What inspires people to do some thing? What is it that strikes a chord with them to create some thing or pursue the object of their inspiration? Inspiration can come from many sources, and each of them is precious as it pushes us to think beyond the box and do something interesting.
So the other day I was thinking about what is it that inspires us to cook and innovate. And I realised that inspiration can come from many sources, and many needs too. Here are some that I thought of!
1. The 'Hungry-Stomach' Inspiration
This is the top most reason to cook! When you are hungry and you like to cook, you will enter that kitchen and whip something up.
So how does being hungry help us to innovate? Many times being hungry comes with particular cravings that you have to satisfy and when you cook for these cravings, you innovate too. Some of my favourite dishes that I make when I have cravings are aloo parathas (spiced potato stuffed flatbreads) and sheera (sweet semolina pudding).
Aloo Parathas
And when you are very hungry you will reach out to make those dishes that you can make really fast and eat fast!
2. The 'I-am-too-bored-to-cook' Syndrome
Think of all those times when you have been the only one at home for a meal and have been too lazy to cook. Or when you have had too much work and the thought of entering the kitchen just doesn't sit right.
At these times I like to make some quick soups and salads that are filling and don't take too much time, thought or effort to cook.
Asian Style Salad
Thukpa
3. The 'I-have-these-ingredients' Excitement
Every time I go to Crawford Market, it gives me this reason to cook. For at least a week after my shopping sprees, I will be cooking new and exotic dishes in my kitchen, because I will have found the right ingredients.
Here are some dishes that result from my latest shopping spree at Crawford market:
Fettucine in Pesto Sauce
Pumpkin Soup with a Mirepoix Base
Thai Green Curry
4. The 'Some-Ingredients-Missing' Desperation
Oh, this one! The one that befalls all of us at some point in time. It makes such innovative cooks out of us! Especially when we are craving one particular dish, and we are missing one or two ingredients out of all those needed. Like once when I was craving upma (savoury semoilina pudding) and I did not have any rawa (semolina) at home... here's what I did!
Oats Upma
5. The 'Empty-Storage' Conundrum
This is such a cliche when it comes to bachelor pads or singles places. You can still crave home cooked food when you are too lazy to shop. What do I do in such cases? I make tadkewaale dahi chawal (tempered yoghurt rice)! A quick no-fuss fix!
Tadke Waale Dahi Chaawal
And those days when I do not have any vegetables at home, I make this interesting sabzi-
Papad Ki Dahiwaali Sabzi
6. The 'Special-Occasions' Creativity
Special occassions call for special dishes. And if you love cooking, they also call for you to try and create new recipes to mark the occassion. I have some great memories of some really special dishes I have created for such special occassions
Hummus (chickpea dip) Platter for my brother's birthday with regular hummus, basil hummus and masala hummus (Indian style!)
Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapes that I made to celebrate my 100th blog post
7. The 'I-don't-want-to-eat-the-same-old-stuff' Alternative Search
Variety, as they rightly say, is the spice of life. And you indeed cannot eat the same dishes again and again. Everyone needs a change from their traditional food, once in a while. And these are dishes I cook to liven things up in the kitchen every once in a while!
Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yogurt Dip
Spaghetti in Red Sauce
8. The 'Kid-Might-Eat' Hypothesis
Every mother will agree that your concept of cooking changes completely when you have a kid! The dishes and food you have cooked over the years get questioned. And food and cooking becomes an exploration from scratch based on one hypothesis, "My kid might eat this". Here are some dishes that kids might eat-
Hakka Noodles
Healthy Vegetable Cutlets that hide all the veggies in it!
9. The Recipe Re-creation Mode
Recipes, to me, are signposts or guidelines to be followed while making variations in them as per my taste preferences or those of my family. Some recipes that I have gotten innovative with are-
Dhaniya Kadhi (fresh corriander based yogurt sauce) that I saw on a food-travel show on T.V.
Pink Guava Curry that I found in the Good Food India magazine
10. The 'Weather Calls for It' Cooking
Seasons change. Seasonal vegetables change. And the weather also calls for certain dishes. Need I really say more?
Cold and refreshing Waldorf Salad served chilled for summers
Pakoras (fritters) with a twist for the rains
Hearty roasted red pepper and tomato soup for winters
So the other day I was thinking about what is it that inspires us to cook and innovate. And I realised that inspiration can come from many sources, and many needs too. Here are some that I thought of!
1. The 'Hungry-Stomach' Inspiration
This is the top most reason to cook! When you are hungry and you like to cook, you will enter that kitchen and whip something up.
So how does being hungry help us to innovate? Many times being hungry comes with particular cravings that you have to satisfy and when you cook for these cravings, you innovate too. Some of my favourite dishes that I make when I have cravings are aloo parathas (spiced potato stuffed flatbreads) and sheera (sweet semolina pudding).
Aloo Parathas
 |
| Aloo Parathas With Aamras for those "I-am-Hungry" Cravings! |
2. The 'I-am-too-bored-to-cook' Syndrome
Think of all those times when you have been the only one at home for a meal and have been too lazy to cook. Or when you have had too much work and the thought of entering the kitchen just doesn't sit right.
At these times I like to make some quick soups and salads that are filling and don't take too much time, thought or effort to cook.
Asian Style Salad
 |
| Asian Style Salad for the 'I-am-too -bored-to-cook' syndrome |
Thukpa
 |
| Thukpa Soup for when you are too bored to cook something elaborate |
3. The 'I-have-these-ingredients' Excitement
Every time I go to Crawford Market, it gives me this reason to cook. For at least a week after my shopping sprees, I will be cooking new and exotic dishes in my kitchen, because I will have found the right ingredients.
Here are some dishes that result from my latest shopping spree at Crawford market:
Fettucine in Pesto Sauce
 |
| Fettucine in Pesto Sauce |
Pumpkin Soup with a Mirepoix Base
Thai Green Curry
 |
| Thai Green Curry from Scratch: because I had all the ingredients! |
4. The 'Some-Ingredients-Missing' Desperation
Oh, this one! The one that befalls all of us at some point in time. It makes such innovative cooks out of us! Especially when we are craving one particular dish, and we are missing one or two ingredients out of all those needed. Like once when I was craving upma (savoury semoilina pudding) and I did not have any rawa (semolina) at home... here's what I did!
Oats Upma
 |
| Oats Upma made when I had Rawa missing from my pantry! |
5. The 'Empty-Storage' Conundrum
This is such a cliche when it comes to bachelor pads or singles places. You can still crave home cooked food when you are too lazy to shop. What do I do in such cases? I make tadkewaale dahi chawal (tempered yoghurt rice)! A quick no-fuss fix!
Tadke Waale Dahi Chaawal
And those days when I do not have any vegetables at home, I make this interesting sabzi-
Papad Ki Dahiwaali Sabzi
6. The 'Special-Occasions' Creativity
Special occassions call for special dishes. And if you love cooking, they also call for you to try and create new recipes to mark the occassion. I have some great memories of some really special dishes I have created for such special occassions
Hummus (chickpea dip) Platter for my brother's birthday with regular hummus, basil hummus and masala hummus (Indian style!)
 |
| Hummus Platter |
 |
| Cheesy Sweet Corn Canapes |
7. The 'I-don't-want-to-eat-the-same-old-stuff' Alternative Search
Variety, as they rightly say, is the spice of life. And you indeed cannot eat the same dishes again and again. Everyone needs a change from their traditional food, once in a while. And these are dishes I cook to liven things up in the kitchen every once in a while!
Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yogurt Dip
 |
| Restaurant Ready Pan Seared Aubergines with a Yogurt Dip |
Spaghetti in Red Sauce
 |
| Spaghetti in Red Sauce with Olives |
8. The 'Kid-Might-Eat' Hypothesis
Every mother will agree that your concept of cooking changes completely when you have a kid! The dishes and food you have cooked over the years get questioned. And food and cooking becomes an exploration from scratch based on one hypothesis, "My kid might eat this". Here are some dishes that kids might eat-
Hakka Noodles
 |
| Hakka Noodles for the Kids |
Healthy Vegetable Cutlets that hide all the veggies in it!
 |
| Healthy Vegetable Cutlets |
9. The Recipe Re-creation Mode
Recipes, to me, are signposts or guidelines to be followed while making variations in them as per my taste preferences or those of my family. Some recipes that I have gotten innovative with are-
Dhaniya Kadhi (fresh corriander based yogurt sauce) that I saw on a food-travel show on T.V.
 |
| Dhaniya Kadhi |
 |
| An adapted version of pink guava curry |
10. The 'Weather Calls for It' Cooking
Seasons change. Seasonal vegetables change. And the weather also calls for certain dishes. Need I really say more?
Cold and refreshing Waldorf Salad served chilled for summers
 |
| Waldorf Salad |
Pakoras (fritters) with a twist for the rains
 |
| Onion Spinach Fritters with |
Hearty roasted red pepper and tomato soup for winters
 |
| Roasted red pepper and tomato soup |
Welcome Back!!! thanks for putting together this delicious post :D. it made for a good read of some of your interesting outputs and fabulous pics to the boot. keep innovating and regaling us with your adventures in the kitchen <3.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ra, it's always a pleasure to read your comments! Trust me, they're another reason to innovate! :-)
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