Welcome to my kitchen!
At the ripe “old age” of 17, my father asked me, “do you like eating good food?”; to which I replied “Yes”; my father responded with, “then learn how to make good food; your mother will not be around you forever”.
It was definitely NOT love at first sight; me and cooking. I am a non-vegetarian and if I’m offending all the vegetarians out there, my apologies. The first time my mum asked me to clean chicken, it was one of the most disgusting things I had ever been asked to do. Yet, I must admit, it grew on me almost like a slow burn.
In the many years that followed I became quite the passionate “foodie”. Traveling to many corners of the world, I tasted some of the best cuisine on this planet. Each time something I ate tickled my tastebuds, I would, brazenly, ask the chef (s) if they could teach me how to prepare that dish. Not only did I build up quite the cooking repertoire from many countries, but I also developed creative signature dishes of my own.
To expand my repertoire, I got very interested in making Chutneys. Though the concept of Chutneys originated in India and my mum shared many of her chutney recipes with me, I was amazed to learn that this had spread to many countries in Asia, Europe, Americas, and Africa. I cannot say that I have sampled all of them, but I have tasted well over 80% through the kindness of others who shared their preparation methods with me over the years.
A dear friend from Seattle who helped prepare some of my Chutneys a year ago, admonished me that I should transcribe the many Chutney recipes I had on scraps of paper and in my memory and share them with the public.
There is a saying in Africa, that “when a man dies, a library burns down”
Here’s my hope that this “library” will continue to thrive and perhaps expand through the ingenuity of future generations.
-Baba