en rues!

Being a creative mind in the kitchen with the motivation to cook up a feast is tough, specially when it comes to choosing the right recipe

Ilove to cook DLffe ren t cuisines, traditional d is h_e~, m od~ rn dis~es, traditional dishes wi th a modern twist. Entrees, main s, des seres even cock tail s! Cooking, i n particular baki n g, i s fo r me not o nly a release when I'm stressed, but also a n excelle n t pro cras tinarjo n too l w h e n wha t I really should b e doing is proofreading a paper chat ,vas due yesterday o r clearun g the bathroom. I own a sh elf full of cookbooks w hich are su:a cegica lly p os itio n ed close to the kitche n for converuence. From your basic $5 pa sta bible bought at t he discount cable in a s hoppin g cen tre to spectacular hardb acks writte n by ce lebriLy chefs with photography that is al.t11osc as delicious as the recip es themselves From l\fadhut J affery to Masterchef, i t's all there o n that s helf, in pristine condition a nd ,vaiting to b e used.

One thing that su·ikes me about these recipes is the names of the di5hes: Spiced Lamb Rack 1Pith Herbed Cot1sco11.r and Po111egra11ate Dressing; S~ cmd Sake Scallops 1vith F11ji Apple and Toro Chips; Le111011 and Garlic Chick.en with Gree11 13ea11s. My questio n is, w h y do the authors fee l it's necessary co in clude all the main in gredie n ts in the title? I m ean , we don't do this in Indian cooking! I have never, ever gone to my pa.rents' p lace a nd bee n greeted by my mum sayi ng, ''Hello! I have made rasam with te11de1· to111o!oes, lmtiLr and cotirmde,!' Nor have 1 made korma and greeted m y husband w ith, "Today I have m ade Mixed vegetable amy in a ground cashe)J) base with spices and chapottis" I guess if us Indians tried to incorporate all t he iJ1gredients th at go into our i nu·icate dish es in me ti tl e of our recipes, ou r cookboo ks would take u p more tl1an just the s h elf by th e kitchen! But I digress

Somewhere in a p arallel uruverse, iliere is a me w ho h as the tim e t o attack chis collection of recipes wi tl1 vigour. That h igh ly organi sed, efficie n t me has a 9- 5 job that allows he r to try a n ew elaborate recipe every night, master the processes that acco m pan y the more co mp lex re c ipes, and maybe even cook a fab u lous three -course m eal for her husba nd twice a week. Sa dly, like many other entlrns ia stic but tim e- poor h ome cooks who are happy enough to pm together a ,vholesome al beit w1adve ncuro us meal every night, that me is a p ipedream So I s a tisfy myself w itl1 the occasio nal b ur st of experimen tation o n an infrequent and precious free evening. 1 generall y start by Aipping throug h at leas e 4 of my favomi t e cookbooks as well as back iss u es of food magazines. I look tl1rough eac h book from cover to cover, droo lin g over the pictures a n d imagini ng the flavours in m y mind. I linger o n m y personal favourite, t he desserts section s, knowing full well that I have no intentio n of cooking d essert that day I run through each recipe in my mind rejecti n g many for be ing coo difficult, timeconsuming or req uiri ng ingredie n ts that are hard co find 1 d o a thorough stock- take of the pantry, and in evitab ly b y then I am quite peckish and hence get distracted b y the thin gs I come across. Even tually I make a short List of 3-4 recipes ch at are n ot o nly do- able b ut satisfy whatever food craving I happen tO have at t he time, as well be ing sure to cleLight my husband. Usually by thi s rime, tl1e sun h as set, as i f even it can n o longer bear to wa tch me procrastinate.

''I guess if us Indians tried to incorporate all the ingredients that go into our intricate dishes in the title of our recipes, our cookbooks would take up more than just the shelf by the kitchen!

On these n ig hts, the hubby comes home, fishes m e out from the piles of cookboo k s o n the couch, and stifl ing hi s laughter asks, "Takeaway?"

And I, sheep ish b m always gracefu l, s ay, "Okay!"

Eventually I make a short list of 3-4 recipes that are not only do-able but satisfy whatever food craving I happen to have at the time, as well being sure to delight my husband

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