"You should start learning to cook now. Every girl should atleast know to cook basic dal-rice atleast,.." my mom's voice would reach me on sunday mornings, where she would plan on teaching me "to cook" and just when I was about to drag myself to kitchen, my dad would chime in "Oh just let go, she will hire chefs and servants to do all the cooking, why worry now about it..!" and my smiling face would knew no bounds when I was let go, for two reasons - One, I was of thinking that only when you are a house wife you cook, and I was not planning on being one and Two - cooking in kitchen did not paint a pretty picture before me, it would be someone working hard day and night, responsible for flavor, taste, proportions and was subject to critic and judgements later by their own family members.
And just as your fears come back at you, cooking was one of it... It was not marriage, where I would be expected to cook for my husband and impress my in-laws, but the reason was Me! I was going to be away from my parents in a foreign land where options like "eating out everyday" or "asking your aunty to cook while mom was away" were not possible.
So, reminding myself about how you learn to swim once thrown in the water, I decided to overcome my fear and face it boldly (Lolz, it seems like I am talking about going on a war!)
But that was how it started, and then, the journey began - learning the basic ingredients that go in any dish, and that proportions matter, and that just mixing the ingredients if the list was given to you will not necessarily result in an edible dish, there is a pattern and trick to some dishes, the quantity will vary when you cook for a larger group, and that you cannot afford to get busy watching the climax of a movie while the milk boils on a high gas, and stirring avoids lumps in curres, and that some preparations have to be done a day in advance and most importantly, adding salt with your intuition is an art!! phew! I did go through all of these phases and even more.. But here is what led me to actually start writing a blog on the joys of cooking..
It is the smell of the sabji that you prepared with your own hands, its the steam coming out of pressure cooker giving you a relief that the hardest beans and lentils will get cooked, it the pretty bowl that you serve it in, its the colors that the ingredients change as they go through the process of cooking, its the smell of cake baking in your oven,... its the assurance that its totally healthy coz you used two spoons of oil instead of four! its the sight of a satisfied foodie friends enjoying you dish and its their compliments that sound music to my ears,.. and the most imp. its the sense of gratitude that I feel towards my mom and any other person who cooks pouring their heart and soul into it, so that we could enjoy a hearty meal...
Cheers to all that and more joys of cooking :)
And just as your fears come back at you, cooking was one of it... It was not marriage, where I would be expected to cook for my husband and impress my in-laws, but the reason was Me! I was going to be away from my parents in a foreign land where options like "eating out everyday" or "asking your aunty to cook while mom was away" were not possible.
So, reminding myself about how you learn to swim once thrown in the water, I decided to overcome my fear and face it boldly (Lolz, it seems like I am talking about going on a war!)
But that was how it started, and then, the journey began - learning the basic ingredients that go in any dish, and that proportions matter, and that just mixing the ingredients if the list was given to you will not necessarily result in an edible dish, there is a pattern and trick to some dishes, the quantity will vary when you cook for a larger group, and that you cannot afford to get busy watching the climax of a movie while the milk boils on a high gas, and stirring avoids lumps in curres, and that some preparations have to be done a day in advance and most importantly, adding salt with your intuition is an art!! phew! I did go through all of these phases and even more.. But here is what led me to actually start writing a blog on the joys of cooking..
It is the smell of the sabji that you prepared with your own hands, its the steam coming out of pressure cooker giving you a relief that the hardest beans and lentils will get cooked, it the pretty bowl that you serve it in, its the colors that the ingredients change as they go through the process of cooking, its the smell of cake baking in your oven,... its the assurance that its totally healthy coz you used two spoons of oil instead of four! its the sight of a satisfied foodie friends enjoying you dish and its their compliments that sound music to my ears,.. and the most imp. its the sense of gratitude that I feel towards my mom and any other person who cooks pouring their heart and soul into it, so that we could enjoy a hearty meal...
Cheers to all that and more joys of cooking :)
No comments:
Post a Comment