Food talk
This rice is very nice

Mixed fried rice remains a great idea for a Sunday brunch or as a refreshingly
different side dish, writes Pushpesh Pant

FRIED rice is the butt of many jokes. Remember the one about the Japanese asking for ‘Fly-ed Lice’ in an Oriental eatery in the West much to the amusement of the serving staff and fellow guests? Thankfully, the days of racial mocking are gone and most Japanese travelling abroad speak flawless English and can take it for granted that recognising their economic superpower status,`A0they will deferentially be served sashimi, sushi or whatever the heart may desire.

It is the turn of Indians to fall in love with this item on the Chinese, Southeast Asian menu — familiar yet exotic and capable of donning different garbs without a blink. As children, we were introduced to an unabashedly desi rendering of the Chinese recipe at Ranjana, a popular VFM restaurant at Lucknow in the 1950s in the legendary (alas no more) Hazratganj.

The dish had tomatoes, green chillies, spring onions and recalled tomato rice more than anything else. The aunt we stayed with as students in Nainital often replicated it at home with more nutritious ingredients thrown in — eggs, soya nuggets, kaleji`A0et al. This is when we discovered that fried rice has one other virtue — it can be prepared at home (even with leftover ingredients) ending up with stunning results. It was much later we learnt that even in the land of its origin it is customary to assemble it with pre-cooked rice aka ‘leftover’.

More years passed before we got wise to the nuances of this delicacy — yes, no less. Others may drool dreaming of an aromatic biryani or subtle pulavs and there are many who never tire of sharing memories of paella and risotto savoured in Europe. For us, this childhood friend has never lost its charm.`A0 It remains a great idea for a Sunday brunch or a refreshingly different side dish when guests drop in.

You can lighten it by reducing the quantity of rice and adding a variety of healthy complements — bits of fish, chicken and prawns. What is indispensable is a tbsp of light soya sauce and maybe some green chillies in vinegar. Believe us, we have cooked it three times in a week since we ‘discovered’ a pack of frozen prawns cleaned, deveined and oh so tempting in a food mart.`A0This shouldn’t inhibit the shakahari at all — it tastes great with mushrooms and spring onions with bits of tofu thrown in. Just keep clear of cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and beans otherwise no one will be able to tell the difference between your fried rice and vegetarian pulav.

HOME