Chef in-the-making...

God really has his own way of getting people like doing stuff they wouldn’t prefer doing on a normal day. Mom got operated exactly a fortnight ago. Since the operation involved an incision on her right wrist, her right arm was bandaged with strict instructions of resting her arm for atleast a month.

I did spend a couple of sleepless nights figuring out as to who is gonna do the cooking (the rest of the household chores could be shared equally between Dad and me).Thank God, granny was around to initiate me into the kitchen. For someone who could barely make sippable coffee (the colour of the concoction itself, made by yours truly, used to put people off so much that I was very sweetly told not to be seen near the gas stove :D), preparing a proper four-course meal has been quite a journey and to top it all I’ve loved every bit of it.


I absolutely love the way my chappatis turn into a nice circle before I toss it onto the pan, and when they start swelling up (as they should) my spirits soar along with them. I kinda get the same kind of elation as a potter would, when he sees a mound of clay proudly whirring into a beautiful pot on his wheel. All this after many days of producing rotis the shape of the map of India or Asia or many a times North America, made of rock hard dough, as soft as the toughest piece of leather. No one complained (to top it all , Dad even praised the “hard work” behind making it).Then Science came to rescue-Putting more water in the dough will result in fluffy rotis and rotating the belan with the right amount of pressure at one place while flattening the dough gives u nice round rotis.

I now love experimenting with the different varieties of masalas and other condiments, different varieties of oils and sauces. It really amazed me as to how just by altering the quantities of any of these wonderful raw materials we can churn up a new variety of a traditional curry. But the best part of it is, no one gets judgmental and snappy when I goof up- the plus points of being a late and unlikely beginner.

I still remember the tiffs I used to have with Mom when she wanted to watch Khana Khazana , and I would get all worked up and sulky and would hear none of her pleas. Now, I kinda linger on when a cookery-show comes my way while surfing channels on the television. The result being – I can rustle up a neat Italian omelette called frittata whenever I feel like having something out of the ordinary.

Now, I`m really hooked onto my time in the kitchen at the stove,or at the oven or at the mixie and the joy gets doubled when I see Dad,Mom or Granny lapping up my indigenous creations.I just wish I had some more time ,what with internship and GD preparation taking up most of it, to indulge in this new-found indulgence.

People say ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’; why keep the ladies out of it, I’d say the way to anyone’s heart is through his/her stomach. Not convinced? Just step into the kitchen and find out for yourself.