Lockdown Cooking

The lockdown has got me into full-fledged cooking. The cook is not permitted to enter the complex in keeping with the lockdown rules. That leaves me to make my own meals. I have to prepare meals from scratch, which starts with selecting the menu, washing vegetables, cutting them, cooking them. It involves making salad, desserts (sometimes), cutting fruits etc etc. It involves soaking rice, lentils and what not… we take all this work for granted, when there is help at hand.

When I started in March, i started with simple Indian food and it would take me more than 2 hours to make a sabzi, rice, dal and salad. I would cook each dish with a small prayer (i am not kidding). And would thank God at the end of the cooking. I would invoke Gods when i was making something new.

30 days hence… In a month, I have become much better- in an hour or hour and twenty, I can accomplish the same. And of course the food taste is much better.

Also, I have started experimenting more. I got back to baking my favorite chocolate cake after ages. Husband was really impressed :)

Even my drumstick sabzi was tasty. Mother in law has started liking my food. If you know her, you will know how difficult it is to impress her.

My motto has been, fresh food, minimize use of oil and chemicals (soda, asafoetida), minimum use of garlic and onions. Husband has started liking my food and my menus. I feel so happy when he likes what I have made.

On weekends, I make fancier food — pasta, sandwiches, aloo tikki chaat, hummus and falafal. Today I made the burrito bowl and it turned out so good!!!

I think am enjoying the lockdown mainly because of the challenge that lunch and dinner bring on everyday! Cooking is therapeutic .. am enjoying this period so much!

Cooking — Bring it on!!!!