Her affair with food is an old one, as she loves to eat. Though she didn't have to do the kitchen chores, she developed an inclination towards cooking when she saw her mom working in the kitchen. "My mother was a working woman, and it amazed me to see her handling things in the kitchen so well even after a long day at work. So I gradually came to a realization that I have to learn cooking not because I'm a woman, but because I need to know how to do it," she says.
Though she came to this realization on her own terms, she wants her children in the shelter to be self-sufficient and learn how to do everything, cooking being one of them. They take turns cooking and she also cooks for them. As she believes in eating healthy, she stresses on eating homemade food.
"I think homemade food is the best. Growing up, we never went to eat out. One reason is that my father despised the culture. Also, it was never necessary as my mom cooked amazing food. No matter where she went, she would be home by four in the afternoon to serve us delicious dishes," she says, fondly recalling those days.
She has fond memories of working in the kitchen when she was younger. Once, she had watched her neighbors make sel. There was nobody in the home at that time and she wanted to make some sel herself. So with a cousin sister, she prepared the batter, which was very thin. When she put the batter in the hot oil, it flew out and got stuck in the ceiling and she was left with oil burns on her face. Though it was pretty dangerous then, she finds it funny now.
Whenever she has to work in the kitchen, all the ingredients have to be cut and prepared before she starts cooking. She doesn't like it if someone is still peeling the garlic once the cooking has started. She uses kitchen ingredients made and grown in her compound, and whenever she goes somewhere, she remembers to buy the local spices. "When I went to Jajarkot a few years ago, I bought 10 kilos of timur," she says.
She is very picky about eating food when she is traveling, especially when it comes to dishes that contain meat. "I only eat chicken and fish, and if it doesn't smell normal to me, then I will not eat it. I don't trust the food anywhere, so I never eat new dishes and am quite happy with the same old recipes," she says. Till some time ago, she used to carry beaten rice and noodles with her whenever she traveled, but now she has adjusted a little. "I try Mexican food, but only because it somewhat resonates with Nepali food," says Pushpa.
(As told to Sachi Mulmi)
Eating junk food is bad for health!
