K for kitchen!!!

Kitchen is a woman's paradise. At least for me, it is. That is where I spend most of the time when I am home. My tryst with kitchen and cooking started quite early in life. As mom was a tailor, she would stay late and me being the older, had to cook rice for dinner. When there was no curry, I even ventured out to cook egg curry or potato fry. I think those are the basic recipes most of us have toned our culinary skills on. I would make an occasional french toast, rasna mixes for my sister and the neighborhood.

After starting a family of my own, I always made sure that my kitchen had enough storage. I am a big storage person. I really don't care in which order I arrange my spices or flours, but if someone change their places, then I don't go just mad but wild. Yes, I am finicky about my kitchen. I have a very hard time having my mom or Mil around. Though they are a big help, I would rather do it myself if I can.

Having said that, do y'all think if I have OCD? No, I don't. I don't maintain spic and span kitchen, but I keep my sink dish-free. That is one obsession I have. I like to cook and bake. So, I try to keep all the utensils I need. A friend joked once, that a wedding could be done with the vessels I have. Each time we moved places, S would grunt, do you really need these many dishes?? I warn him, don't you dare to touch a spoon.

After all these years of slogging in my kitchen and having done an extensive secret research on the kitchens of my friends worldwide, I come up with a list only we Indian women can think of:

1. After the inners of her blouse, the most secret place a woman finds to hide her secret cash, is the spice box.
2. Use the Coffee grinders to grind anything from ginger garlic paste to garam masala
3. Your Food Processor mixes a perfect chapathi dough. Chops onions to cabbage
4. Husband gets a $400 juicer to make juices from bitter gourd to zucchini and you surprise him with a perfect dosa batter.
5. Only we could cook rice and idlis in a microwave
6. Pan cake griddle is the new dosa pan
7. And the variety of upmas we make out of all the grains and flours, no one can beat me at that!
8. For many of us, our kitchen is the prayer room too.
9. Surprised if I say that it is the yoga place as well?
10. For me, kitchen could be a place where I could read, sometimes blog, catch with old pals, chat, text, free counselling on the phone, yell orders at the entire household, tell childhood stories to my kids. For someone who cook out of happiness or depression, what could be the best place than a kitchen?

   Okay, this is my idea of a dream kitchen!! Do y'all like it??

                                                           Image Courtesy: HGTV