By Ermelinda Makkimane
Take two medium-sized onions,
hmm, medium, as in when you
hold in one hand, you can just
about manage both, just about
with both shoving each other
trying to reach the centre of your
palm, why they do that I'll never
figure out. Then you clean and
chop them fine. Slice or dice? No, I said,
CHOP them fine. That's vertical and
horizontal cuts. Add salt, pepper in
minuscule amounts. Now for the eggs.
Take four eggs. Size does not matter,
not at all, for what we have in mind.
Crack them open. Discard the shell.
(You could wash it well and use
as calcium supplement for your plants
or powdered as a foot scrub).
Hopefully you poured the eggs' contents into
a bowl before now or, believe me, you'll
literally have egg on your hands.
In. Under. Wherever.
Beat them. The eggy mix of onions,
salt, pepper, garlic and EGGS. Garlic?
Yes, I added it just now. Cooking is a
spur of the moment thing, but very
important to get the beating right. The
mixture will achieve a silken consistency,
how silken? Well, just enough to dip a
finger and exit it with some froth sticking.
(Better wipe that finger before you proceed.)
Now light the burner or turn on your
hotplate, uff, wrong choice of words,
I'm no Nigella, so I was saying, turn on
you-know-what, and place the pan well-
balanced so it heats uniformly. Of course,
you test the heat by placing your hand,
right or left, does not matter, close to the
surface, as close as you can without
getting a nasty burn. If it feels
hot, pull back your hand and add oil. It, as you know, lubricates,
adds to the taste and prevents the whole
gloopy thing from sticking. What were you thinking?
Now pour with love. If your pan is large, pour all.
Else, hold back some for a second round. The edges
will begin to turn a darker yellow,
but the mixture in the middle will still be melty.
Time to rush to your balcony or kitchen garden for herbs.
Mint, oregano, cilantro.
Back in. Sprinkle crushed herbs and flip
the omelette. Cook for exactly 30 seconds.
Fold in half. Slide onto plate. Eat.
Ermelinda Makkimane loves thinking poetry. Sometimes she writes down those words. She has recently published her debut book Her Story: A Womanist Perspective on Mary of Nazareth. Her work has been chosen for digital publication by Lucky Jefferson for their '365 Collection' and for the Summer Anthology 2020 by the Other Worldly Women Press. Her poems have appeared in the Madras Courier, RHiMe and Pleaseseeme.com. She currently lives and works from her village in Divar, Goa.
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