The Adventures of Indian Breakfast Ruining

There comes a day in everybody's' lives where you have face ultimate failure; and no one will help you get off your behind.

That day arrived for me. fortunately for me, it wasn't my career or my life. It was an attempt to make the most simplest south Indian breakfast item. Oh!The haunting four letters, sending a chill down my spine. brrr! [Alright, Alright, I'll stop with the dramatics]

I realized one thing, the simpler the recipe, the easier it is to actually mess it up. I've done that with simple, basic cakes and now with the most simplest south Indian breakfast item known as UPMA!

In all honesty I learn better through face-to-face teaching than over a telephonic conversation.

Oh yes, I did say that! My mother being a frequent traveler thanks to her work, she was away and our supposedly-trustee cook ditched us, okay this I can blame on the T bandhs. So I ring her and ask her to teach me how to make UPMA over the phone.

Here's her version...

"Take one glass of Upma Rava and roast it for a minute.

Put a lid of the wok and while that's happening,

cut two green chillies and keep some curry leaves ready to add in the tadka.

take the rava out and pour four table spoons of oil.

Dee once the oil is hot enough add the black mustard and the zeera (cumin seeds) to the oil.

Once you hear the pat-pat sound from the mustard add the mirchi and curry.Also one spoon of salt. Not a heap but has to be there till the brim.

Let it boil for a minute or so then, add one and a half glasses of water, using the same glass that you measured the rava in.

Once that's done add the rava in and stir while pouring it into the wok. let it boil nicely but keep stirring. Put a lid on it (no pun intended*) and wait for a minute or so till it cooks, then stir again and you're ready after five minutes."

Sweet thanks mum!

Now in my version, I won't repeat the steps because I did exactly that only all the five minutes became two and the one minutes became half.

My servant who was standing and supposedly assisting me with the breakfast, was being polite and said the upma was cooked fine. I thought it should boil for a bit more so left it under the lid for another minute(full this time). Once it was ready, I made her taste some again and so did I. It tasted okay, a little on the overcooked side I thought. It was time to take to the table and eat it.

[Heart racing, body burning, weird-awkward-polite smile smeared across my face. Then I look at dad]

My poor father had to be forceful victim of tasting not just an undercooked and unboiled upma but also bland.

Heart-broken but determined to learn. I took it in a stride and ran to the kitchen to correct my wrong.

Lesson learnt: It is safer to make what you know. And NOT experiment when you have give it to others!!