Tomato ketchup and I go a long way back. From the time I would put it into my maggi noodles as a kid, and then beefing up the volume of a paltry half portion soup as a college student to now a working mom who has to make food look like an adventure park for the kids to dig in!
As Hotel management students, we knew a few tricks ..... if you are 2 people and want value for money, order for a soup "One by two" - only make sure you sound as confidant and preoccupied as possible, so that the server thinks you just want to get done with the soup to dig into the main course. And this is done in even good restaurants. If 3 people, go for a "two by three" .. and so on and so forth..that works as well.
Now the trick is that no self respecting eatery would send in a soup bowl with very little soup, and risk the danger of the soup turning cold before you sip it (as ideally, a soup should burn your tongue if you are not careful - weird Frenchmen!!).
So two of you end up getting a decent portion size for the price of one! And if you are as enterprising as future hoteliers are, you end up using soy sauce and tomato ketchup to double the volume....
More on that when I have a little more vodka in the bloodstream.....
But now, I have been tempted to write in about this new (well new for me!!) bomb in the guise of a condiment. Its called TWANGY and is a product of Del Monte (no...not Fullmonty, you idiot!)
The pros:
- Comes in a nice , convenient, non messy plastic container with a flip on lid (a life saving quality if you have 3 year olds who like to break stuff!)
- Has the sweet tomato ketchup taste... yes, it is a little sweeter than your average tomato ketchup, but that's because it has pineapple (yup, you read that right - pineapple) paste and pieces.
- The best thing is the subtle flavor of bell peppers - along with little pieces of it in the sauce. Tastes like a relish, but the consistency is thinner.
- Guaranteed hit with kids!!
- Gels well with Indian foods - I've tried it with Samosas, kachories, even Vadas. Can be used as a dip with salad batons, or wafers... tried it all.
Cons:
1. If you don't like sweet sauces, you may not like it
2. Gets over in a jiffy... so be prepared to refill sauce bowls
Facts :
- A 520 gm pack of Twango comes for Rs.75/-.
- Another flavor (not tried yet) called Zingo (chilli garlic may be a better choice for people who like it hot!)
