Stages of Eating Naga Burgers

Gourmet burgers are at the height of their popularity, with multiple food chains competing among themselves to attract you with new flavours and new ways to overuse cheese and mayo. So a while ago, the unique touch of adding intolerable levels of heat was given to the fairly basic recipe, and “Naga burgers” were born.

There are some people who like to take pride in how much heat they can tolerate, and they frequently show off this talent by asking for extra jhaal when ordering various street foods. For them, the invention of Naga burgers was a call to action. Others are just fascinated by the concept and want to eat it once to try something new. But either way, whoever dares to take the step, is in for a hell of a time.

It all starts with your nerves acting up. You're sitting there, thinking and rethinking if this was a good idea or not, as you wait for your food to arrive. The first bite is never bad. You take a bite, don't really feel much other than the juicy patty and cheese soaked bun. For a moment, you think it's not actually that bad and you'd still be behaving like a civilised human being after you're done.

But after the third or fourth bite, the hellfire sauce kicks in. You sense a sudden surge of heat starting to sear through your tongue. And within a few more seconds, you're basically panting for breath. If this is your first time, you'll probably make the classic rookie mistake of taking a sip from your acidic beverage of choice. Things get worse, and you're just sitting their suffering in constipated silence, since an outdoor public setting isn't an ideal place to flail around with your tongue out.

Gradually, the burn becomes bearable. The tempo of taking the fast, noisy breathes with your mouth slows down. If you've done this before, you probably have brought some chocolate, milk or chocolate milk which helped bring the situation under control. Now, you look at your half eaten spicy nemesis, size it up and decide it's time to dive into the dragon's den again.

Sadly, it's no different this time again, but definitely not as bad. You find yourself quietly taking a break from eating again, to wait out the burning sensation. This time, you actually start to enjoy the unique flavour, and you get to keep your attention on the taste of the juicy sauce covered patties, the very thing that made us fall in love with burgers in the first place.

After finally finishing the food, people usually get divided into two categories. One group appreciates the extreme heat and finds a unique tastefulness in the Naga sauce. The other group thinks whoever thought of the idea is absolutely crazy and wonders why in the world they just paid money to torture themselves in the name of eating out.

Of course, the Naga burger adventure doesn't end there. Your mouth just passed the torch to your stomach, and you're left with a distinct uncomfortable feeling as you head out. The ordeal will come to an end after you complete a certain essential task at home.

Mushfiqur Rahman Shanto is an undercover wizard who spends his days quietly observing muggles. Send him new magic spells at mushfiqshanto1234@gmail.com