Something’s cooking!

I am not a good cook….I can barely manage to dish out edible khana. All my life I have been dead sure that if I strictly follow the instructions in the cookbooks, I’ll be able to get the formula correct.

So for many years, I tried this trick or the other – biryani, paneer, cakes….nothing came out good. Mind you, they were just okay but not finger licking good. Then a few months ago, I met this person who came very close to taking my heart. He was a foodie like me and we discussed all kinds of dishes and cuisine. So I started cooking again, this time keeping him in mind. I didn’t follow the cookbook but just what mom told me. Some I tried on my own. And surprise of all surprises – all my dishes came out delicious. My mom was amazed and so was I.

This continued for some months until one day I realized that he’s not my man after all. That very week I cooked a normal subzi with the right masala and everything. It took me an hour to finish cooking it and not only the taste was all wrong but the vegetables were still hard.

That’s when I remembered what my mom and other seniors had often told me - that one should cook with her heart. Only then the food turns out delicious. All this while, I had ignored it completely as an old hag’s tale. Now I know – maybe when I meet ‘the’ man of my life, I will become a great cook once again.