The Culinary Journey begins...

My very first blog!! A little strange considering that I have never been interested in blogs or followed other people’s created ones. But, well, here I am and quite excited about it.

Food has always been an interest ever since I was a kid. The first time I experimented in the kitchen was with my grandmother who gave me the freedom to mess around when my mom was out of the house. The dish never worked out, but my interest grew.

Then came the time when mom broke her hand and I volunteered to help her cook in the kitchen. I don’t remember how they turned out, but I mastered the art of creating perfectly round rotis [Round Indian bread] at that time. That can be said as a commendable task for a kid hardly 10 years of age.

The interest grew with every passing day and then came the cooking shows on television. Come Sunday and me and my parents would get glued to the TV to catch the latest offerings of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The ritual continued for quite a few years and gradually, the library started getting filled with more cookbooks. [Majorly Tarla Dalal ones as mom was a huge fan]. Sundays mornings would be spent with all of us pondering over a suitable recipe to cook and making trips to the local market to hunt for ingredients to make the dish.

The cooking interest at that time was mainly limited to Indian cuisine. A year of study in UK introduced my palate to international cuisines. Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, German, Mexican etc. – varied cooking styles, food combinations, concepts all found their way in my cooking diary. Friend’s were kind enough to create vegetarian versions of their traditional dishes and that was a plus for me. In turn, I introduced them to Indian food.

Returning back to Bombay, I began missing the food culture I had experienced in UK. Not being able to source the same cooking materials in the Indian markets added to my list of woes. Then on, whoever I could catch traveling abroad would be handed a small list of sauces, food to be brought back for me. No one complained though except my mom who had to deal with ‘n’ number of sauces and cheeses that had to be stored in the fridge and cupboards. I admit, it was a daunting task for her tolerating my varied cooking experiments. J

The culinary interest has doubled ever since I became glued to the television series of “Masterchef Australia” recently aired on a TV channel. Cooking has been elevated to a completely new dimension. It’s all about creativity, innovation and scientific concepts. It is a classic blend of Art and Science. The creations on the show, the techniques all have led me to view the Science of cooking in a completely new light.

Piqued by the enthusiasm, I decided to pen my thoughts on the art and science of food and cooking. It’s not just about mixing a few spices and items. It’s something that should evoke all your senses of taste, smell, touch and vision.

This blog is dedicated to everything about food be it different cuisines, techniques of cooking, invention and creation in cooking, traditional concepts and creation of food items – anything remotely related to food.

My food experiences shall be penned down regularly with an aim to spark a culinary interest in others.

Welcome to Gastronomy unlimited!