A Spicy Affair

I started cooking roughly five years ago. I was craving for something nice and my parents weren't home. So I took it upon myself to make a snack. I had come across a recipe for Chilli Cheese Toast and decided to try it out. And that was when I discovered that not only did I loved to eat, I loved to cook too.

So why do I love to cook? The first and foremost reason is that the results are so satisfying. Secondly, I can customise the food according to my taste and preferences. The third reason is the fact it makes me really happy to feed other people (the compliments are an added advantage).

Humans have always acquired new skills by observing and replicating others. Cooking is no different. The first person I observed was my dad. He's a really good cook with a great understanding of flavours. But he hardly ever cooked. So what was my other source of inspiration?

This might sound hard to believe or even insane, but I learnt how to cook from a cooking show on TV. Yes, you read that right. Gusteau's famous motto from Ratatouille says, "Anyone can cook". But I prefer Ego's interpretation. "Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere." And the same applies to inspiration. I learnt a lot of the nuances of cooking from a cooking show. To be specific, I learnt it from Venkatesh Bhat on Samayal Samayal which used to air on Vijay TV. And the Vegetable Jalfrezi shown in the picture was made with the exact recipe used in the show. It was one of my earliest attempts at cooking on a stove and I'm really glad to say that it turned out quite well.

Five years have gone by since I picked up a ladle. All I can say is that I'm really happy that I decided to develop this skill. Not only is it a forum where I can express creativity, but it has also served as a huge stress buster. To me, nothing is more satisfying than cooking my own meal and devouring it with a satisfied burp.

P.S. I haven't poisoned anyone in the last five years. So I think it's safe to say that I'm a decent cook.