The Apprentice

Growing up it was the norm for girl children to help with all household chores. Sometimes to the extent that studies would take a back seat. Most of the time the girls became very proficient with cooking by the time of marraige. And in my mother's time girls did get married in the late teens and in my grand mothers time early teens. It so happened that I was brought up with greater indulgence in that I did not learn to cook till I got married. That it was a matter of shocking concern to my grandmothers will be an under statement. They both were flabbergasted that a girl would even dream of getting married without knowing how to cook. There was so much pressure on me to learn to cook that I took the first opportunity that presented itself. My mother had to travel out of town with my grandmother in tow so I was left behind to hold the fort with father. I decided on a very simple menu of rasam and beans and rice. All cooked well or should I say overcooked itself. Rice became a white mass of glob and rasam had water boiled with salt and "something" floating in it. Beans - well the less said about it the better as people still eat all these delicious foods today and I do not want to upset their palettes.
My father came home for lunch and ate without saying a word. I ate after him and could not place even a spoonful in mouth. It was with tears that i said sorry and thanked him for being kind. He was fine though. One would think that this bad mishap would steer me closer to the kitchen to master the culinary skills. That I ran on the opposite direction is more like it.
Well by hook or by crook my father did manage to arrange a marraige (poor unsuspecting hubby) and off I went to live with inlaws. My MIL quickly overcame her shock of my being a terrible incompetent in the kitchen and set about "trying" to teach me to cook. But it was FIL who taught me to cut vegetables and to deep fry. Which oils to choose for sauteing or deep frying. How to choose a vegetable to cook! More important how to WASH a vegetable. He was very particular about washing potatoes and other root vegetables. Infact to this day I remember him saying while eating that it needed more washing as he could faintly smell the earth or soil on it. The "kurkai" dont know its other name, used to come in bags from Calicut and we would spend hours washing it. He loved to make plaintain chips and showed me how to hold the knife so as to slice thin. Also showed me how to remove husk from coconut, how to drizzle coconut oil on top of avial, how to turn the neyyappams and how to stir ney payasams. And the more simple way of cooking Keerai/ greens/ Spinach. My MIL absolutely forbade me from overcooking any veg but spinach they taught me how it turned color and when to remove from heat. Always had to mash it in the stone pot using wooden masher. Oh the taste of such cooked spinach. BTW it did make sense to learn more from MIL as dh always preferred that way of cooking.
I must have paid attention as The APPRENTICE because my family says I am the best cook today. A heart felt thanks to both sets of parents for adopting a novice and turning me around as a COOK !!