What To Do @Wth Sour Grapes?o

If you think this is a political blog going by the title you do so at your own risk. I am not going to talk about politicians who say they don’t care for power just because they don’t have the remotest chance of grabbing it and launching some brand new scams. Sure not only politics but every field has people who view the unattainable as sour grapes.

For years my father used to say that one day I will get one of these Padma awards on some Republic Day or othe for the simple reason that the government would sooner or later run out of people for coferring these awards.r. “Don’t worry son, once they have finished giving Padmashri to the neighbourhood goonda for social service, they have no alternative but to turn to you”. dad said time and again.

But obviously, there is an inexhaustible supply of neighbourhood goondas. So no one has thought so far of giving me a Padma award.

But I care two hoots for a Padma award. I have no intention of marring the beauty of any room in my house ranging from the living room to the toilet with a kitschy plaque. Why the hell do I need more plaques. I have enough of it formrng on my teeth anyway. I would prefer Padma Lakshmi to Padmashri or Padma Bhushan.. A case of sour grapes? Certainly not.

.Oh dear, I have fallen back to my old habit of flying off on a tangent haven’t I? All I wanted to do was to talk about sour grapes not in a figurative sense but literally—about sour grapes in flesh and juice, and of course skin.

If still you are breaking your head trying to understand my intention, let me make it crystal clear that this is a food blog. It is about, as the title says clearly what to do with sour grapes.

Recently I bought some grapes from the Safal fruit and vegetable outlet near my house. The wife greedily put one in her mouth and did a dance as soon as she bit it.

No she wasn’t a trained dancer. But that grape seemed to have the power to improve the footwork of even those with two left feet. What happened next made things somewhat clearer.

“Yieeeeeeeeeeee” yelled the wife like one of those red Indians in ye olde John Wayne movies just before scalping a paleface. “That grape was sour!!!!!!!!”

I got the message. The scalping was going to be done on me for buying the grapes without bothering to taste them.

After lambasting me for my inept purchase, the DW wondered what to do with them .How could the money spent on them be justified?

“Make a chutney” I suggested.

She first looked suspiciously at me wondering whether it was one of my jokes. As I prepared for a fresh round of drubbing for my alleged flippant attitude, she surprised me by flashing a smile.

“Say that isn’t a bad idea” the DW said and rushed into the kitchen with the grapes.

Soon the smell of red chillies being fried reached me followed by the sound of the mixie whizzing. And lo! There was this chutney in a jiffy!.

In case you are stupid enough to buy grapes without tasting them, here’s the recipe for making amends.

Grapes : About 500 grams

Urad Dal: Couple of tablespoons.

Red chillies to taste. For a normal human being couple of them would do nicely but if you have an iron liver and a strong will you can add more.

Garlic: Four cloves of the large elephant garlic is what we add. But do increase the quantity, if you are scared of vampires.

Salt, to taste.

Oil one tablespoon should do.

Heat the oil, fry the dal ,chillies and the garlic until the garlic is slightly browned add rest of the ingredients and grind to a smooth paste in the mixie.

If you are averse to red chillies, here is my alternative recipe. In place of red chillies and urad dal add a couple of green chillies and a handful of bhuna chana. No need to fry or roast the ingredients. Just drop them into the mixie and grind them into a smooth paste. If you want to mellow the chutney a bit, add a pinch of sugar too while grinding.

Both the versions are great with dosas though I haven’t tried them with idlies yet.

The recipe will make you sigh wishing that you could handle the sour grapes on two legs this easily.

 

Sushmavja, this recipe will help you avoid all that high calories and still keep you smacking your lips.

 

Satchi, no need to feel guilty anymore about buying sour gapes. But while making chutney please use green grapes. The black and red ones have a high level of tannins and tend to ruin the chutney's taste.A very happy New Year to you.