Hi Ladies Kitchen and cooking is considered as the empire of Indian women and most of the married Indian women really like / love cooking variety of recipes and serving their family members particularly their dh and kids. But really cooking is an art and it needs much of dedication too. Basically I don't have much interest in cooking but after marriage, I started developing interest in cooking and trying out various recipes both South and North Indian dishes. But sometimes or many a times, the recipe/s turns out to be bland though I add enough of salt and other required spices. How good you are in cooking? Can anyone please give me some tips to turn the food tasty? Any tips or tricks.
hi, first figure out which cuisine your DH and kids are inclined to then work in that direction. If they love south indian then you can be away from garam masala. But if they are into north indian dishes you will always need a pinch of garam masala and garlic and onion. hope this is of some help
My cooking can be as good/bad as the recipe is...God bless you tube and google(esp. Vahchef, Sailus food, Manjula's kitchen, Chef Harpal singh, tarla dalal, gayatri vantillu and finally our own recipe section in IL) Daily cooking if it is boiled veg curry can be bland...try adding lemon/grated coconut/ peanut powder/dhaniya leaves etc
My husband is the emperor of our kitchen. One thing that I have learned from years of trial and error-too much spice make a curry, also freshly ground spices, ginger and garlic give a very different taste, much better than ready to use stuff. But I cook rarely so I can spend time making a dish perfect ehen in mood to cook.
Hi, See it is not necessary that eveytime whtever we cook becomes very tasty. In fact, we are also trying to learn more receipes from Internet or from advise of someone in the famliy. Sometimes the same dish that you prepare in the same week may taste very good one day or may have something lacking on an other day. It is matter of chance. So dont worry, my DH very rarely praised what i cook. He terms them as my experiments in kitchen.My parents dont like to deviate from normal receipes. So my only source of motivation is my sister. She gives me correct feedback. My baby girl is too small to decide or comment on mama s cooking. When she grows big i am sure i will cook all the finest cusines for her and develop a passion for cooking in her too. So that my husband will be left with no choices other than to prasie our trials......
Kalyani Totally agreeing with what other buddies have shared here. Thank you Girls!!!!!friendssmiley Hmmmmmmmm My fav topic,20 long yrs of Cooking journey,but still in trial stage with little experience. Dh loves typical south Indian recipes(kara kuzhambu,vatha kuzhambu) and DS loves Italian and Mexican recipes. So I'm into multi-cuisine Boat. Won't say a perfect Cook,but whatever make,finish with perfection(taste) Follow some recipes but end up with my own taste trend and stick to that. Have many my own signature dishes. My MIL makes a tomato curry(emergency time) with country tomato, small onion and sambar powder....heavenly taste with hot rice. She never uses teaspoons,just grab the masalas with fingers and add it.Just a punch...Such an experience. and then the Okra/lady's finger tamarind curry.....Oh.....drooling for the taste.yumsmiley I'm trying these two recipe for more than 20 yrs,but not upto mark. Proud to say,Still on trial. The dishes I make, tried by my sis,Co-sisters and they say,"ours not like yours,you have magical fingers......" So Even you follow exact recipes,there is one secret ingredient which add exact taste to your dish is "taste-makers-tasty Chef finger treatment", in Tamil its Kai pakkuvam(கைப்பக்குவம் ) None of us will not be having the same chef fingers..so the taste differ from. Our grannies and Moms have this special taste enhancing fact.Thats why we were addicted to their everlasting tasty recipes. For enhancing taste 1.First you should know the facts about the spices/herbs/masalas you are adding.Gain knowledge about what to add with what?(if you are doing pepper fry,then there you should not add garam masala....both taste never will blend together) when to add? some spices are to be added in hot oil sizzling at the start of cooking,some masala pdr with onion/tomato frying and some pdrs as a final touch) How to add?...as a whole or in pdr form and in what proportion...no definite proportion...option as per taste..but too much of anything will spoil the food. 2.Experiment with different spices/herbs,flavors,textures and explore your own style of TASTE. When you have a tasty satisfying recipe of your own,never make an attempt to make changes.Stick to it. 3.Try making masalas at home.Will be fresh and aromatic. 4.While cooking Fry onions to soft or brown Saute ginger garlic paste till the oil oozes out. After adding tomatoes add little salt,to soften them quickly. Add chili pdr/maslas to this gravy and saute well to get rid of the raw smell.Then add water/ or any stuff. This will cut off the long time cooking,by which you will loose the aroma,health facts etc. For better taste,add cashews paste while making gravy. 5.Don't ever be in haste while trying a new recipe.patience will bring you the Taste making end. My personal experience: 6.Make Mistakes while cooking.YES If want to be perfectionist in Cooking make mistakes and learn from it. I tired making puff pastry sheets at home.followed exact tips and tricks from Google. 7 attempts..Wasted nearly 5 kgs of APF+more kgs of butter......no better improvement. I would say its a tedious and dull experience.Believe it..I'm mentally disturbed on how this is would alone not possible with me???? I'm a person who never gives off my efforts and always stick to perfection. SO and 8th time..into final make over.....mistake modified..Hurrah.....I'm into it.PERFECT. Now enjoying my puff sheets with different stuffing.:biggrin2: Behind a successful chef,there is dedication n determination.So make mistakes.grow inbuilt determination to become a perfectionist. Will peep later with more of my seeks..... Thanks.
wow... such a nice topic to discuss... first of all i would like to mention who inspired me to cook my granny....she used to cook very tasty foods....i will never forget the taste of her dishes... secondly....i like to cook....try new dishes....... and i am a good cook.....i watch cookery shows on tv.....internet....magazines discuss with freinds....i want to try all types of dishes....traditional to continental... one more thing i want to mention now a days..cooking is a big task for ladies... they tend to eat out.....maximum women is incomplete if she is not intrested in cooking...womens should cook like a old hindi movie...maa ka haat ka khana........
Buddy wow to your cooking skills.:thumbsup YES But Its unavoidable,have to accept that in this roller coaster world,women(esp working women) hardly find time to spare,prepare and share even for their small family. All food items available in handy(dry and wet maslas,wet batter,packed veggies etc) Easy to go with. No questioning about nutritional values. Targeting this, instant food Mix,Instant packed food Market on high scale sale. Sure in future most out grannies recipes will be buried in depth.No need for mixie,grinders or even food processors. Our next generation's generation had to look for them only in museum.:shaking: Using instant food/packed stuffs once in a while is ok with. But can be minimized with proper time management,charting out weekly menus, week-end masala preparation and storing of cleaned veggies,etc. All will be possible if there is passion for cooking. Way to win one's heart is through stomach.True na. Thanks.
hi op food ! hmm my fav topic , food and cooking ! well i love to cook and many people say i am very good cook and i have taste in my hand ! hee hee ! self praise ! i never use to cook much before marriage as we had a cook at my mom's place but yes after going to hostel i did experiment and most of the cooking really started after wedding.also due to dad 's job we had traveled a lot and i have taste most of cuisines and what ever i eat , be it at any place outside i do experiment it at home later. i love to experiment and can cook punjabi and north indian veggie food nicely , my mil was surprised to see that i can cook good south indian food. she had thought being a north indian i would be a disaster at cooking sambar and rasam , but now even she loves my food . i dont cook really authentic south indian but add a little tadka of north indian taste so may be that makes the difference. the only thing i can say, is that most of times i have seen when i cook with love and i ma happy the dish does taste good and if i am cooking in bad mood sometimes the dish tastes bad. you might have heard it from elders and may think of it as funny but i have experienced that our mood while cooking does affect the dish. secondly , small things can make difference, you dont need lot of masala , like garam maslaa etc , try to use them rarely as frequent use will spoil your health but few ingredient can make difference . like say in rajma , kasoori methi can give awesome taste. in daal adding fresh coriander can make it smell and taste good. just experiment and learn new dishes, when you eat outside , read about that dish on internet and you can modify it as per your taste . happy cooking
Saiblessings I don't agree with this statement of yours. How can you say that woman is incomplete if she is not interested in cooking? It is ridiculous. By the way do you know about the renowned male cooks of the ancient times? Do you know that Nala and Bheema were excellent cooks? And even our present day well noted chef Sanjeev Kapoor is a male. So, cooking is not confined to ladies only. Because the males in the traditional families in the olden days were engaged in outside work for earning bread to the family, for the sake of division of labor, the women took to cooking at home and feeding the family members. However, it doesn't mean that a woman who has no interest in cooking is incomplete By the way, what gives completeness to a woman?
