DON'T MOVE!

 
Norina, Kitty and Rano returned with us from Cannes, and they, too, stayed on the Hill. Kitty had told Baba that she wanted to serve Him, so Baba instructed Naja to teach Kitty Indian cooking. In those early days Kitty did not know how to speak Marathi, and Naja knew very little English, just a few words, and sometimes they were very funny together.

On this particular occasion Naja was showing Kitty how to make some dish in which the first step was to brown chopped onions. Naja heated the oil in a saucepan, and then added the finely chopped onions.

When onions are first added to oil they ... are cold and they are not to be stirred until the oil and onions both become hot. Naja tried to explain this to Kitty but what she said was, "Don't move!" and so Kitty stood perfectly still, almost at attention.

For the cook to stand at attention was a new style of cooking for us, and we all had a good laugh about it. Baba, too, was very amused when we told Him of this incident.