Of Cooking and Keeping Calm. Not Keeping Calm and Cooking.

Making palaharams. Preparing to feed friends. Padayal for Naraka Chaturdashi. A simple dinner. An elaborate lunch. Snacks.
Cooking.
I have a choice.
I can cook calmly
or
hyperventilate frantically.
But I’ve come to realise, if I know what I’m going to do, and by that I mean,
write it in notes on my iPad, my home phone, my office phone, my diary on my kitchen bench, my notes on my fridge, I’ve had my Nespresso strong Kazar or Dharkan coffee, and yes, no sugar.
Then I will start.
I have a system. I’ve got it sorted it to a pat. And it actually seems to work for me. I can churn out dishes without having to wash the wok even once. Alright it’s a non stick huge one presented by mom when she visited. She and hubby made sure they got rid of the old one she had given on a previous visit umpteen number of years ago.
All relatively sattvic, garlic-onion free non spicy stuff first. Then the chilli powder ones, finally the curry powder, garam masala, onion, garlic ones. And voila I’m done.
Desserts, I bring out my special pot and spoon and do the needful.
The trick is to go with the flow, not worry about the outcome, not worry about what tasters will comment.
All the while, I remain calm, composed, and actually feel a little love towards the urid and channa dhalls tempering/thalichifying/tadkaing on the stove, or the onions browning.
I get a buzz,
Pouring coconut cream onto the lentils, or
Making curd rice : adding cold milk to hot rice, mashing rice with my fingers, feeling the warmth of rice and the cold of the milk, squashing it into a soft mash, adding thick Greek yoghurt,
Pouring tempered mustard, cummin, curry leaves, hing, dried chillies, urad dhall onto the creamy white mixture.
Highly therapeutic.
(Alright, if I’ve overdone it with the number of dishes and I have just an hour left to clean the kitchen, and shower, then that’s quite another panic laden story).
Anyway, here I am after one relatively normal rehab session preparing prasad/dinner for a recent Purnima Puja.
Feeling calm, at peace, in a rusty-gold silk saree with gold borders and pallu, the entire body has embroidered leaves in dark rust brown. Gifted by a student during Vijayadasami last year. Just got the blouse sewn. Photo taken after all had left, kitchen, home, puja room cleaned, before midnight, team effort.