December has come. Time to reside, without any worries at Home Sweet Home. I want to utilise the time to start my training as a novice cook. It is time to unearth the culinary passion in me. I know it's there within me, I just know it. Known as a hardcore 'Foodie' and having a fetish for all things delicious, I thought the time had finally arrived to give some effort back to the kitchen, after all these years of devoted hogging from it. (Only,of course I had the good fortune of having it available around me.) I think the fact that I just completed ten years of hostel life also had a substantial contribution towards my adoration towards luxury food and drink, and of course, the unbeatable, one and only 'Ghar ka Khana'. Home food... It is the official love of my life.
So the morning I arrived, I was excited at the prospect of what to cook. Scrutinizing the kitchen shelf and refridgerator for prospective ingredients, and consulting my mother (admiring her deep and wise knowledge about cookery simultaneously) , I decided to make 'Alu Paneer Curry'. It was so fascinating, the process of metamorphosing a collection of deformed brown potatoes, pungent onions and various other sundry ingredients into such an aromatic, delectable and mouth-watering concoction of a dish. Creating something beautiful out of crude materials was a form of art, and I realised this while actually cooking. I was so delighted at having made my first dish, and also, I was starving at the time, so unfortunately I do not have a picture in which to proudly display it. However, if your eyes already haven't gone to the image, my second dish was Rajma , or Kidney Beans Curry. It was spicy red and had a tangy flavour, due to the tomato puree that had gone into it.
We have always been advised to eat our greens well. And as kids, we always made a long face even by just looking at them. In my boarding school, we kids used to devise ingenious ways of discarding them without the matron noticing. Now, many years later, I thought, why not make eating greens and spinach appetizing to eat, so that everyone could be invigorated with a 'Popeye the Sailor-Man' like urge to devour spinach.. Basically, the next item I made was 'Methi aloo gravy'. It was redolent of the country side, nutritious and was absolutely lip- smacking.
A glimpse of the complete lunch I prepared today.. I consider it as an important landmark of my life. A complete meal made by me. I never thought I was capable of this. But hurray, it turns out I am! I feel relieved, thinking that maybe in the future, my in- laws will not be so disappointed in me. It is an encouraging thought. Look at the image. Does it not look wholesome? Especially with the ghee melting on the rice.. I feel like having lunch all over again.
This is just the beginning. I am still a beginner, learning the basics. Soon, I will be back with more exotic palate - tempting recipes for dishes I had once dreamed of having only in restaurants. Meanwhile, my respect has gone up for three people.. Housewives, who are the only ones who truly know about healthy and sumptuous cooking, Restaurant chefs who cook so efficiently and so quickly for petulant customers, and also for Sanjeev Kapoor. Visit his website and you will know why. He is just as awesome as his recipes. I am just loving my new hobby.
