Learning to buy veggies – 1

It’s not like I have never bought veggies in my life before. I have appeared pretty professional while rapping my knuckles on coconuts & sounding them out. My expertise in buying coriander & mint leaves is legendary and I have had no qualms while sifting through potatoes and onions. However, I was not prepared enough for my first experience of buying Okra.

As it happened, we needed to buy Okra and tomatoes. Since the grocery market is enroute home, I decided to pitch in and buy some on my way back. V managed to tutor me (see if the ends of the Okra break snappily, that means it’s good) and so did my sister. I strode across confidently to the hawker and started examining the Okras lying in a basket in front of me. I kept prodding, twisting and snapping; totally unsure if the Okras were ‘snapping’ because they were fresh or if it was happening because of my ‘strength’. The hawker kept insisting that they were all fresh, but then would he say otherwise?

A quarter kilo was what I needed to buy and at least five women came, perused, paid & left while I was finishing my inspections. After a good 15 minutes, the hawker got restless and stuffed my bag himself. ‘I guarantee that they are fresh. If you find otherwise, please bring them back. I won’t forget you!’.

C’est la vie…

They did turn out well btw, I had them for lunch