My very first cooking lesson!

Flashback: First day of college.

Can be a harrowing experience for anyone. Luckily for me, I had my neighbour who was also an FYJC at the same college. But when I called for her at the appointed time, she had already gone with one of her school friends.

Slightly peeved (you can see, I’ve still not forgotten), I decided there was only one thing to do. Go alone and keep my head up. After all, I wouldn’t be the only new one -everyone else in the FYJC were new too.

I walked in – I can still remember clearly what I was wearing – and I owned the place. I knew every second person. I knew most of the guys from tuitions or from Sunday School, in fact after the very first day of college, I knew I would love every day at college (& I did).

Back to the present: Cooking.

Only difference is that the others in the class are not on my level (i.e. the lowest level one could be at). Still, how hard could it be? And I have to learn sometime, so it might as well be now.

I’m not too young to learn to cook – and this fact is driven home by two of the other three girls who are at the class – Nazia (Batman Name: - The Giggler) and Ruchika (two degrees better than Nazia in the giggling dept.). Both were very sweet though, so one couldn’t help smiling at all their silliness (though Sharda did correct Nazia a couple of times “Nazia, focus your energy on cooking and not on laughing”)

The other girl was a more sensible type, named Priyanka Unlike the other 2 who had apparently done many other classed with Sharda, Priyanka was also new (& hence some comfort to this poor soul).

So it’s time to start the lesson. Sharda’s set-up is very professional (she’s been doing this for over 4 decades, so that’s to be expected).

I had chosen to learn Moghalai food because it’s closest to Indian & I thought it’d be good to learn Indian stuff first, seems a natural base (Sharda’s other courses include Continental, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Desserts etc).

We are handed sheet with recipes of the 5 dishes we are going to learn at today’s class. They are:
(01) Pindi Channas
(02) Sabz Murg (Green Chicken)
(03) Bagdadi Zafrani Gosht
(04) Bhaturas
(05) Malai Koftas

I glance through the recipes casually, words like “Ajwain, Amchoor & Asafoetida” leap up from the page. And they’re only the A’s.

I rearrange my papers again. I don’t need to look at them anymore. The others all look like this is a piece of cake. Maybe I can bullshit my way through this? No I’m too blank to even do that.

Sharda asks me to start making the “tempering” for the Pindi Channas. I go upto the gas range – and would you know it – I can’t put it on. I’m kicking myself inside my head - Oh come on, surely I’m not this useless. But apparently I am.

Sharda comes to my rescue and puts the gas on for me. All ranges are different, I console myself. Just keep your head up and try to learn something. OK.

Mercifully, it’s all uphill from this point onwards. I find out that I can actually measure out a teaspoon or tablespoon or cupful of different ingredients out and I can actually mix them and (lo, Behold!) I can actually do all this on a burning flame. Halleluiah.

Sometime later in the class Priyanka can’t work the gas range. My face is expressionless but my heart leaps for joy (yes, I’m a monster).

I am further vindicated later when Nazia takes about 10 minutes to make a Bathura (about 9.5 was filled with giggles) and it turns out quite amoebic in shape. My bathura on the other hand is done fast and completely round. Forget the others, I’m impressed.

Nazia & Ruchika congratulate me – I feel bad for being so smug over their amoeba.

Pretty soon it’s all over. All our 5 dishes are ready and we’ve all sampled each dish and all are very happy with our own handiwork.

Sharda kept asking me throughout the class “See that was easy, wasn’t it?”

And it was!

Except that there is so much that my mind is pretty saturated. After all she teaches 5 dishes and then about 10 variations on each dish. That’s about 50 dishes for the first lesson itself. And mind you, I still don’t know dhanya from jeera.

I have come to the conclusion that cooking can be ridiculously easy if you have all your ingredients in front of you and if you have a recipe. So the first thing I’m going to do (myself, not as part of the course) is make a list of all the regular Ps & Qs and try to identify them. Then I’m going to try to do at least one (if not two) of the dishes I’ve learnt.

Say your prayers.

I know I am