how did you start cooking n how well did you cook after your marriage?
what if you were a spoiled youngster in the family and never faced the kitchen for cooking purposes unless and until its something like raita, dhai baray, chaat, pakoray etc.. how did you get into “real cooking”?!?
most importantly, all bajis and bajas of kitchen, please share the easy recipes for veggies, meat, dessert, baking, n drinks as well!
Any tips and suggestions for better cooking or other home essentials would be a great addition too!
Last but not least, please share the best day of your cooking or your best dish ever
khay....i'll come to reply in detail tonight .....at th moment ...i can suggest you to check with my ammi...once you r back there....she runs cooking classes from time to time :)
GTG- well i never cooked prior to my marriage. The first year of my marriage i was totally dependent on Shan Bhaijaan:)
But later on it is funny while cooking i would remember how my mom cooked and things kept coming back and ideas popping up in my head. I literally use to have flashbacks of how my mom would cook rice, chicken, whatever. And in case of emergencies i would call up my mom and she would guide me through ther entire process of a dish. And once y ou start taking interest your creativily side comes alive and you just follow your heart and mind. You learn to add your own ingredients and come up with your own recipes.
It is fun as long as you keep it fun once you start taking it as a burden you will never be able to cook.
I am not married yet but i think i have the basics of cooking so i can handle everyday cooking. The rest depends on what his taste buds are like and thus i would have to conform my taste buds and cooking pattern to what we both like and dislike.
The only advice i can give out right now, (since i am in a hurry) is like Mahru said, dont look at cooking everyday meals as a chore. Try to enjoy it. When i used to think what a bore cooking was, i was horrible at it. Eventually i started taking interest in it and even started watching TV cooking shows and learnt quite a bit from them. Try experimenting without being afraid of the consequences. I assure you, your “hichkica-hat” will finally fade away.
The best part was when i asked my fiancee what he likes best in food, his reply was, he can cook very well himself. I tell you, i was sooo impressed and relieved
Afia baji.. and until now you thought i was kidding.. haw hiii.. :-p
aap ki raat kab aye gy?!? oh by the way, i have started cooking lessons with one of my fav. aunty cook in the community.. that will be every saturday at her place, thus, i m going for biryani lesson this saturday.. I 'll let you know how it goes
Also, I am thinking about cooking lessons when i go back to pakistan inshallah but then i will be staying in lahore, letss see how it works out eventually.. now give me more details please! i can so count on you for online cooking lessons!
Mahru: you are right.. i didn’t enjoy cooking until now so i feel like i m ready to explore it.. i think it just comes with the marriage where you have this responsibiliy of someone else who doesn’t know cooking, yu just start enjoying cooking! I can’t recall most of my mom’s cooking because i didn’t see her cooking while we were in Pakistan and also here i was living on campus, so i didn’t get to know more that i actually desired for!
pleae add more of your suggestions and experiance.. looks interesting to me
Ira: lucky you my husband doesnt know cooking very well.. since he is a spoiled kid of the family, so all he wants is a good food but doesn;t know how to cook.. he was telling me to learn cooking so i can etach him later.. but i could see that he was emphasizing more on learning than teaching.. so it boils down to the point, that I have to learn cooking by any means! by the way when are you getting married.. dun forget to show me wedding pics hehe
any way....i've already dedicated an entry to you in my journal .....about my start in cooking :-)
for tips n recipes .....i'm always here ....ask me a dish of your choice ...n i'll try to reply you in as much detail as possible!
for a start i can give you a veryyyy quick recipe ....basically its for beef/mutton ....you can try it with chicken too!
Method:
Place all ingredients except the last two , in a pressure cooker. Add half cup water n pressure cook for 10 minutes /until its tender.
dry excess water .....add ginger n green chillies strips .
Done!!
now about this recipes ....if you like it hot i mean spicy ....try to add hot green chillies n don't remove seeds ....
foe mild flavour ...remove seeds
another thing ....after adding chillies n ginger bars cover it tight n leave for at least 10 minutes so the flavour is absorbed by meat!
n don't forget to send me the recipes you are learning (unless these are shan masala ones ! :))
I loved trying new recipes and making food occasionally as far as i remember. I had been doing things in the kitchen since i was a kid. I was always afraid of the stove so i used to ask my brother to light up the burner with matches for me backhome in the middle of the afternoon and i would make tasty snacks for him or myself. I was used to cooking food how it was done in my family...so it was interesting to learn new things after the wedding as my inlaws are mostly vegetarian. I did learnt a lot of new things and i learnt to appreciate more vegetarian cooking including types of beans and paneer dishes. I am improving and will keep the process going. I was never used to making anything with dough before and until now i don't..because i don't like the sticky feeling of dough..maybe, someday i will out of the need..for now ammi does take care of roti/paratha. I still do have fears in regards to cooking pulaos on a large scale because i think that i will mess them up.
Sometimes what you like..others might not like..or vice versa..so its not just how one family cooks..each person can have different preferences. You will learn what each person likes eventually in the near future..for example, their prefence of salt or garam masala or khatas or chilli powder.
Here's a tip for you: some people will tell you that the food is good..and some will say its ok or its not what they want. Regardless of what someone says..don't feel discouraged or get angry or even happy..everyone can have hidden words which they don't want to speak..so, when you are in a good mood and when you are ready to take criticism..go up to them and have a discussion of food with them..ask them for their serious input on the food improvement..like if they want the food to have less of something or more of something. Chances are..that they will open up and will tell you the secret opinion that they were hidding.
One thing i just discovered few days back is kay..the best rice a person can make is by using rice cooker..the rice is all khilla khilla and is so huge..maybe, that can solve your rice problem.
Can you be specific about what recipe you want..and i'll share that one.
I used to do weekend cooking at my parents place .. well I wasnt very satisfied with ammi's cooking, somedays it would be great and somedays not so much as how can someone satisfie different taste buds in one household. On weekend I would cook something with chicken, pasta, rice or bake .. well now that I'm married, cooking everyday is not so much fun as cooking occasionally. :-P
I learned a lot from my husband .. well he allways has suggestions to make a salan/dish better .. and he loves hot chilli spicy food. I'm still learning before I used to cook with shan masalas, now I dont, I use my own spicies.
In future, I hope to experiment a lot more and try different ways of cooking, especially healthier ways!
Afia baji: bhala ho aap ka.. you put me on beef recipe right away.. scary indeed :$
However, thanx alot and i m going to save this recipe, inshaAllah i will try it very soon :-)
Qrius: Allah knows i was waiting for your entry :-)
you are absolutely right about the crticism, it had happened to me vbefore, some ppl like my ras malai and others will tell me not to use the box thingy for that.. but then since i m very new into it, most of the time everyone appreciates the effort but they do tell me to do these experiments with my hubby rather than poor them.. Also, i m mostly into vegetables but my inlaws have to have meat in everything that they cook.. i wonder if i can change it.. anywayz, thanx alot for your tips and please keep sharing more and if possible post up your recipes as well. oh by the way, i Love making rotis and everyone in my house wants me to make rotis since i make them round and patli patli unlike my mom.. so i like doing that.. it was all practice though..give it a try and you will like it. :-)
SaadiaB: yeah occassional cooking is better.. because if you are in a good mood you cook better than if you think that you have to cook no matter what.. i know my rotis will turn out great when i want to make them but if someone asks for it, they are not soo good looking at all.. hehe..keep sharing more.. i need more... by the way Congratz on the baby news :-)
my husband doesnt know cooking very well.. since he is a spoiled kid of the family, so all he wants is a good food but doesn;t know how to cook.. he was telling me to learn cooking so i can etach him later.. but i could see that he was emphasizing more on learning than teaching.. so it boils down to the point, that I have to learn cooking by any means! by the way when are you getting married.. dun forget to show me wedding pics hehe