By: Meenakshi Gogoi
The usual morning scene at the Outram Lines in North Delhi was the street bustling with noisy vehicles, sounds of bhajan coming from the nearby temple, and the shrill voices of the vegetable vendors walking door to door selling vegetables. On a Sunday morning, Anju lost her deep sleep in Outram Lines’s hustle-bustle neighbourhood where her paying guest (PG) accommodation was. She hesitantly opened her eyes and saw her roommate, Nimmy, hurriedly eating breakfast and sipping coffee. She had to goto her workplace, a family restaurant in the Kamala Nagar.Nimmy had no off days on Sundays.Sundays are holidays for others but not for her.Anju, a bank employee, would wait for weekendsto go out.Anju had observed Nimmy every day and felt she had transformed into a hardworking workaholic. Anju had been staying in the PG for the last five years, and it had only been two years since Nimmy joined it. They were sharing a room and bonded very well. Anju softly wiped her eyes and said, “Nimmy. How do you get up early daily amidst such a bustling neighbourhood? Weren’t you disturbed by the noises outside?” Nimmy smiled and replied, “Anju, I have adjusted to the noisy atmosphere. I am used to such a neighbourhood. My home neighbourhood is similar to this.” Anju praised Nimmy’s adapting quality. Despite spending five years in the area, Anju knew she was not so adaptive. Nimmy handed Anju a cup of hot coffee and soon left for her work.
On Sundays, Nimmy would instead prepare delicious meals in the restaurant for families enjoying the holiday outings, lunchand dinner treats. Nimmy preferred to be called a cook rather than a chef as she had yet to work in a five-star restaurant, exhibit her culinary skills and earn the title of a famous chef. After graduating, she joined the restaurant. Her father could not afford for her to take a hotel management course. Her family, residing in East Delhi was not very keen on her profession as a cook.Nimmy, with great persuasion and much effort, managed to make her family understand that after marriage, she had to cook food for her family anyway. She would probably not be recognised for her culinary skills. But cooking in a restaurant would make her earn money and stand on her feet. It would give her wings tofulfill her dream of becoming a chef one day with name and fame. With big dreams in her eyes, Nimmy began her journey of cooking aromatic and delicious meals in the restaurant. She was the best cook there, and people loved her dishes.
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Anju finished her coffeeand quickly bathedwithout wasting much time. She had plans to spend her holiday with her beloved Abhisar, a loving and joyful man. Anju first met him at a wedding in Delhi. It was the wedding of her colleague’s sister. They completed four years of courtship.Like any other couple in love, they had good plans to get married and began a new life with dreams to be fulfilled. Theyexplored the craft mela held at the Civil Lines area on Anju’s wish, visited the small food outlets there, and savoured mouthwatering delicacies from across the regions. While eating lunch, Anju began praising Nimmy’s culinary skills. Abhisar knew Anju loved Nimmy’s cooked food. He had met Nimmy a few times while dropping Anju at the PG. He instantly remembered his hotelier friend talking about a cooking competition in a famous restaurant in the Hauz Khas. A late reputed chef’s family and a few philanthropists would sponsor funding for an aspiring chef to start a new food venture in Delhi. It was in honour of the dead chef as it was the chef’s last wish to be fulfilled by his family. Abhisar said, “Don’t you think it’s a good opportunity for Nimmy to participate in the competition and exhibit her culinary skills. Good people will recognise her cooking.” Anju replied, “Indeed. It’s a good opportunity for her. Please, send me the details of the competition via WhatsApp. I will let Nimmy know about this.” The day was well spent, and by late evening, Abhisar had dropped Anju at the PG. Abhisar had Watsapp Anju about the details of the food contest. Nimmy’s work shift was over, and she had reached the PG by 9:30 pm. She had her dinner at the restaurant. Anju prepared some nice coffee for them. They sat on their balcony, enjoying the cool breeze and sipping coffee. Anju told Nimmy about the cooking competition. Nimmy read the details of the competition to be held after fifteen days. She was pleased to read that the chef’s family would sponsor the winner.Further, the winner would get a chance to be trained by the chefs in their five-star restaurant to be a skilled chef. After some thought, Nimmy wondered if she could win the food contest. It would be a one-day-long contest to decide the winner. She had to exhibit extraordinary cooking with a fusion twist of different aromatic flavours. Anju encouraged her to join the contest without much thought and fear. She wanted Nimmy to show her best recipes to the outer world. Nimmy needed a good platform to display her cooking talent, and fortunately, she was getting one. Shehappily agreed to join the food contest.
The following days for Nimmy were spent thinking about the food menu she would serve to the judges in the food contest. Nimmy while cooking in the restaurant, began imagining her food platter as a traditional meal with a fusion of new aromatic tastes. The food contest day had arrived. Anju accompanied Nimmy to the contest venue. It was a big hall-room inside the contest sponsored family’s five-star restaurant at Hauz Khas. Contestants were provided with individual gas stoves, and there was a common pantry and fridge where they could get their food products, vegetables, and other grocery items needed to prepare their food. Thirty minutes were allotted to each one of the contestants to collect the groceries, and three hours were allotted to finish their cooked meals. Nimmy left for cooking, and Anju sat on the pavilion with other contestants’ family members to cheer on the home cooks. Nimmy prepared a sweet and spicy pulav with fried lotus stem and par-boiled fried aubergine pieces tempered with jeera, dry red chillies, and black pepper. She served stuffed parwal with boiled, mashed potatoes and local herbs dipped in thick, sweet-sour, juicy onion-tamarind gravy tempered with jeera and cinnamon. The sweet prepared was a unique gujiya stuffed with dry chopped apricot, walnuts, and roasted poppy seeds mixed with brown sugar and coated with melted dark chocolate. It was set in the fridge for some time. Gujiyaswere served with chopped pistachio on top. A cool drink was made from the dragon fruit pulp and mixed with kiwi cubes and cherries. Some crushed ice and a spoon of honey were pouredinto the drink and served to the judges.
The judges liked the nice blend of a spicy-sweet light mealprepared by Nimmy. The food went well to the palette, and with every bite of the food, the judges felt to gorge into some more bites. They appreciated her culinary skills in preparing food with delicate mouthwatering flavours and presenting a new look. The contest ended, and Nimmy was declared the winner. Anju was thrilled and joyfully hugged Nimmy to express her ecstasy. Nimmy responded to Anju’s hug and shed light tears of happiness. Controlling her emotions, Nimmy walked to receive the winning trophy of an aspiring chef. She was awarded five lakhs and offered to join the chef training session at the contest-sponsored family’s five-star restaurant for a month. It was surreal for Nimmy, a dream come true. After reaching the PG, Nimmy shared the news with her family over the phone. They appreciated her efforts and were happy for her. At night, Nimmy stood silent on her balcony and looked up to the universe, thanking it for making her most cherished dream possible. Nimmy, with new hopes in her heart, was geared up for a new journey in life.
