A small place in my new home Where all the flavours roam Making many memories forever Cooking will keep us all together. Through festivals or when alone, Dishes known and unknown Will comfort my soul, as I invite Friends and family for the first bite. I learn from the failures of any recipe I celebrate success with ecstasy. The sounds of sizzling and frying Create magic as aromas are flying, It’s a place of taste and submission ‘Home’ is the marvel of my kitchen.
There is something extremely sacred about the process of transforming ingredients into recipes. As I go down memory lane I recall how heart-warming it was for me to watch flavours blend together. The ingredients would be packaged separately to begin with, isolated from each other, and yet, within a few minutes, I would discover their union, see them come together in a dance of flavours. Meals were served wholeheartedly and lavishly on our family tables, filling up our lives with the most remarkable flavours and memories. It was never about whether what we had was sufficient or not, it was about how well we shared what we had. And share we did. No meal was eaten alone and those who visited quickly became part of the next meal.
There is also another thing that strikes me as remarkable. Something that I feel has to do with how amazingly the human mind works! Out of a thousand similar pots and pans, we can instantly recognize our kitchen pot in which food is served to us every day! We clearly remember its dents, its imperfections, a broken handle or loose screws. It is from this pot that we have been served the most comforting meals, and it is ‘ours’, an extension of ourselves.
Caught up in our busy lives and unforgiving schedules, many of us are forced to move away from our kitchen and into the world outside, until suddenly, one day, a small whiff of flavours pervades our senses, touches our hearts, and takes us back to the long-forgotten kitchen. Many a time, the simplest and the most ordinary meal ends up creating the strongest of memories. Food, I find, has the power to bring us all together.
Today, in a world where self-sufficiency, independence and the need to carve out our own space have shaped our new global lives, I always ask this question: Can we still prepare memorable meals in our kitchen? Can it become our oasis, a place where we can relax and create magic? Where we love and welcome others?
My answer is a resounding ‘Yes!’ We have to simplify our cooking, so that it can fit into our schedules, and once that is done, cooking becomes extremely therapeutic.
You don’t have to buy large, expensive gadgets or utensils to create a great dish. All you need is the curiosity to discover new combinations and a heart which is willing to accept some failures. Never be disheartened; some of the greatest inventions in the kitchen happened by accident! Even the best Michelin-starred chefs have some disastrous experiences to share. Learn from what did not work and celebrate when you discover the wonder of cooking.
When Biji, my grandmother, gave me my first rolling pin, she placed power in my small hands— the power to imagine, to play with flavours and textures, to create epicurean moments of togetherness and bonding, and to inspire a love for the good tastes in life.
From the beginning, I was curious about the repertoire of ingredients, the flavourings, the tools available. I went vegetable and fruit shopping every chance I got; sorting through the myriad shapes, colours and aromas was more enjoyable for me than building blocks, or any other games. Each time I shelled peas, or peeled the tight layers of onions, I would marvel at Mother Nature’s imagination and sense of beauty.
I grew up in Punjab, surrounded by fields filled with beautiful golden mustard and the willowy stalks of wheat that swayed in the wind as my brother, sister and I played hide-and-seek. Widely considered the breadbasket of India, Punjab fanned the fire in me, that love for feasts and hospitality and the rejoicing that are so entrenched in the very soil of the land. Harvests are the harbingers of new beginnings, abundance and a sense of joy and community that reverberate throughout the state. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is where I learnt my first lessons in generosity, compassion and brotherhood, working in the langar kitchen, where devotees toiled tirelessly to prepare meals and provide sustenance to thousands every day. That experience laid the foundation of all my values, beliefs that I hold dear even today.
Amidst all the festivities, the dancing and the singing, I learnt to put all my passion into my food and cooking. In many ways, the land of Punjab was my first kitchen and my first family table.
The most important aspect of any kitchen is setting it up right, based on your convenience, need and, most importantly, your passion. Once you have set it up, slowly and steadily it’ll become a self-oiled machine as you start using it—and you will begin to enjoy the magical transformation, and soon begin to create memories in there.
In cooking, controlling the temperature during the process is vital. Then comes the significance of technique which generally depends upon trial and error, practice and, most importantly, instinct. Lastly, no chef can stress enough the importance of time because perfect timing can lead to a perfect dish.
The most important ingredient in all cooking, however, is flavour and towards that end, the first and foremost requirement is that everything going into the recipe be absolutely fresh. During season, ingredients have and always will have the best taste and texture. The time spent scouring market for the freshest produce will always be worth it. Consider that. If that doesn’t work, the evolution of excellent freezing and preserving processes ensures that you have almost all vegetables and fruits available year-round. This will definitely give you a wider range of choices and flexibility while planning menus. Try that.
When I was growing up, the tools and equipment that were available in my kitchen at home, in Amritsar, were basic and conventional, and most of the cooking had to be done by hand from scratch. Things are much easier now with the convenience of modern-day kitchen equipment and appliances, as well as the availability of pre-cut vegetables and fruits, ready-to-eat food, choices of dried and fresh herbs, and spices.
Whether you are cooking daily meals for yourself and your family or an occasional meal for an evening of entertainment, let cooking be a process of discovery and enjoyment. Combine ingredients, mix flavours and make creative dishes that come together aesthetically on the plate and that you are proud to present.
Family meals are a valuable part of one’s day—a time when you can show you care and share your experiences over some good flavours. Being able to prepare my sister’s favourite dish and watch the joy she got from it used to be my shining moment. While cooking in the Golden Temple langar kitchen, I used to watch the devotees chanting while they worked, and somehow the food at the langar always tasted extra special and satisfying. I have always believed in the energy one passes on through the food one has cooked. When prepared and served with love and compassion, food has the power to nourish and feed not only our bodies but also our souls.
Though I have written several books, I am always asked the same question: How to start a kitchen?
For many years, I did not pay attention to the fact that there is a method and a science of setting up a kitchen. But the more I met people who lived independently and were looking for guidance on starting their first kitchen, the more valid this question became. There are plenty of television shows, online sources and of course a lot of books, which teach audiences how to cook. I wanted to write about the basics of cooking, and the fundamentals of building a kitchen, creating something that will help you take your first steps on a new journey of joy and pure satisfaction, and slowly master the kitchen.
A few years ago, one of my teachers at the Culinary Institute of America referred to Claude Levi-Strauss who said, ‘Cooking is a language through which society unconsciously reveals its structure.’ According to Levi-Strauss, cooked food is the product of cultural processes.
I believe it is your personal expression.
While most of the books you will come across will ask you to follow the recipes, I do not want to write that book for you. I want you to create your own recipes. Every recipe in this book contains five ingredients, plus oil or fat, salt, and pepper or sugar. I am using the minimum number of ingredients to help guide your new creations in the kitchen. Over the past several years that I have been cooking, I have noticed that even the most ordinary dishes, with a handful of ingredients, follow a path that is transcendental and mystical. I want you, as an individual, to use your own instincts to create substitutions in these recipes.
For me, every recipe is a story, a song. It begins with the characters, follows certain procedures and, in the end, there is closure and a final verdict. Each is a celestial path, where you choose your destination. You may have a million reasons to cook, but all you truly need is just one.
I urge you to embark on this journey with me and, trust me, together we will make it happen.