THE ART OF COOKING AND LOVE OF FAMILY

NEERAJ MAHAJAN


Of all vocations, Cooking is the most underrated that comes to my mind. It touches our everyday lives yet is not rated high. Engineers, doctors, MBAs, CAs trump Chefs in the pecking order. Why? My guess, the Availability bias. Every family has a cook ( moms usually) who is taken for granted and quite often underappreciated. Also, most folks can cook the bare minimum to survive which warps their perception of the way cooking is viewed. This, in my opinion, seems to be the nub of the problem. On a deeper note, during my transition to cooking, the realization dawned upon me as to  what it takes to be a good cook and what roasting your beans means if you want to enjoy good coffee viz:


ROAST YOUR OWN BEANS

I am a foodie. Are you a foodie? Did you ever try to cook your favorite food? If not then do it. Get into the rabbit hole. Study various recipes, procure the best ingredients, try, err and repeat till you hit the zenith of gastronomical delights. This will surprise you. I have practiced trial and error over the years. Mutton Curry, Kashmiri Keema Kaleji, Black Pepper Chicken,  Fish Curry, Rogan Josh, Dhaba Paneer, Mutton Korma are a few names that I cook often. The family binges on it. The resulting ecstasy is too good to be put to words here. 

There is another important aspect to it. The fruit of hard work is sweeter than the sweetest of nectars. When you cook you love it anyway. Add to it, if your friends and family love it, you can take secret pride in your cooking. Let me share with you an experience in detail with the pictures and the video of my recent jig viz: The Kashmiri Rogan Josh, a point of pride in Kashmiri Wazwan and Identity. 


THE ROGAN JOSH

If you are a meat lover, Rogan Josh is one of the best culinary delights to indulge in. My tryst with cooking Roshan Josh was epic. It started with a personal visit to the butcher to get the choicest mutton pieces. This was followed by procuring the authentic Kashmiri spices, cutting and chopping of base veggies, yogurt preceded by studying the recipe in detail. It took close to one hour to cook before it was ready to serve. Mouthwatering Pudina Parantha was the icing on the cake. here is a snapshot of the cooking process viz:

Cooking Snapshot of Rogan Josh

Ready to Eat

This was a maiden attempt. In the end, it turned out very aromatic, delicious. I enjoyed a superb dinner along with the family topped with a lavish appreciation for the effort. It was worth every ounce of effort expended on it. I hope am clear about what roasting your own beans mean



As always, many thanks for reading my blog. Please drop a msg for details, if required at 



neerajmahajan0770@gmail.com


Picture credits: sunorwind @unsplash

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