Dida's Noodle Omelette

For my daughters, their Dida (grandmother) is their best friend, confidante, personal chef, and Santa Claus rolled into one soft, cuddly package. They are more comfortable sharing their secrets and wishes with her than with me. Perhaps because she listens patiently to their verbal ramblings and asks questions instead of absent-mindedly mumbling "Hmm..." or snapping, "Get to the point!" I think it also helps that she is willing to lend a sympathetic ear to their many complaints against me. I am happy that they have this connection with her despite the physical separation of thousands of miles. Those of us who have the good fortune of watching our parents in the role of grandparents to our children, often marvel at the transformation that this new responsibility brings over them. Our parents seem to be more indulgent, forgiving, and patient with their grandchildren than they ever were with us. This is probably a factor of age -- people mellow with age and are freed from stressors like holding down jobs, raising families, and paying the mortgage -- resulting in a more laidback approach to life. It is also possible that they always possessed the admirable human qualities that make them good grandparents. We, their children, just did not notice or appreciate them during our preoccupied, angsty teenage years.

One of the lesser qualities that I did not necessarily appreciate growing up was my mother's ability to use up leftovers in appetizing new creations. Keema leftover from dinner would make its way into our sandwiches, leftover potatoes from a curry mashed up and fried into boras, dry, store-bought cakes immersed in chocolate sauce to create a brand new dessert. These creations often tasted better than the original components and introduced excitement into our otherwise uneventful existence. Among one of my daughters' Dida favorites is a creation using leftover noodles and eggs. They always request this noodle omelette when she comes to visit and she makes it for them as an after-school snack.

The concept of the noddle omelette is simple enough. Use leftover noodles (like from a chowmein) to serve as filling for an omelette. Flipping the omelette once the egg is set at the bottom results in a golden crust on the noodles. Using cold noodles from the fridge also helps attain the crispiness. If there is some flavor and extras (like vegetables) in the noodles to begin with, that's great, but if you just happen to have plain, boiled noodles on hand, that works too. If you are working with freshly boiled noodles, just put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before you start. If you think your noodles need some help in the flavor department, you can add chopped onions and tomatoes, sprinkle some salt and up the amount of sauce in the recipe. The whole point is to keep things simple and use whatever you have at hand.

What you need (for 1 egg noodle):
1 large egg
1 cup cooked noodles
2 tsp oil
1 tsp ketchup/hot sauce/other sauce of choice

Directions:
Beat egg with a pinch of salt.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add beaten egg and swirl to coat bottom pan.

Spread the noodles on the layer of egg. Sprinkle ketchup and remaining 1 tsp oil on the noodles.

Gently nudge the side of the omelette with a spatula to check if the egg has set. Then, using either an offset spatula or two flat wooden spoons, flip the omelette over so that the noodle side is on the pan.

After about a minute, invert a plate on top of the pan and flip the pan over so that the omelette lands on the plate noodle side up.

Voila! Noodle omelette is ready.