From a mother to her Daughters

It was hilarious when during our conversations I told my daughter "You will only get one gift from me at your wedding... and that will be my favourite book of recipes by Annabell Langbein". She looked at me and then burst out laughing especially when she is aware that being born in a hindu Indian family, she will be bestowed with gifts on her D day.
Not that she is going to get married or that she knows whom she would marry... but cooking good palatable food is an art and a skill that every child should be taught.

These holidays I have been teaching my girls how to cook. This became a necessity when my younger daughter's hostel closed down their kitchen at the end of last year. Some of the basic needs of every served meal are -

Food must be cooked with love, care, empathy and positive vibes for those who will have it. Such food is bound to taste good and will greatly benefit the health of all who consume it. Food is the essence of life.

It should have a balance of spices. The aroma from the food when being cooked should arouse the appetite to have it.

The different dishes cooked should have a balance of cooked food and salads. So try and have as many colours as possible in your dishes. The rainbow of colours should be appetising to the eye before the tongue tastes it.

Food served should give a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction after finishing. To achieve this completeness, the cook needs to make sure that all 6 tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, astringent, salty and pungent are delivered. The taste determines how we experience our food. The flavours in our foods are very therapeutic and so ultimately effects the overall flavours of our existence.

Food served should be freshly cooked as much as possible.

It has been a great experience of bonding with my children especially after a very busy year at work. Though they keep saying that it is tedious and they are not going to cook all the things that I have taught them, but I know they have seen me cook and so will definitely have an idea if they decide to do it later in life.