What’s your cooking style like?

Nishi: Been thinking about this and curious to know what people on this group think: is your style of cooking (including menu planning, prepping, cleaning up) similar to your parent(s) or whoever influenced/taught you to cook?

Sumita: And what is the question behind the question?!  Very interesting, what this tells us about us. For me, basic cardinal principles I learnt from my mother and aunts remain the same. But lifestyles have changed so much, our meals have changed. For example, when you are cooking for one or two, it is not possible to create a thali.

Nishi: Question is simple: my mother works like a mad scientist, aggravating me in the kitchen even when she has taught me to be methodical and slow. 

Sanandan: Interesting question. I think I’ve retained some qualities from how I was taught to cook—no major focus on proportions, learning with trial and intuition. I certainly plan a bit more ahead, skip a few ingredients, and consciously use fewer vessels than my parents. In a way, my style of cooking is quite like how I was taught.

Varun: My style is simple. Clean as you go while working. Keep the items separate, even if it’s the same dish with 2 different restrictions. Make the lighter coloured dishes with subtle flavours first and re-use the same pan/pot for darker colour dishes (after a quick rinse in water). And finally, keep checking what I need next on the list, while doing the lengthiest ones first and quickest ones last. 

Purba: My style is totally different from my mom’s though I have definitely inherited some recipes. She goes by andaz and I do it by measurement, I’m more organised. Also the cuisines have changed. I do more of Chinese or Continental while she is good at local cuisine. In fact, I started to cook after I got married, so many things are influenced by my mother-in-law. Like, she used to clean up as soon as she finished cooking, and I do the same thing. My mom is more chaotic. 

Muskan: Very interesting—it has been on my mind for a while too. My cooking style is quite different from my mother’s or grandmother’s. They have always cooked to feed the family, without any particular interest in the process. I, on the other hand, began cooking as a hobby and eventually went on to study at culinary school. I like to plan, prep, and have everything organised in advance. Over the years, I have also learnt so much from my neighbours, who are incredible cooks, and from my friends’ grandmothers.

Purba:I also like to keep everything ready before I start. My mom is a great cook but isn’t organised.

Nishi: Same! And annoyingly, she was the one who taught me to keep everything ready since I was (and remain) slow. So I’m like, why aren’t you doing the same. Of course, she laughs and says, I don’t need to.

Sumita: Some of the cardinal principles I follow include: visualise how the plate will look. So if there is a green vegetable, methi aloo for example, the dal should be yellow. Diversity in terms of colour, texture, flavour, the time-honoured combinations.

Nishi: I also feel the explosion of cooking on television and the internet has influenced me/us. Certainly growing up the way Nigella [Lawson] cooked (seemed like an easy-breezy indulgent way). There was a touch of aspiration to watching these foreign cooks (unlike the old-style Indian cooking shows, which were interesting, but comparatively staid). A connected thought I have is about aspiration—how food on television and the internet made me desire a certain kitchen lifestyle. I still grapple with that.

Pratiksha: It used to be similar to mum when I was younger, but now, with living independently and juggling work and life solo, my cooking style has changed drastically. On the weekdays, since there is a time crunch, I tend to pick up quick recipes, or meal-prep and spend 20-30 minutes at the most. Over the weekend, I go all out, but even then, I sort of make a mind map of what to do, in what sequence, so as to minimise the time and utensils needed.