Some years ago, as a college going teen, I found myself “Home Alone”. The folks had to suddenly rush out of station to see an ailing relative. Since exams had come “sar pe”, the time was not opportune for my accompanying them. I very gallantly dropped them off to the station and allayed their concerns about my well being in their absence. For the next 3-4 days, I survived by sampling the various restaurants which dotted the vicinity of my house. Instead of being a gastronomic delight, the whole adventure turned disastrous with me having to suffer a sever bout of diarrhoea.
Meanwhile, the ailing relative passed away, which meant some more days of staying alone for me. Anxious about the functioning of my digestive system, Mom insisted on me attempting my own culinary skills at home. She ordered me to immediately get a packet of MTR’s Puliogre Mix. And gave the rest of the instructions on phone.
It was so easy! I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it before.
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Just wash a cup of rice. Heat some oil in a pressure cooker. Add about 2 tablespoons of the MTR powder into the oil and stir. Add the washed rice. Add two cups water and shut the cooker. In about 2 minutes, the cooker will whistle. Just lower the flame for 5 minutes and then shut it off.
Five minutes later, you will be treated to a mouth watering aromatic and sumptuous meal. If you have some papadams, just roast them on the fire for accompaniment.
You don’t need anything more. The total time is not more than 15 minutes from washing the rice to serving!!!
I was able to survive for the next 3 days on this alone until my folks came back.
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Puliogre:
This is a Karnataka speciality where rice is treated to a spicy base of tamarind among other standard spices. While this can be made at home if you have all the necessary ingredients, households generally make powders of the stuff so that it is kept handy for preparation at short notice.
MTR:
Is one of the most famous condiment manufacturer in South India. Starting with the well known Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) in Bangalore in 1924, they diversified into powders, pickles, frozen foods, desert mixes and other such stuff. The “Namma MTR” stores in South India are quite a rage.
Recommendation:
For bachelors who are not very adept in the kitchen and are bored of restaurant fare, this could be welcome change at minimal effort. Even for the busy working woman, the presence of this packet at home can mean an occasional welcome relief from the drudgery of chopping and cleaning.
In any case, if you even remotely have a liking for South Indian flavours, you wont regret trying this out.