Cooking has always been more than preparing food – it is an art form that collects creativity, tradition and personal expression. Each recipe tells a story, each taste bears a memory, and each plate becomes a canvas for imagination. Through this journey, food is transformed from daily requirements for a meaningful experience of culture, connection and creativity.
A new start to my mundane regular life, living in the city of unexpected fates, and lifestyle, going through rapid changes, severely affecting my life. I want to take a deep breath to see what is so special about the situation I am in. I wonder, is it my behavior? The societal norms instilled in our minds, or the culture, I don’t know.
The city is, Bengaluru. I am coming from a place, where people despite having so many differences, between each other. We have a common ground to talk about. The food, the deliciously serving samosas, while the samosa vendor makes it drool worthy, brings out the oil from the pan. I crave food more and more, especially after coming out of the office, completely tired and famished.
🥟 The Charm of Samosas
“Samosa is a triangular shaped snack from the outside, made using flour. The filling is of vegetables, especially potatoes and other ingredients included.”
There are different types of samosas, which I had no clue about. Initially, I thought it had only a certain type, slowly and steadily I realised there are so many cuisines in India, which we thoroughly miss out.
🍛 Indian Food Expectations vs Reality
I always had certain expectations from Indian food. Generally, there is a misconception, not only for people living overseas, but also for Indians living in the sub-continent. We assume that we have the same variety of food. Be it Butter Chicken, Garlic Naan, Mango Lassi, and many more to go.
This country is not one size fits all personality. There are many types of people to personalities to cultures and food. The appetizing drool worthy food isn’t expected of our culture.
🍜 First Encounters with Noodles and Pasta
My first encounter with a completely different cuisine was noodles, in childhood. A popular Chinese dish, frequently eaten with a fork, in our country. As the usage of Chopsticks came into fruition.
It was a shock that it was also consumed by other East Asians, including Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Indonesian, Malaysians, and Singaporeans, etc. There is also the confusion between noodles, and Spaghetti Pasta, for the little brain as a 9 year old, who did not know any better.
A child who did not know any better about it, is now an expert in cooking different kinds of noodles including Udon (Thick Noodles) and Japchae (Glass Noodles). Also, the different types of Pastas, Spaghetti, Ravioli, Penne, and Fettuccine.
“Glass Noodles and Udon taste so delicious, yet serene while swallowing the delicacy, from two completely different cultures.”
📲 Recipes in the Internet Age
The kind of recipes available currently are flabbergasted to the layman. You can Google everything on the internet, and still you could see the number of videos, their version of food, which could be exchanged for the same dish. You could have different versions of similar food with an absolutely distinctive recipe.
🍳 My Journey into Cooking
I enjoy cooking. I love it, as there is no pressure from others to cook as a daily routine. I cook for myself, my family in order to taste something edible, and enjoy the food I prepared.
At the age of 12, my school used to conduct classes for the students, to learn activities like every other year. In that academic year, we had three options, from music, needle work and cooking. I chose cooking, as I loved “adventure”.
It was inculcated in my routine to cook at least one dish every week. To my surprise, some were completely preposterous, and others were highly unlikely to be considered edible. Over a period of time, my cooking improved expectantly.
🍲 The Rollercoaster of Cooking as a Hobby
It is therapeutic at times. But, it takes time to get accustomed to know, how to cook. It is an art, the same artwork you need to skill it.
It takes a lot of courage to prepare meals for the people of five. However, it will also bring in new taste buds to eat, the food you prepare, essentially to check whether it is done.
Sometimes, even asking a person next to you, about what food you need to consume. The taste buds are so vast and different for everybody, preparing sweet to salt based dishes.
🥔 The First Steps: Potatoes and Fries
From chopping vegetables to making soup, I have come a long way to learn about the basics of cooking. I often wondered where it all started from.
The little girl wanted to prepare a dish of potatoes as she was really famished. Well, to be very frank it was not really lovely to look at but tasted delicious.
The second time, I prepared French fries, which were really tasty. It takes a lot of time and energy to realize this is what I enjoyed during my spare time.
🍚 Signature Dishes: Pulao and Custard
The picture above is Vegetarian Pulao. A popular dish eaten by Indians. It represents our love for something really spicy. Made from rice and vegetables, it gives a sense of satisfaction to our taste buds.
Delicious Vegetarian Pulao served with fresh vegetables and aromatic spices.
“Usually, Chicken Biryani is the most loved dish. But, this is my go to comfort food for the preparation of the recipe.”
Silky caramel custard topped with golden caramel glaze.
The second picture speaks about a dish I cannot stop preparing regularly. It is Caramel custard. Made from eggs, whipped cream, milk, sugar and sugar for caramelization, it is something I’d definitely reconsider trying it all over again.
✨ The Unnoticed Connection: Food, Creativity and Stories
There exists a curious relationship between the act of eating and the spark of creativity that few people acknowledge or understand.
The experience of eating with genuine appreciation—not merely consuming food for sustenance, but truly savoring each bite—creates a unique state of consciousness.
Stories emerge not from forced effort but from a natural overflow of mental energy. When our bodies are content and our senses are engaged, the usual barriers between conscious thought and creative inspiration seem to dissolve.
By failing to acknowledge the relationship between these two fundamental human experiences, we miss opportunities to nurture both our bodies and our artistic spirits.
🎯 Conclusion
Finally, cooking is not just about satisfying hunger, but also about expressing love, preserving memories and embracing creativity in everyday life. Whether it is the heat from a comfortable casserole or sweetness of caramel vanilla sauce, every dish we are, part of who we are. Making artwork is therefore a lifetime journey – one that develops with every new taste we discovered and develops with every food we created.
Writing at shubhampal.co.in as a Content Writer, Shivani Shetty blends her passion for creative writing with thoughtful storytelling. She enjoys exploring human emotions, social issues, and cultural narratives through vivid, character-driven content. With an intuitive style and a love for arts and mental health topics, she brings depth and perspective to every piece she pens.
