Wednesday, August 29, 2007

In 'hot' pursuit

A long long time ago, young Indians working in Singapore used to bug people travelling from Singapore to India to carry all sorts of electronic gadgets for their parents. "The quality is very good. Authentic. The real stuff. And cheaper!" was the argument.

The parents, on the other hand, would bug the same poor travellers to carry back bottles and cans of garam masala and what not for their kids. "The quality is very good. Authentic. The real stuff. And cheaper!" was the argument.


And then a couple of years ago, things changed. The parents in India started looking at the gadgets with disapproval and saying, "Oh, we get all of these in India now. And cheaper. And better quality. Don't send any more." And not to accept defeat, the young Indians starting looking at the bottles of spices with disapproval and saying, "Hmmmph! We get all of these in Singapore now. And cheaper. And better quality. Don't send any more."

The world had reached equilibrium. Everyone was at peace. The frequent travellers were finally breathing easy, and stopped avoiding both the young Indians and their parents.

And that's when one of the young Indians -- yours truly -- made a startling discovery.

Singapore does not carry green chilli sauce.

I repeat - Singapore does NOT carry green chilli sauce.

Allow me to react again --> :O :O :O

Even Mustafa Centre, the be-all and end-all of everything Indian, did not. The staff gave you puzzled looks when you asked for green chilli sauce.

"Chilli sauce?? Green??" They asked, and then shrugged and pointed to Maggi red chilli sauce bottles.

And I gave them the 'look' and wondered - what kinda Indians are you if you don't know green chilli sauce? I can understand if local Indians don't know it. But you sound like Indians from India, and every Indian worth his/her salt grew up in India on Chinese food (or least what they thought Chinese food was, till they landed in Singapore) with a generous dash of chilli sauce. Green chilli sauce.


The thought of my kitchen sans green chilli sauce bottles was revolting. In a country where carrying drugs carried a death penalty, my green chilli sauce was my legal marijuana. How was I to survive without it?

So I spread the word. Let every living soul who even remotely knew me, know of my obsession. Hung my head in shame and admitted to the parents that yes, there was something they could send that I could not get in Singapore. Chased the same frequent travellers, who could not believe that I had pushed them back in time, and asked them to bring back bottles of my wonder drug. While people emerged from duty-free with perfume bottles for a friend they were about to surprise, the poor souls emerged with green chilli sauce bottles for a friend they were about to abandon.

So when my Mom-in-law came to visit me, she got me green chilli sauce bottles. When Mom and Dad came to visit me, they got me green chilli sauce bottles. When Dad-in-law came to Singapore to attend a conference, he got me green chilli sauce bottles. Shub went to India and got me green chilli sauce bottles. My seven blog sistahs sent me a bottle of green chilli sauce (among other things) for my birthday. And the rate at which I was finishing off the bottles was quite unbelievable. Fortunately, I believe there are about sixteen more bottles floating around in various parts of Singapore that I have to pick up. So my "virtual cellar" is full, even if the home stock is dwindling.

Today, I met an old friend for dinner. She's a Singaporean Indian who'd just come back from a trip to India. She handed me a large plastic bag when she saw me.

And inside the plastic bag, I found five bottles of...















My stock (the third one's "work in progress")



41 comments:

venkatesan said...

GOLD TO ME!!!!!!!We will not send chilli sauce bottles for next two years! That is a promise!

Sayesha said...

#Venkatesan,
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!! :O
What have I done???!!!!!!! :O

shub said...

"young Indians -- yours truly "
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA?!
Young??! YOUNG?! YOUNG?! hahahahahaha! :P


abbey, I love it so much that I've taken to eating it with EVERYTHING! And I mean everything! I hate bread, but I love toasted multigrain bread with a layer of ching's secret on top!
Soo next time I drop by, keep those bottles outta sight! Cos my solitary bottle's getting empty! (get the hint!) muahaha! [ ermm...I shoulda said all this before I made the 'young? hahaha' comment! damn eet! ]

Thisisme said...

meeeeeeeee bronzeeeeeee..laddddy luckkkkkkkkk smiles on me:))))))

Thisisme said...

n lemme give u some info..for which ur gonna lurrvvv me..hopefully!

an aunt gave this to me..since i m a fan of green chilli sauce as well..

take the following:
1 full plate of raw green chillies.
1 small boiled, peeled, mashed potato.
1/2cup of white vinegar
salt tastewise.(1-2 tsp)

Now in a mixie..take the chilles..(washed n dried), mashed potato, vinegar and salt..and blend them well..add more vinegar n salt accordingly..if too thick..add vinegar..if too bitter..add salt.
n voila..ur chilli sauce is ready :-)
store this in a dry bottle.

PS: never ever use ur bare hands/fingers for mixing this sauce..ur gonna burn them baddd :( ...erm..i have a remedy for that too...rub some lime n later some cooking oil..

actually some ppl learn from exprnc! :P..thats me :))

PPS: lemme knw whether this worked out..:) it does work for me..n i use it till date :)

Sukhaloka said...

LOL! :D

You rock, Sayesha!

mathew said...

next time..say u dont get the mercedes S class in singapore!!;-P

hope you get lucky..

Liquid Oxygen said...

Mustafa doesn't keep Kurkure either :((

ever tried Kurkure with green chilli?!?! ... deadly delicious!

Bivas said...

ummm...ahem ahem...
*absolute disbelief*...yeh kya tha!!!
n next time u r gonna talk abt the padosi's pet fishy! ;-) :P

Just Jane said...

ROFLMAO!!! :)))

Your best option now is to open a dukkan for "Indian Green Chilli Sauce" and do business with Mustafa! ;)

This is making me hungry...damn..where's a plate of kurkure and green chilli sauce when you need one! :P

GG said...

ek bottle mein level thoda kam hai!

Sayesha said...

#Shub,
See? I got you addicted to chilli sauce, but SRK se kitni der tak dooor bhagegi? Muahahaha!
ps: You stay away from my bottles! :/

#Thisime,
Really?? This works?? I don't believe it! Will the taste be the same? Don't you have to add some citric acid and stuff to preserve it, like in puree etc.?

#Suki,
Muahaha! I know! :D

#Mathew,
Puh-leez. You're comparing chilli sauce to a measly car???

#Liquid Oxygen,
Oh man! It DOES sound delicious!! Methinks me will catch the frequent travellers to bring me some kurkure! :P

#Bivas,
Errr... I don't know how to reply to your comment. :)

#Janefield,
Hehehe! Yeah! I should have vun beeg thela right outside Mustafa and I should yell "Chilli sauce LE LO!!!!" :D

#GG,
That's the one currently in use. :)

qsg said...

hahaha - a friend of mine's wife was pregnant and wanted me to get the Tops Green Chilli sauce for her when I went to India.

Cost of bottle: Rs 25
Cost of shipping: $10 (Rs 500)
Her phone call when she got it: Priceless

It was hilarious though, but I guess she isn't the only one! :)

Thisisme said...

oh yea it does work...
n no preservatives reqd...make it in small quantity...not too much intially..n see how long it lasts..n c if it does get spoiled..dont think it shud..
me thinks the vinegar in it acts like a preservative..
n tastewise..its very much the same :)
I have been using this for many yrs..n works v fine for me :) give it a try n then c..if u wanna use it in future..:)

Thisisme said...

oh yea it does work...
n no preservatives reqd...make it in small quantity...not too much intially..n see how long it lasts..n c if it does get spoiled..dont think it shud..
me thinks the vinegar in it acts like a preservative..
n tastewise..its very much the same :)
I have been using this for many yrs..n works v fine for me :) give it a try n then c..if u wanna use it in future..:)

Pallavi said...

hehehe!! do you remember farex..kid's food?? i found me and one of my frnd still like it as grown-ups and we dont get here in US..:)..

Unknown said...

LOLLL! Agree with Jane totalli. I'll send you bottles, you do the selling. 50-50 ki partnership. hehehe.

ROFL @ Gems' comment!

Unknown said...

hmphh. u dont post for one whole week n wen i dont see,the other week u go ahead write three new posts. waaaah :((

okay...chilli sauce,hmm herd bout the oRANGE chilli sauce? the bright chamelion-orange sauce?
:D
(it tastes exactly lik the green one though)

Sayesha said...

#QSG,
Ahahaha! Shabash! :)

#Thisisme,
Cool! I'm gonna try it! :)

#Pallavi,
Oh My Gawd! I used to love Cerelac and even eat my baby cousin's share till I was like 12 or so!!! Even now I think I can eat it - but original flavour, no apple-shapple! :D

#Rebellion,
Heh heh heh! :P

#Tejal,
Abbe baby gutta nai gutta nai! :P

Orange chilli sauce? Yikes! :|

Sakshi said...

@ Now I know what to get you when we meet :P

And just for my info - itna chilli kisme dale ja rahe ho?

Bivas said...

hehe...that makes the two of us...confused abt what to comment ;-)
P.S. Cerelac...yummy :D

Shekhar said...

Thomas Friedman might argue that "The World is Flat", but for us Indians, the world of geographical boundaries is just one bottle of green chilli sauce away. :))

Manchus said...

Yesterday after reading this post my craving for chilli sauce or anything chilli started!!! Went home and made the really spicy Chilli-Chutney and that quenched my craving :)

P.S : I love Farex and Cerelac too. I had dreamt that I will share my daughter's babyfood. But the ones we get in US is so yucky!!! Maybe for my next one will ask my parents to get some from India.

parikrama said...

>> what kinda Indians are you if you don't know green chilli sauce?

Errr ahem.. I am Bambaiyaa kind of Indian and I swear to god i have never come across green chilli sauce in my life ! not even while eating indian style Chinese food!

satish said...

mummy bhook lagi!

:((

Unknown said...

Ok, now we know I aint Indian:p I have never heard of green chilli sauce ever!:o

Sayesha said...

#Sakshi,
Wot? You will only get me batli of chilli sauce?? Kanjoos! :/

//itna chilli kisme dale ja rahe ho?

SAB MEIN! :D Egg roll, chow mein, veg soup, chilli paneer, you name it, I add it! :D

#Bivas,
Hehehe! :P

#Shekhar,
:D

#Manchus,
Hahahahahaha! You're welcome! :P :P :P

#Parikrama,
And you're saying this with such pride? Dhikkaar hai! :P :P :P

#Satish,
Hahahahahah! Mummy ko kyun yaad kar raha hai, khana banana seekh le, ladki pataane mein bhi kaam aayega! :D

#Duhita,
Ufff! Aur raho India se baahar! :P

parikrama said...

>> And you're saying this with such pride? Dhikkaar hai! :P :P :P

Arey pride nahi, I am saying that with amusement, coz I suspect all these years some Nepali guy (doubling up as a Chinese chef) has been taking you for a ride by mixing green chilli sauce in Chinese dishes ! Its definitely not used in "authentic" Desi chinese dishes.. Haah Nepali - chinese dishes mein zaroor use hotaa hogaa ;-)

GuNs said...

Apparently you cannot get "Moong Daal" in the UK!

-PeAcE
--WiTh
---GuNs

Sudeep said...

sheesh! woh reader mein pics nahi aate so i came to see yeh kaunsa green chilly paste hai.. i only know tht this stuff comes in one of the partitions of the serving vessel with soya sauce n vinegar-chilly in restaurants.. wohi hai kya? i never tasted it :D

i hope u use it only in food n not for ur bhaigiri :D

nycbewda said...

Bhai

App ko yaad hai ek purna ad
"Maggie Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce"
"It's Different"

shub said...

W.r.t QSG's comment -- hahaha - a friend of mine's wife was pregnant and wanted me to get the Tops Green Chilli sauce for her when I went to India.

It was hilarious though, but I guess she isn't the only one! :)


Toh Mrs.Sash, stocking up, nicely I see!

(comment post karne ka poora maza ud gaya! hmph!)

satish said...

khana banana sikh liya phir ladki patane kee jaroorat kya hai??

aap bhi naa bhai!

Sayesha said...

#Parikrama,
I will say it once again - dhikkaar hai! :D

#GuNs,
Really?? Hahahahahahaha! :D

#Sudeep,
Ekdum sahi bola! Wohich wala hai! :D

//i never tasted it :D

WHAT?? Nikal ja bar se tu! Abhi ke abhi! Arre koi leke jao re isko! :/

//i hope u use it only in food n not for ur bhaigiri :D

Muahahaha! Idea de diya tuney! :P

#Nycbewda,
Haha yeah I remember!! Javed Jaffrey! :D

#Shub,
I have been craving for it since I was born, lekin you said you have started craving for it only recently. Hmmm... What's up babe? ;)

#Satish,
AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Tu bahut funny aadmi hai, Sattu! Itna sexist comment likha but I am howling with laughter here! :D

qsg said...

@Pallavi, Sash: I loved Cerelac too... and I have found an alternative to it in the US - Cream of Wheat intant cereal... it reminds me of the same taste and as is obvious - my favorite hot cereal! :)

Deepali said...

Lekin itna chilli khana sehat ke liye kharaab hai. Control!!

Sayesha said...

#QSG,
Hehehe... awesome man! One more point in favour of the move-to-US-or-not dilemma. :P

#Deepali,
Hehehe... ab toh yeh haal hai ki iske bina sehat kharaab ho jayegi! :P

Just Jane said...

ok now tell me of all the brands you've stocked up on...which are the good ones??? :P back in the good old days there used to be only one variety available, now there's SIL, TOPS, CHINGS and god knows wot all...haven't bought chilli sauce in eons coz i'm always confused looking at the bottles on display!

Just Jane said...

WAITING FOR ANSWER!!! yday i went to supermarket and spent 15 mins eyeing the variety of green chilli sauce bottles!!! had to control all the mouth watering :P Tell me wot brand is best!!! :P

Sayesha said...

#Janefield,
Sorry sorry!! Well, people bring me all kinds of brands and personally I find all of them rather mild, and Chings is perhaps the mildest one. Sil is not too bad, but there's a new one called Sams which I haven't yet opened. Will tell you how that turns out. :)

Just Jane said...

MILD??? how can green chilli sauce be mild? I knew it! Today's brands are nothing like the good ole original. I dont think there was a proper brand as such. It always rocked in the clubs that used to serve them :D