Cooking is not my cup of tea. I realised this TRUTH when I was a young girl and was always reluctant to enter the kitchen except meal times. I can stir up a snack for you or a dessert, but the idea of cooking a meal - that too a Bengali meal - always used to put me off. So, however badly my parents wanted me to cook, I never did that till marriage. After marriage I started cooking but not in a large scale..... breakfast used to be toast with butter, lunch at office and then cooking dinner used to be a joint effort with my husband.
So, when did I start cooking full-fledged? Yes, I started it with all gusto when Ishan came to my life. The idea of a maid cooking up for him never occurred to me. I am hygiene conscious to the point of being a pain in the neck for the cook. Has she washed the veggies, did she wash her hands well, did she taste the food while cooking...etc etc etc etc. The list of my peeves were too high for me to employ a cook. So, to be on the safer side I started to cook regularly. Then slowly a secret wish welled up within me. I wanted Ishan to like what I cook and so all my efforts would be to cook something healthy that he likes, something nutritious that satisfies me on the nutrition scale and satiates his taste buds.
I love whatever my Mum cooks. I crave for things cooked by her and so when I visit her I always have a long list of what I want to eat. Secretly I started wishing that Ishan too should love food cooked by me. He too should crave for food cooked by me once he grows up. Once he is in college he should say mere mamma ke haath ka chicken, fish etc etc...
I remember a friend telling me some couple of years back that my wish is ridiculous. Her kids know that Mom and Daddy work outside and maid cooks for them. In today's world that is the normal thing, she said. But I disagreed and we argued on it. I am not saying she was wrong, she has no time to cook and so she has done something that is convenient. But I am selfish, a very selfish mother. I want Ishan to crave for mamma-made-food when he grows up. When I look back at my childhood, food is so vivid in my memory - the Sunday lunch that Mum used to cook for us, the vegetarian menu on Thursdays, I miss them today. I want Ishan to have such memories in his memory bank when he grows up.
Last week I made gajar ka halwa and Ishan said - Mamma Sanjeev Kapoor should give you a medal, the halwa is too good. I was happy, genuinely happy. Not that my halwa was the best, but because he started loving what I cook. So, he has started dictating me what he wants for weekend breakfast and lunch - aloo paratha, methi paratha, matar paratha, idli, dosa, dahi vada, chicken, fish and specifically - Ilish maach. Not that I cook everyday according to him, but I try to accommodate something from his wish list each day and watch him in joy while he eats.
These simple things are what life is made up of. I wanted Ishan to experience this joy too. When Ishan grows up and goes out to study and to pursue his career, he should miss food cooked by me. He should always have a list of food that he wants me to cook. For someone who does not love cooking, this will be the best gift of life.
So, when did I start cooking full-fledged? Yes, I started it with all gusto when Ishan came to my life. The idea of a maid cooking up for him never occurred to me. I am hygiene conscious to the point of being a pain in the neck for the cook. Has she washed the veggies, did she wash her hands well, did she taste the food while cooking...etc etc etc etc. The list of my peeves were too high for me to employ a cook. So, to be on the safer side I started to cook regularly. Then slowly a secret wish welled up within me. I wanted Ishan to like what I cook and so all my efforts would be to cook something healthy that he likes, something nutritious that satisfies me on the nutrition scale and satiates his taste buds.
I love whatever my Mum cooks. I crave for things cooked by her and so when I visit her I always have a long list of what I want to eat. Secretly I started wishing that Ishan too should love food cooked by me. He too should crave for food cooked by me once he grows up. Once he is in college he should say mere mamma ke haath ka chicken, fish etc etc...
I remember a friend telling me some couple of years back that my wish is ridiculous. Her kids know that Mom and Daddy work outside and maid cooks for them. In today's world that is the normal thing, she said. But I disagreed and we argued on it. I am not saying she was wrong, she has no time to cook and so she has done something that is convenient. But I am selfish, a very selfish mother. I want Ishan to crave for mamma-made-food when he grows up. When I look back at my childhood, food is so vivid in my memory - the Sunday lunch that Mum used to cook for us, the vegetarian menu on Thursdays, I miss them today. I want Ishan to have such memories in his memory bank when he grows up.
Last week I made gajar ka halwa and Ishan said - Mamma Sanjeev Kapoor should give you a medal, the halwa is too good. I was happy, genuinely happy. Not that my halwa was the best, but because he started loving what I cook. So, he has started dictating me what he wants for weekend breakfast and lunch - aloo paratha, methi paratha, matar paratha, idli, dosa, dahi vada, chicken, fish and specifically - Ilish maach. Not that I cook everyday according to him, but I try to accommodate something from his wish list each day and watch him in joy while he eats.
These simple things are what life is made up of. I wanted Ishan to experience this joy too. When Ishan grows up and goes out to study and to pursue his career, he should miss food cooked by me. He should always have a list of food that he wants me to cook. For someone who does not love cooking, this will be the best gift of life.
NICE
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