Cooking – Men better than Women?

Being a man, I am venturing into this topic knowing fully well that it is fraught with danger. I need to face two strong women back home – my mother and my wife. They will not be amused at all to read this article where I declare – Men win this contest hands down!!

I dare to say - Women's cooking is often average because it is largely performed as a matter of daily routine. For the traditional housewife(we can forget about the working woman with a few exceptions maybe), cooking is not a hobby, but simply another item in the bucket list of household chores that needs to be ticked off with efficiency and speed. I am not blaming them for this as the workload of taking care of children, giving cleaning instructions to the house-maid, taking care of the husband’s inefficiencies(there are many) in keeping his wardrobe neat and clean takes its toll on them.

Men cook better as mentioned in the points below and tilt the balance in their favor -

1)      Men cook without thinking frugally – they don’t plan for tomorrow –whether the vegetables will be sufficient for the whole week,who cares!

2)      Men don’t think healthy - My father ( he is an unbelievable cook – my brother-in-law can vouch for that) uses a good amount of oil(was it clarified butter?) for “tadka” and invariably the daal or the aloo fry tastes like heaven!!Women think of the nutrients that go into the food they cook and that’s where they meet their waterloo!!

3)      Men experiment – they are not afraid to use an extra dash of lime, extra sprinkling of turmeric, red chillies to get that vibrancy in the dish, mix and match various spices, vegetables to get that new recipe and a brilliant taste.Women are more wary to experiment as they have to face the nasty male criticism so it does well for them to stick to the more routine recipes.

4)      Men don’t see food as part of their survival rituals – it is their love for the food unlike women who eat food as part of their daily “fuel” that keeps them alive.This relationshiop of men with food makes their cooking more interesting and brings that extra X factor to the taste buds.How many times the newly married women have been counselled by wiser and older women - the way to a man's heart is through his mouth!!

My own experiments with cooking (Gandhiji inspired me here) –As a bachelor, when I began my corporate career in Mumbai, I had two options in front of me – endure the hotel food that was hitting hard on my digestive system or do my own thing. If the valiant Bheema could cook(in the exile of Pandavas – Bheema was a palace cook),so could I, was my firm belief.

Although I was a stranger to the kitchen, I soon found that preparing exciting dishes was neither particularly time-consuming nor difficult, and within a few months, my abilities easily surpassed my own stringent tests and expectations. Sindhi kadi, sambhar(it still is patented in the way I prepare),eggplant  curry,mixed vegetables curry and other curries were dished out in my kitchen and my friends were not missing their homes anymore…

If any more proof were needed, then I'd suggest you consider just how many female chefs have their shows on Indian TV(apart from one Tarla Dalal). If you can name three, then I'll cook you dinner. You lucky girls!!!