Grandma’s recipes secret | Story by Kaavya, 11, Dombivli

Grandma’s recipes : The secret  

One day, Montu and Minnie returned home from playing in the garden. Montu and Minnie were identical twins, had black hair and hazel eyes. They both were living with their loving grandmother for a week since their parents had gone out of the city for some office work. 

The next day Montu found a cooking and baking competition poster. It was mentioned that the winner would get a gift and a trophy and would get a chance to donate the proceeds to a charity of their choice. Montu thought, “Oh! A cooking and baking competition! That sounds fun. I’ll enroll in it and make grandma’s choco-chip cookies and M & M brownies!”

After some time, Montu approached his teacher, Mrs.Sunita, and asked her, “Hello, Ma’am! I was wondering if I could enroll in a baking stall for the contest.”

“Oh dear!” said Mrs. Sunita. “Your sister has already said she’s making your grandma’s recipes, so you need to think of something else to make.” 

“I will talk to Minnie,” assured Montu. 

Montu rushed to Minnie during recess, “Hi Minnie! I wanted to make grandma’s brownies and cookies for the contest, so you can pick up something else?” 

“No!” replied Minnie in a stubborn way. “Every time, you snatch away granny’s recipes. It’s nothing hard. I can do it too.” Saying this, Minnie stormed off, leaving Montu in bewilderment. 

When Montu reached home, he complained to his grandmother. “Grandma, Minnie has called dibs on your recipes for the baking and cooking contest.What should I do?” Montu slumped on the sofa and pouted his lips. 

“Montu, a recipe can be followed by anyone but a recipe can only be created by the rarest. Make your own recipe which comes from your heart. Put your own flavours and imagination to it.” His grandmother replied with a bright smile. 

“Thank you so much, grandma. You are a lifesaver,” said Montu while running into the kitchen to bake. And he was shocked as the kitchen was split into two parts. Minnie had divided the kitchen and she refused to share the recipes. Montu ignored her and started baking. At first, he put all the wrong measurements and it tasted very bitter. But later, he got a hang of it and presented the dish to his grandmother. 

“Grandma, I present to you, almond butter cookies and butterscotch brownies with some fresh squeezed apple and grape juices to wash it down,” exclaimed Montu. 

Grandma grabbed a bite of each dish and was blown away with the taste and aroma, “Wow, Montu! You are a better baker than me. Such a talent you have.” As soon as grandmother finished her sentence, they heard a loud cry from the kitchen. 

“Wah! This is too hard. It says add salt to taste. But everyone has different tastes.” It was Minnie, all her attempts had failed and she was covered in odd ingredients like flour and cocoa powder. 

“Minnie, calm down. What’s wrong?” asked Montu. 

“I am sorry, Montu. I thought following a recipe was easy, but it’s not.” Minnie cried as she said it. Montu helped Minnie clean the mess in the kitchen. Minnie was still upset. “Granny, what should I do? I don’t have anything to make for the contest.” Minnie was discouraged by her own rigid behavior. 

Grandmother explained the same thing. She said, “Minnie, your recipe should come from your heart. Create your own recipes.” Minnie was still confused and she didn’t know what dish she was good at cooking. 

Just then, Montu suggested happily, “Minnie, you make a great sour and sweet curry with rice. You should make that with your own twist.” 

Minnie agreed and ran towards the kitchen. About 20 minutes later, she came out and handed some bits of her curry-rice to Montu and Granny. “Wow, it’s so special and amazing.” They both exclaimed. 

Grandmother suggested that they both set up a stall together and they agreed. The next day, they returned from the school with great news that they had won the contest. And they had decided to donate the winnings to an old age home. The kids thanked their grandmother and said that they had a sweet surprise for her. 

“She’s old and she’s gold. 

She’s strong and she’s bold. 

And she’s our Granny who rocks!”

They both sang the song and hugged granny. 

Moral of the story – We should create our own legacy and not follow someone else’s.