What is this blog about?

The story behind the 'why' I love cooking

Everyone has their happy place. For me, it’s my kitchen. Every story has a beginning and my cooking journey began a couple of months ‘before my wedding’.

During our courtship period, Ajay (my husband) and I were at a cafe in Navi Mumbai, sipping coffee and just chatting. He mentioned of his love for home-cooked food. For years, he had been studying in boarding schools and even moved out of the country for his higher education. The one thing that he always missed and yearned for was a home-cooked meal, served with love.

On the other hand, I had always had ‘home food’ cooked by a very talented cook, my mother (Hema). Every meal that my mom cooked was special to me. Every bite of pongal, sambhar and vadai would leave a lasting impression in my taste buds! Like every other South Indian family, food played a central role in our lives.

I immediately knew what I wanted to do for Ajay post our wedding. To cook and enjoy each meal of every day for the rest of our lives! It was a simple yet profound dream of mine. But there was a catch, I’d never cooked in my life (ever). Yet, fortunately for me, I had closely observed how my mother cooked. For years, I used to be around her in the kitchen just talking and noticing all the small, little things she used to do while she planned, prepared and even packed tasty meals for my Dad (Raju), me and my cute little sister, Yoshi.

Following our engagement, I wanted to get started with my cooking journey. I wanted to learn, experiment and actually start cooking. But, we hardly had anytime to do any of this because of all the wedding work.

Fast forward to the first day we moved into our cute little apartment post our wedding, I ventured into the kitchen to cook for the first time. The stakes were high since I really wanted our first home cooked meal to be special. I chose the simplest menu so that I can give it my best shot; the classical Indian dal fry, South Indian fried appalam, potato fry and white rice.

My first outing as a cook :)

I got to work and it roughly took me about two and a half hours as I stumbled from one step and one dish to the other, trying to not mess up anything. I was sweating, mainly from the stress and expectations I had put on myself. Moreover, this wasn’t a weekend. I started cooking after a full day’s work at the office. I was constantly looking at the clock and it was already past 10.30 pm. I finally wrapped up at around 10.45 pm and got Ajay to help me set up the table with all the dishes (our coffee table was our make-shift dining table :) )

I asked Ajay to go first since I wanted to see if I messed up in anyway and if I could fix it quickly with some garnishing. But gladly, when Ajay had his first bite, his eyes were moist and he became emotional. I was worried and asked him if something wasn’t right. He replied saying that he loved the food and was moved to tears since it’s been a long time since he had been this happy with the food he was served.

This was the moment we connected at a deep-level. His appreciation of my cooking and efforts pushed me to explore and go all out in the world of cooking. We also agreed to split the work in the kitchen and for Ajay to also explore cooking from time to time. It suddenly became our obsession and that is the reason I love cooking. It wasn’t just a shared interest but a way of bonding on a daily basis. This was our ‘happy place’.

In this blogpage ‘The Happy Kitchen’, I will share stories, recipes, menu, tips and tricks to cook with love and also organize your kitchen. See you on the next post! :)