One day last week, I was scrolling through the menu on Swiggy, looking for a vegetarian dish for mother when I came across an unusual one. The name of the dish was familiar enough: Cauliflower Masala. What made it different and interesting was the main ingredient the restaurant claimed to use in the dish.

Normal, average Jills like you and me make Cauliflower Masala using cauliflowers, spices and what have you. But looking at the restaurant’s description of the dish, I realised that way of doing things was passé. According to them, the latest and innovative way of making Cauliflower Masala was with, hold your breath, ladies fingers (or okra). The spices and what have you could of course remain the same.

Hmm… Interesting, I said to myself. Glancing through the rest of the menu I found everything else looked staid and boringly familiar. We simply had to try this new version of a familiar dish. So I placed the order pronto and waited with bated breath for the Swiggy guy to turn up. Chicken and fish had to wait their turn. Today I was first going to help myself to this trendy version of an old dish.

The Swiggy guy came marching to the front door with the order in half an hour. Ignoring the other packets, I homed in on the one I had been waiting for and opened its lid. Eh? What? I put on my glasses and looked again. There were no ladies fingers (okra) anywhere in sight. The container was full of the tried and tested and trusted Cauliflower Masala made using, what else, plain old cauliflowers! I am so disappointed. The restaurant needs to compensate me! 😉

© Shail Mohan 2022