Culinary Tales: ‘When I made bisi bele bath for the entire neighbourhood’

We had a fun childhood where we weren’t forced to learn cooking. My first stint with cooking was only after I finished Class 12. Unlike now, we didn’t have much to do during holidays then. So, she suggested that I learn cooking. Again, she didn’t force me. 

I wanted to cook something different and not the usual stuff that was made at home. I always liked reading the recipe books which came along with pressure cookers. They had lovely glossy pictures and easy to understand recipes. We didn’t have YouTube back then you see. So, I picked bise bele bath from the recipe book. 

My mother was happy to help. She sourced all the ingredients. I started making the recipe which was for two to three servings. But I thought it would be less for us. So, I doubled all the proportions. It was going good – our house was filled with the aroma of the ingredients. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the storm I’d cooked up. 

But towards the end, it looked nothing like bise bele bath. It seemed like the slime shown in alien-based films. As a saving grace though, the food didn’t taste too bad. The quantity was unimaginable. We ended up feeding everyone from our neighbours to our domestic worker and her family, and our friends. So, that’s one cooking tale I’ll never forget.