COVID-19 lockdown sees many taking to cooking, rustling up popular dishes

Many working professionals living alone in the city are turning to online resources to learn how to make their favourite dishes

Thirty-seven-year old Aditya Kumar, a native of Bihar has been a resident of Chennai for almost eight years and used to depend on restaurants and his office canteen for lunch and dinner. Occasionally, when he spots someone from his State, he would request them to make his favourite

Ghugni (a gravy made with dried peas and potato). On the first day of the lockdown however, with restaurants shut and not left with much choice, he anxiously picked up the ladle and made

dal. Today, from g

hughni to a

loo bhujiya , he can whip up a range of recipes.

Many working professionals living alone in the city have been accustomed to eating out at restaurants for almost every meal of the day, for years. Now, they have realized what an essential survival skill cooking is, and have also discovered a new love for it. “I have become more patient -- that’s a skill cooking has taught me. From quietly waiting for the rice or vegetables to boil and to getting the consistency right, I realized cooking has turned me into a more patient person,” Mr. Kumar says.

Rengaraj Dhachinamoorthy, a 32-year-old working professional in Chennai says, he can’t wait to try chicken or mutton biryani. “I started with dal , now, on a daily basis, I make sambar, rasam and onion and tomato chutney. On Sunday, I made mutton curry, which turned out well. I perfectly marinated the mutton with all the spices, cooked it just right and in the end, when the gravy tasted heavenly, I thought it was well worth the effort,” he says. He plans to rustle up more such recipes with the help of Youtube videos or Instagram, he adds.

Similarly, 34-year-old Thomas Pradeep too says, he was quite apprehensive initially yet, he made a beginning, out of compulsion due to the lockdown. “Now, I make mutton clear soup, mutton gravy and of course the other pedestrian yet comfort foods like rasam and curries. It’s quite satisfying and heartening to cook every day during this lockdown. I’m glad I discovered it,” he adds.