From days I remember, food has been a very integral part of my life. My father a die hard foodie, would throw a fit at the slightest slip in his meal, training my mom and the rest of the staff to serving perfect meals. His love for food is remembered by all those who knew and remember him. Even at restaurants, he would order, unusually and new things and saying 'No' to him just did not exist. So thanks to him we got a chance to try it all. Thats where it all started.
And so I say food is in my veins. Think food, live food , dream food and of course eat food. From years gone by the house was filled with all sorts of food being made, people being entertained and parties happening. People knew that if they were coming to my house, they would be fed well. Those invited for dinners would swear they hadnt eaten the entire day to save up for the evening meal. Food or food ideas never ran out at my house.
It was at Dads insistence that Mom took upto cooking. Researching and reading cookbooks, learning from others and so on. Tarla Dalal was a huge influence on her and her recipes were the gospel truth. So we were already enjoying Khau Suey when most of my friends thought it was a Thai bad word or our Pizzas were renowned as we made everything including the dough from scratch, so my mom and dads friends kids would demand for Pizza Parties, with just Pizza and Thumps up. Most concoctions were unheard of for a lot of the invitees then, who had ever heard of a Bijaldo in the early 90s? BTW Bijaldo is a Aubergine layered bake with a smooth tomato gravy and cheese. So when I say food is in my veins I actually mean it.
Seeing so much food being made in the house, it became an integral part of my life. My early attempts are cooking were miserable and a waste of food. Didnt know how to break an egg leave along cook it. This was before the internet days. But that changed with the advent of broadband internet entering the house and practically everything available on You-Tube!
My first and early experiments were with eggs. The simplest and easiest to make. I started with Omelets, Scrambled and then the French Toast. With every burnt omelet, I just got better, realizing when to turn, when to flip and how much to beat. But my culinary skills came out in the open when I started experimenting with French Toast. This was a treat for my daughter Seher and I would make it every Sunday Morning. This once I made with with Caremalized Bananas inbetween two french toasts and it was a hit. I was commanded every Sunday Morning by Seher to make that and it just got better.
But the real encouragement came from my partner Sheetal, who egged me (not literally ) to seriously take it up. My first experiment was with Pesto and Pizza, which was successful. Then I invited a few of my friends over for dinner precisely 4 of them to experiment with. I had decided to try out the Salad Pizza and it was a hit! The next time around I invited a larger bunch of my friends and they absolutely loved what I had served them along with a bit of fusion food including haloumi cheese with Indian kebabs, Gonnchi (yes made at home!) a Morroccon Peanut Salad, Veggies in Corriander Pesto and a Creamy Sundried Tomato Pasta (the only let down on the menu!). Thats when I thought yes I can do it. I have it in me.
So every weekend became a event to experiement. The house staff must be hating me but I was enjoying the experience. Grinding up a fresh pesto, inventing up new dishes , copying and twisting ideas, but just loving it. I have just touched the tip of the iceberg but I know there is a lot more to learn and discover. And I Am Loving It.
Yeah.... Food Is In My Veins!!!
And so I say food is in my veins. Think food, live food , dream food and of course eat food. From years gone by the house was filled with all sorts of food being made, people being entertained and parties happening. People knew that if they were coming to my house, they would be fed well. Those invited for dinners would swear they hadnt eaten the entire day to save up for the evening meal. Food or food ideas never ran out at my house.
It was at Dads insistence that Mom took upto cooking. Researching and reading cookbooks, learning from others and so on. Tarla Dalal was a huge influence on her and her recipes were the gospel truth. So we were already enjoying Khau Suey when most of my friends thought it was a Thai bad word or our Pizzas were renowned as we made everything including the dough from scratch, so my mom and dads friends kids would demand for Pizza Parties, with just Pizza and Thumps up. Most concoctions were unheard of for a lot of the invitees then, who had ever heard of a Bijaldo in the early 90s? BTW Bijaldo is a Aubergine layered bake with a smooth tomato gravy and cheese. So when I say food is in my veins I actually mean it.
Seeing so much food being made in the house, it became an integral part of my life. My early attempts are cooking were miserable and a waste of food. Didnt know how to break an egg leave along cook it. This was before the internet days. But that changed with the advent of broadband internet entering the house and practically everything available on You-Tube!
My first and early experiments were with eggs. The simplest and easiest to make. I started with Omelets, Scrambled and then the French Toast. With every burnt omelet, I just got better, realizing when to turn, when to flip and how much to beat. But my culinary skills came out in the open when I started experimenting with French Toast. This was a treat for my daughter Seher and I would make it every Sunday Morning. This once I made with with Caremalized Bananas inbetween two french toasts and it was a hit. I was commanded every Sunday Morning by Seher to make that and it just got better.
But the real encouragement came from my partner Sheetal, who egged me (not literally ) to seriously take it up. My first experiment was with Pesto and Pizza, which was successful. Then I invited a few of my friends over for dinner precisely 4 of them to experiment with. I had decided to try out the Salad Pizza and it was a hit! The next time around I invited a larger bunch of my friends and they absolutely loved what I had served them along with a bit of fusion food including haloumi cheese with Indian kebabs, Gonnchi (yes made at home!) a Morroccon Peanut Salad, Veggies in Corriander Pesto and a Creamy Sundried Tomato Pasta (the only let down on the menu!). Thats when I thought yes I can do it. I have it in me.
So every weekend became a event to experiement. The house staff must be hating me but I was enjoying the experience. Grinding up a fresh pesto, inventing up new dishes , copying and twisting ideas, but just loving it. I have just touched the tip of the iceberg but I know there is a lot more to learn and discover. And I Am Loving It.
Yeah.... Food Is In My Veins!!!
Your writing has got a personal touch and its all so natural. So many things to learn from your Blog about food and i loved it as i am also a Big foodie and more than that love cooking. Waiting for your next update eagerly. :)
ReplyDelete