Why My Mom is the Best Cook in the World and Other Realizations

 “Annapoorne sada poorne,

Shankara praana vallabhe,

Jnana vairagya sidhyartam,

Bikshaam dehi cha Parvati”

(This Sanskrit shloka talks of Goddess Annapoorna, the Goddess of Food; She is the force of Lord Shiva; She has the knowledge to attain 'vairagya'; O Goddess Parvati! Shower upon me your blessings in the form of food)  

A traditional home cooked "Naivedya" or prasad prepared for Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi

For a professional chef like me, the thought of cooking at home never used to be a pleasing one. "Why should I be made to cook at home too?" would be my consistent response to my mother.

Both my mother and grandmother are fabulous cooks. While my mother has a very modern approach to cooking- her cooking experiments have almost never failed and she doesn't mind substituting one ingredient to another at times and the dish will still taste the same or even better. She is also particular about the crunch and colour of the vegetables. Sometimes even my father experiments with different recipes, Sunday brunch being his favorite experimental meal!

My mother (and now my father too) loves experimenting with
food- trying new recipes and mastering the tried and tested

On the other hand, my grandmother has a traditional approach, making her style of cooking very unique and authentic- she uses only specific ingredients (coconut, peanuts, jaggery being her all-time favourites), lays a lot of emphasis on the final flavour, her experiments are restricted to the cuisines she has mastered, and her the cooking style has emerged from the cuisine of the Maharashtra-Karnataka border and Udupi style food.



I on the other hand, have grown up watching and observing both these "annapoornas" of our house. The spices, vegetables, or cooking time may be similar but the results vary greatly. The tastes are distinct, so is the colour, the texture and aroma. Their cooking is like comfort food to me and there is no way I can compare their cooking to my own.

My granny's style of cooking is authentic and involves
 bringing out the best flavours with minimum number of ingredients

While working in Taj, I got the chance to work with some of the best chefs in the industry. But over the years, I realized that the kind of exotic food that we made to wow our guests, was not always possible to make at home- unavailability and price of raw materials being the biggest drawbacks. While on the other hand, I also realized this, eventually, that a simple meal of Aamti-Bhaat (Toor dal and rice in Marathi) cooked for me by my mother, after I went home from a long day's work, was not always possible at a hotel either.

"Its just that unique, homely taste that chefs fail to capture in a commercial kitchen", I remember being told by a chef once, when I asked him if doing simple, home-style recipes in a commercial kitchen was possible.
It is funny that a lot of people think Indian cooking is all about rich, greasy food, whereas in contrast it isn't. We, Indians, take pride in our "Ma ke haath ka khana"(food cooked by our mothers), which is generally light, tasty and easy to digest.

First and foremost : freshness and quality of ingredients

My earliest culinary adventures started under the watchful eye of my mom. "Your roti isn't round" and "your chicken needs to be soft" were her constant observations (read: complaints). When I expressed my desire to join a hotel school for my graduation, pat came the reply- "Serves you right!", she said. From then on started my professional culinary journey.

But the first time I realized the importance of my mom's cooking was when I relocated to another city. I survived on instant food for the first few days. But does instant food really help in the long run? NO! I started cooking small uncomplicated meals with limited vessels and an induction. Over a period of time, quick cooking became a part of life. Mom's instructions and tips given back then have suddenly started making sense now. Not surprisingly, I have developed a far greater interest in sharpening my regional cooking skills (use of local ingredients, traditional approach to modern cooking, curating my grandmother's recipes), than my original specialisation in European cooking.

There are many ways to build a family and we each contribute what we can. Our grandmothers and mothers (our very own Annapoornas) have the most significant contribution: putting all their love, warmth and affection in the food they've been cooking for us for all these years. There is still so much to learn- the uniquely matched flavours, the lingering taste, the amalgamation of spices....

I could give up anything right this very moment for my "Mummy ke haath ka khana"!