Secret Ingredient

I have often felt that food carries the mood and the feelings of the person who cooks it.

Most of our guests enjoy the meals we serve here. It is simple, homely food, our own versions of familiar regional dishes, prepared the way we like to eat them ourselves. At times we venture into something a little more exotic, just for the joy of experimenting. The dishes are not always perfect by textbook standards, yet they are deeply satisfying. They taste real to us.

There is, of course, a secret ingredient. As the cliché goes, it is love. But clichés endure because they hold truth. When love and care enter the kitchen, something subtle happens. Spices find their balance. Salt settles into its rightful place. Most of the cooking is done on low flame. The food is not rushed. It is guided, and prepared with love. It’s what I call ‘Slow Food’.

Sometimes, we end up adding a little excess chillies or salt, but our guests have been kind enough to point out the mistakes and help us correct. Some have even entered our kitchen to teach us the right way to cook. When they do it, they too end up adding the secret ingredient.

When cooking stops being a task and becomes an act of joy, the final dish carries that feeling. Ingredients are given the time they deserve. Onions are allowed to turn gently golden. Whole spices bloom slowly in warm oil. Aromas rise and settle into the pot. Nothing is rushed, nothing is neglected. Excellence does not come from trying to impress. It comes from being present and taking quiet pride in what is being prepared.

A simple unwritten rule that I follow – don’t disrespect the food and don’t scold the chef ! There’s always a next time even if the things don’t go as planned at first.

Of course, there are fundamentals that cannot be ignored. Cleanliness is the first discipline of a good kitchen. Every vegetable is washed with care. Every surface is kept tidy. Cooked food is kept away from raw ingredients. Then come the methods. Slow and mindful cooking. Pure and wholesome ingredients. Locally sourced herbs and spices, farm grown vegetables, fresh produce gathered with intention. Food is cooked fresh, always with respect for the people who will sit down to eat it.

There are no theatrics here. No elaborate garnishes designed only for photographs. Just nourishing and tasty food served in clean utensils. Food that fills the stomach and comforts the soul!

In the end, there is only one true secret ingredient. Love.
And when that is present, everything else somehow magically falls into place.

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