Cook it up Man

Folks say that the way for a man’s heart goes through his stomach. Well what an achingly biased proposition, I would call it, revealing the patriarchal mindset of Indian society. Why is it that cooking has always been portrayed as a feminine thing and men meant only to eat those delicious dishes cooked by their mothers, wives or sisters? Why men cooks are often ridiculed? To find the answer and experience the humiliation I took up cooking and much to my surprise I rather started liking it; although others didn’t forget to make fun of me.  But then it was a small price to pay considering the returns of this prolific idea. 

Just like the feel of self-earned money is the most satiating experience giving a sense of pride and self-respect when spent, the exhilarating feeling of tasting self-cooked food can only be experienced and never be described. Cooking for me began when I started making dosa and that too better than my mom, just after giving two three shots at it. There was not much of cooking finesse required. I read the instructions on the readymade dosa maker and there I was flaunting every round, flat, paper thin dosa to some of my guests; while most of them never had a chance to eat and had to content with my exaggerated cooking stories. Then I went to college which opened a whole new world of food and taste to me that got fulfilled every Friday in a whole new restaurant we friends had premeditated to go. Stuffed capsicum, bhoona masala were my favorites. But college didn’t allowed me to further cultivate my talent, although an urge to cook was still accumulating in me. Momentary cooking of maggi surely gave me confidence and was adequate to keep my interest in cooking burning. 

There is no denying in the fact that boredom makes you do things that you always wanted to do. After being jobless and completing the perturbing exams I started to relive my old passion. Adding fuel to my desire was when I came to know that despite cooking is considered feminine, girls are highly impressed by this skill and this ranks much higher in their zillion considerations of defining a perfect man. So after the passionate desire; my hormonal rush added to push me and learn new dishes to impress the beautiful creatures of planet. I started with stuffed capsicum my all time favorite. The impeccable guide was provided by the internet. The quantity required for each of coriander, turmeric, cumin seed, ginger-garlic paste, chilli and all other spices was accurately predicted after initial hiccups. To get appreciation for your meticulously cooked dishes makes the whole process more prolific. 

Unfortunately, this skill has a dark side too. You may be forced by your friends or family members to cook regularly which obviously diminishes the sheer excitement related to it. I preferred to be an occasional master chef rather than  a regular rasoiya. Blessing in disguise; in search of finding an answer and questioning the prejudiced society, I found a hobby of which I am really proud of.