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The Cooking Conundrum By- Sudha Somnathan I am a doctor and am training to be an eye surgeon. I love to surf the net, one thing that I will sorely miss when I return to Chennai, my home. I am presently residing in the UK. I am a mother to a lovely 1&1/2 yr. old who makes me laugh, cry, angry, and frustrated in turns and sometimes at the same time, as only toddlers can. I believe greatly in the strength of the ' family unit ' and never fail to thank God for making me a part of my family.

Cooking-if there ever was a tedious chore, this is one! I can only think of one other thing which is even more tedious and that is deciding what to cook!!

It's not that I absolutely detest cooking or something but to me food somehow always tastes much much nicer when someone else has done the peeling,chopping,mixing and stirring.Now, if I have given the impression of somebody who's old and worn after years of cooking I'm sorry.My joyous journey into the world of culinary concoctions began only about 3 years ago ie after marriage.Of course I'm not considering the occassional pottering about in the kitchen alongside mummy 'cos then it was always she who decided the amount of salt to be added!

My dad who's prepared many a delightful dish (mum at her most generous called them interesting or different) has only one mantra-keep adding whatever you can lay your hands on in approximate quantities-you are bound to get it right finally. I remember my dad proudly quizzing us about the one magical ingredient which had lent that extra special taste or flavour to his creation. Mom's foray into the kitchen was a dramatic one-my father had to eat it straight off the 'kadai', from which the brinjal curry could not be dislodged! Ofcourse mum went on to become a great cook specialising in north and south Indian cuisine as well as the time-consuming traditional mouth-watering delicacies. I remember many an afternoon when I had to wait for my lunch box to come back to me from my friends, especially if mum had packed tomato rice.

One would imagine I'd have inherited a natural flair for cooking what with mom and dad both being veteran chefs in their own right. But I somehow do not have that love for cooking barring an infrequent urge to try out exotic recipes. I remember labouring over a 'tomato jhanjri' for hours, only to discover that it tasted pretty much like our regular 'bajji' which my granny and probably her granny before her used to prepare. But one can't be making only jhanjris-one has to cook the daily meal of rice, daal and curry and make so many different combinations and permutations of the same silly okra, aubergine and dudhi! In case you are wondering, these are the alternate names for our very own lady's finger, brinjal and kaddu. The funky names don't make working with them any more interesting though. But there are a few short cuts to cooking, abroad. The best ofcourse are the easymeals-already prepared frozen meals,which only need to be warmed (in the microwave of course!) to be consumed. And then there is canned food-again heat and eat. But I have to be truthful, these don't score so highly in the taste department-especially the latter with which I've had two disappointing experiences. First was when I bought a can of 'baingan ka bharta'. The delectable picture of bharta on the cover had me drooling all the way home. I came home and eagerly opened the can only to be sourly disappointed. All I could see was a vague puree with a not so endearing aroma. I still clutched to the fast disappearing hope, warmed it and had my first spoon-ugh! What an insult to my mom's preparation of bharta. I swore off cans till a few weeks ago when I again gave in to temptation (I assure you it's a very cunning artist who designs the can covers!) and got a can of 'palak paneer'. The rest is history! Only I seem to be incapable of learning from it!!

My other favourite abroad are the frozen vegetables-they are washed, neatly cut and take very less time to cook, and absolute Godsent for someone like me. Recently I saw a pack of shredded cabbage in the supermarket and vowed to make cabbage my favourite vegetable. Do husbands need to be consulted?!!! With my daughter it's an entirely different story-she's a law unto herself especially when it comes to food. French fries are her favourite food. Period! Not so long ago I used to worry so much about whether she was getting adequate proportion of the four basic nutritious groups?! Well, you live and learn.

Guess, I have to stop my ramblings there, got to go and yes you guessed right, cook! Chop, chop!

Cartoon courtsey: http://www.guscooks.com

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