I remember writing notes about cooking when I was in 6th. I can't exactly recollect the cause behind it but the first line is still embossed on my mind: cooking is an art. I didn't have any idea about cooking at that time. It never occurred to me as interesting. There were students in my class who had already learned to cook some dishes as the teenage years commenced but I considered myself as a 'black sheep of my group.' I didn't even bother to learn few tips from my mom.
As years passed by, my first experiment on cooking was making an omelette. I tried to push my interests onto the unpredictable path of cooking. I term it as unpredictable because sometimes an unexpected drop of blood becomes a painful ingredient.(wink*) Egg is my favourite and hence I felt delighted in the process of making an omelette. I used to proudly exclaim to my relatives that: I know to make an omelette! Well, it's not a big thing but for me it was.
Being a housewife is not a piece of cake. I have seen my mom struggling day in and day out and I used to feel sorry for her. I have always made a grumpy face whenever she used to present healthy food in front of me. "Isn't there something interesting?" would be my first response. I feel most of the kids have the tendency to make such a response. In some situations I had come face to face with the sudden outburst of my mom's anger.
"Stand in the kitchen whole day and try to cook something as your mind battles with the heat! That is the time you will realise how difficult cooking is! Be grateful for what you get as you don't know how it feels to die in hunger!" My mouth converts into a straight line and I kind of feel ashamed of myself. That is the time when I don't feel sorry for my mom, but I actually empathise with her.
I then took a silent vow and promised myself that I would start helping my mom in cooking. I realised that a little help could make her day. After all even our moms deserve a hang out with their friends and some time for themselves, isn't it? The vow is still in progress.
Cooking is one of the best way to spend time with the parents. One day my dad decided to make a fish curry. I started observing him and tried to cut few vegetables by myself. It's a very funny experience. I didn't know how to hold a knife properly and my hand would tremble with excitement and fear. My dad would look at me and say, "this is not the way!" and his remark would be followed by my mom's laughter in the next room. He would keep me occupied by asking me to remove green chillies or tomatoes. I would become confused because of an unsuccessful search in the fridge and my mom's comment would make me laugh harder: Oh! (in exaggeration), she will take the whole day to find them! The entire experience would be composed of dedication, fun and a dawn of realisation which consists of one single message: Cooking is a cherish able experience to rejoice with the loved ones.
This amazing art has developed tolerance in me. It has also taught me the secret behind a wonderful recipe. That secret is love. It is an ingredient which makes any dish so delicious and mouth-watering which no five star hotel would be able to provide you. That is why home made foodstuffs are the best!
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