The Language of Food

"Out of the kitchen! NOW!" That's how my mom would screech when I was ten, trying my hand at cooking. I wouldn't blame her because I've set my share of records at being clumsy and butter fingers especially around the kitchen! For a girl so young, a kitchen is not the right place to experiment were exactly the words from my mother! But this scenario changed. When I was thirteen, I used to sneak into the kitchen with my childhood best friend Shankari with the motive of cooking "paneer butter masala". God, I used to love the way my mom prepared it. We came, we saw but did not conquer. The dish was a complete disaster. We were left with no choice but to force ourselves and eat what we prepared. This didn't stop my will to learn how to cook properly like my mother and grandmothers. Being daddy's girl, I couldn't stand it when my dad would compliment my mom every time she cooked something amazing( which was every single day) Yes, it's true my mom and grand-moms where my first inspiration to learn the culinary arts. But there is someone else who left me open mouthed when I saw her cook and proceeded to read her books. Her language-AMAZING! That would probably be an understatement. She actually speaks 'food'. "You need a balance in life between dealing with what's going on inside and not being so absorbed in yourself that it takes over." That by the way is Nigella Lawson for you all. A British food writer, journalist and broadcaster.

In the busy, stressful life of the modern woman, there could be more feel good mileage from running up a tray of muffins or baking a cake than in almost any other cooking. But we're so busy making efficient, 'modern' food, that we too easily forget, what Nigella demonstrates in her mouthwatering and deliciously reassuring cookbooks, blogs and cookery shows is that, its actually not hard to make any food, that the appreciation and satisfaction it brings are all in proportion to the effort involved. Writing in one of her blogs about her very first book, "Domestic Goddess" she says how a domestic goddess has to maintain her cool when faced with pastry. After reading that, I would say, with Nigella's guidance, even shortcrust pastry can be pretty pain-free.

Ten years later, cooking dinner for my family every night, I sleep peacefully after a hug and kiss from my dad and to top it all he would say "I loved the food today", just like the icing on a cake. And oh yes, this daddy's girl's day is made! Thanks to you Nigella. I started experimenting with food after reading one of her blogs in particular which says "Cook for yourself. When I cook for myself, I don't mind taking a risk with an ingredient because it's only me and I don't have the fear of disappointing. You discover what works and you suddenly have this reward which is a lovely supper. You need to feel free to make mistakes or you're not going to learn anything, and this is true in life."

Those were the magic words that made it all happen for me!