By the way, do they have Ayurveda in Sri Lanka? All you Kerala Arurvedic massage centers, watch out!!!! The lankans are going to catch you in the act!!!). I also ended up reading about how Guinea pigs (not me, of course) like to eat Cucumbers during summer time.

I thought I finally found it.... It was Physalis Philadelphica a.k.a Tomatillos, a vegetable belonging to the Solanaceae (whats that?) family under the Solanales order of the Plantae kingdom, but grown in Mexico and used in the making of Salsa. It looked very similar to the vegetable I had in my hand. I was elated and very relieved. The relief lasted only a few minutes, as I looked at an image of a Tomatillo split in two halves. The inside looked totally different from the vegetable I had in my hand and even the seeds were looking totally different.

I finally realized that Google is of no use, if I dont know what I am searching for.

Finally the dish landed on my plate.

I need not have bothered with Physalis Philadelphica or Plantae kingdom hierarchy or the food habits of guinea pigs in summer or the Sri Lankan Ayurveda.

It was edible, after all. Otherwise, why would they sell it in the supermarket as a vegetable?

Just shows how we lose focus on the basics and get pulled into unnecessary stuff all the while.

Some Dil Pasand anyone?