Eating is such a fulfilling activity; relishing the taste in your mouth, taking multiple helpings and then sitting back, satisfied, with a happy sigh and a full stomach. Cooking, on the other hand, is filled only with activities – prepping, chopping, marinating, and it goes on.
How often do you hop, skip and jump to your kitchen, only to run back to your room, in spite of hunger calling out to you? You will readily survive on a packet of readymade noodles, a crafty bowl of cereal, caffeine or pretty much anything, but won’t budge from the couch or bed to make yourself a real meal. Well, blame it all on cooking – a chore to which we have been exposed since childhood that involves more of work and less joy, for many.
There are two types of people in the world – those who love cooking and those who love eating. We are here to deal with the latter and encourage them to start cooking.
Let’s get the bread and butter right
Start by attempting to make simple dishes, such as toasting a slice of bread as per your preference, without burning it – skill does go behind perfecting it as well. Trying your hand at basic dishes will boost your confidence in the kitchen space, such as upma, poha, sheera, which have fewer steps in the making, requires only a handful of ingredients and barely any prep.
Let that creativity flow
The first time we attempt to cook doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. It is fine if the tempering (tadka) got burnt, the vegetables were a bit undercooked or there was excess oil in the food. We’re not appearing for any master chef contest, so go easy on yourself. The firsts are like trials and errors; as and when you start acing at making a dish, you can start experimenting to keep your interest hanging. For instance, if you want to make a vermicelli upma with a twist, add some chilli flakes/oregano to it or any other herbs and spices to get your creative juices flowing.
Dish out for the gram
Once the dish is prepared as per your satisfaction, regardless of whether you fish compliments for it or not; self-validation is essential. You need to pat your back for all the efforts, patience and the ultimate output. The next step is to take it to the gram – plate the dish you made, place it where there is good lighting and, voila, your masterpiece is uploaded. While this activity may have nothing to do with cooking but it has a lot to do with you cooking for yourself, by choice.