Gujarati khadi magic

I used to compare Indian cooking to Chemistry. And lord knows Chemistry wasn't my thing. I thought I would never get it. Even with the book of recipes I made, it still felt impossible. The most anticipated moment would be (and still is) when Bapuji took his first bite. Within the first few seconds, you would know - yay or nay. The nays outnumbered the yays by far.

Would I ever get it? All the different spices had to be measured perfectly, knowing which amount to put in each dish. The real kicker was that 'measure' didn't mean 'measure'. The art of cooking is just knowing based on the size of the pot, the proportion of spices that it would need. It is also important to know how to cut the vegetables (size, shape, etc) and how long to cook everything - from vagar, sautéing and frying to cooking in a pressure cooker. You also want to know what else you could add to enhance the taste or alter it to mimic a dish from another region (i.e. gujarati, punjabi, south indian, marathi, etc).

My mom has all of this down to a magical science. Not only has she perfected Indian cooking, she can do it all. Italian, Mexican, Chinese.... She is a wonderful cook. She has been trying to teach me since I was twelve or thirteen. But, our student teacher relationship just didn't work in the kitchen. Cooking meant that at least one of us would end up in tears.

After all these years, things finally started clicking. My meals have gone from throw away to edible, good to great, and now I can maneuver around the kitchen and cook meals viscerally. I know the amount of spices needed and what it takes. I can look in the refrigerator, see what we have, and know what can be used to create a dish. Success. According to mom, I can cook a meal for guests. More importantly, I can cook a meal for Dada and Ba (my grandparents).

This magic that just happened, didn't just happen. It's thanks to my mom. She never gave up on me. I also wanted to please my dad. There is a happiness that comes from knowing that he is enjoying what I made.

Through it all, I fell in love with cooking. I still have so much to learn but I know when the day comes, I can cook wonderful meals for my own family. And I can only hope for yays.