Cooking For Beginners
Men and women often find themselves in situations where they need to cook, but don't know how. Here's help.
A couple of generations ago, almost every woman knew how to cook before marriage. Now women are more involved with their careers, and few enter a marriage with any culinary skills. So when confronted with a situation wherein they need to cook, they find themselves in a bit of a spot. Both men and women have been through this, and while some have mastered the art of cooking in a short span of time, others have simply given up.
Cooking may be fun if you enter the kitchen once a month and bake a cake. Your cake may even turn out to be simply delicious, which leads you to believe that you are an excellent cook, and when the time comes, you will be able to whip up something yummy in a flash. Well, guess what.
It's far easier to cook a delicious cake, where you will be using a ton of sugar, butter, chocolate, egg, cocoa and all things yummy. But when you need to get something like beans or bitter gourd (karela) to taste good, suddenly cooking seems to be more of a challenge.
Although it is fairly easy to cook with the help of a recipe book, if you are not organized when cooking, making one dish may take you the better part of the day - which would be a problem if you are working or have other commitments. So, if you are a beginner at cooking, or if you would like to teach cooking to your son or daughter, read on.
First, to make the job easier, you may want to invest in these few things that one doesn't always find in every kitchen, but having them sure helps make cooking easier.
Clock
Keep a digital clock or a timer in the kitchen, preferably near the gas stove. You will then not need to hazard guesses as to how long you have cooked something, and will be able to follow a given recipe more accurately.
Measuring cup
When a recipe requires you to use a cup of something, don't pick up the large mug you drink your coffee in. Invest in a measuring cup. Once you are a good cook, you will be able to judge how much you need without resorting to very accurate measures, but initially, it makes sense if you try and work by the book.
Dish rack
A surprising number of people don't have racks to dry their plates after washing them. When dishes are being washed by hand, do invest in a rack to dry them. Your kitchen looks a lot less untidy as you don't need to spread your dishes all over the counter after washing them.
Hand grinder
Although electricity can come to your rescue when grinding, you may need to resort to the good ol' hand grinder every now and again. Purchase a medium size one instead of a small one. Lovely marble grinders are available in the market, and you should get a medium size one for around Rs. 200. These grinders are extremely handy, and cut down on chopping. Simply thrown in your ginger, garlic and green chillies in the grinder and smash them!
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