How many of us know to cook in different styles/cusines other than ours?
By devijay78
@devijay78 (1573)
India
March 10, 2011 4:14am CST
I used to love to experiment with different dishes and always was on the lookout to try something new when I was young(in my teens and early twenties). My husband and I used to cook different recipes every weekends in the early years of our married life. But now, after my daughter was born, he has become very busy in his office and I with my kid and other work at home that I hardly have time to experiment. I just cook only south Indian food which is what I know very well and do not dare to try other cusines other than Indian.
I was thinking about what to cook for tonight when I realised that I had been cooking the same few dishes again and again and had not tried anything else in a long long time. And I do not know any other recipe other than Indian. I would love to try out other cusines from other parts of the world as well. I do not know how well it would be recieved by my family but it is worth a try
1 person likes this
9 responses
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
11 Mar 11
Experimenting and practice is what makes us better cooks. I specialize in Puerto Rican Cuisines but can also cook many other country cuisines.
The years of daring, trying and practice allowed me to perfect. Go ahead and try you will never know if it will be a hit.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
11 Mar 11
Great idea devijay,
Their ravish reviews might just tempt him. 
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
11 Mar 11
I would like to try some mexican, thai and chinese dishes which I enjoyed in the restaurants recently. But the problem is I do not know where to find some of the ingredients. I am going to try one dish at a time after buying all the ingredients or at least find Indian replacements for them. I love to experiment and my parents and sisters have always been supportive and good sports by daring to taste them. But my husband is a little set on the dishes he likes and does not like. So it becomes double the work for me to prepare the new dish as well as whatever he likes too. He is a very fussy eater and that is what made me stop trying out new ones. I guess it is time to test my experiments on my parents and one sister along with my brother in law now. 
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
11 Mar 11
Its wonderful to note that you want to learn new cuisines… I too love to try out new dishes but most of the times, it doesn’t come out as good as I think. My greatest help in this regard in the internet… I look up a lot of recipe sites, having good recipes from other parts of India and try them out at home. One big problem is the easy availability of all the ingredients, another is that you don’t really know how that dish will finally taste LOL
1 person likes this
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
11 Mar 11
Hi sudipta. Indian recipes are, most of the times easy to make because we know about the taste of the ingredients and know how it will come out eventually. And the easy availability of the ingredients too make them more convenient to prepare. But I find the ingredients in the other cusines a little difficult to obtain as they are not available that easily. Even if they are available, they cost very high. So usually, I drop the idea. Moreover, I do not know how the particular ingredient might taste so I am not able to replace it with another one locally available which has the same taste. So there goes my international cooking.
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
10 Mar 11
Hi kalav. I don't know what taste I like now until I have actually tasted them. So it is difficult to say. But this is for sure that my mouth tastes bitter and I crave for something like raw mangoes, tamarind rice, lemon rice etc. All the others are pretty bland to me. I guess it will all change in another month or so. Hopefully
I felt like having a pizza now and asked my husband to order one for me. But sadly, it is very late in the night and they will not deliver. So I guess I could try one tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion. My mouth is watering thinking of the pizza I am going to have tomorrow. 
I felt like having a pizza now and asked my husband to order one for me. But sadly, it is very late in the night and they will not deliver. So I guess I could try one tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion. My mouth is watering thinking of the pizza I am going to have tomorrow. @kalav56 (11464)
• India
11 Mar 11
Hi devi! Get some curry leaves;kariveppilai] and make chutney and powder out of this --add tamarind,redchilly , ginger and salt to it and make it zippy.You will like it when you are pregnant.I used to make this for my daughterinlaw.You can make thokku out of pudina,coriander leaves and kariveppilai too. You can store them in the fridge.I am proving our statement "East or west , home is the best" by giving age old suggestions, typically south Indian.
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
11 Mar 11
Hey thank you so much kalav.
I would love the taste I know. I am actually going to prepare gonkura chutney today. And prepared pudhina chutney yesterday. But unfortunately, my husband wanted something else. I did not have the energy to prepare another dish, so I just let it be. And I will go out for the pizza base and all the toppings. I guess I can try it at home today.
I would love the taste I know. I am actually going to prepare gonkura chutney today. And prepared pudhina chutney yesterday. But unfortunately, my husband wanted something else. I did not have the energy to prepare another dish, so I just let it be. And I will go out for the pizza base and all the toppings. I guess I can try it at home today.1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
27 Mar 11
It takes lots of effort to look a new
style of cuisine.
Though recipes make it easier.
You don't have to experiment.
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
29 Mar 11
Hi beautyqueen. I do have a lot of recipe books but most of them are Indian and so I do not have much of other styles. I was talking about cooking other styles or cusines as well.
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
21 Mar 11
I know how to make other country cusine but I'm just not sure if I do it traditionally, I think I might call what I make fusion, I learn cooking here and there and create my own., put some new touching in the dishes everytimne when I try to cook.
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
22 Mar 11
Hi mermaidivy. I guess cooking is like that everywhere. You would be surprised to know how the cusine in my own country changes when you visit different places. People rarely follow the traditional way of cooking and experiment or add and leave out ingredients according to their tastes or the taste of the state which they are living in. But knowing more than one style of cooking is a wonder and my mom and grandmom and many of the elders know just our way of cooking and no other.
@marguicha (222895)
• Chile
30 Mar 11
I have been experimenting in cooking since I became a widow as my husband had an illness for many years that meant he had to eat a very special diet. I love to cook and when he was alive I did all I could to cook different things with the permited ingredients. Now I have started to learn different dishes from all over the world. I read looselly the recipes and then just do what I can. Usually it´s good and different
@marguicha (222895)
• Chile
31 Mar 11
What I meant to say is that when he was sick I started to experiment so he would have different food in spite of his illness. What was painful was to have the person I most loved in the world so sick.
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
31 Mar 11
Sorry to hear about your husband. It would have been very difficult for you to adjust your way of cooking according to his needs. I enjoy cooking different dishes but rarely try out other cusines. Now since I am pregnant, am hungry all the time and have strange cravings at odd hours. So, I do experiment.
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
10 Mar 11
hello devijay,
Here in my country,we cooked not only our native cuisines,but of different countries.
We have some touch of Chinese cuisines which is mostly noodles.
Italian pasta,spicy foods from India and a lot more.
My kids,loves spaghetti (italian pasta dish)also salads.
I have an Indian friend from the southern part,which is Kerala who taught me make chapati.
My Indian friends always cooked different southern (Kerala)foods each time they invited me to dine with them,(less spicy) coz i can't bear too much hot/spicy foods.
Have a great day
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
11 Mar 11
Oh, your food has a lot of varieties jaiho! Here we do go out to restaurants to eat different foods from different parts of the world, but as far as cooking them is concerned, I am a zero. My husband does cook chinese items from time to time but I find some dishes not to my taste. As I am a south Indian and my forefathers are from Andhra Pradesh which is known for its spicy food and pickles, nothing has changed in our house with regard to cooking. I still cook spicy and hot food with lots of chillies and I find other cusines mostly are much less spicier/hot.
But I do enjoy different dishes from different parts of the world. Once I had a mexican dish prepared with various sauces and sea food and that was delicious!
I guess considering your taste for less spicy food, my cooking would have smoke coming out of your mouth! 
It is that hot with loads of chillies and peppers.
I guess considering your taste for less spicy food, my cooking would have smoke coming out of your mouth! It is that hot with loads of chillies and peppers.
@Suzieqmom (2755)
• United States
10 Mar 11
start with something simple, like spaghetti! Most Italian food is usually fairly easy to make, and it is easy to find recipes, too. And (at least here in the US) the ingredients are pretty economical, so if you really destroy the meal, you won't feel like you've thrown away a lot of money. Good luck!!
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
10 Mar 11
Hi Suzieqmom. Here in India, the ingredients used for preparing other dishes except Indian are hard to find. Secondly, even if we do get them, they are a little expensive. So I should be careful not to waste any of what I prepare. I so go out to eat but have hardly tried preparing anything at home. I would like to try though. Thanks for the suggestion. Do you know any website where I can find some good recipes? And which are easy to prepare too?
@kwylima (451)
• United States
11 Mar 11
I am felling a little confused right now. I don`t know exacly if I like cook or not..sometimes I feel so happy while I am cooking..but some days I just think `OMG I really need cook today?why?I don`t like that...`Well, maybe I dont like for long term haha. To tell teh truth I dont like a lot because I am not successful in the kicthen...I always try something new but it never works very well...I will keep trying ultil I done something that everybody is gonna like.
I love watch that cooking shows and all those delicious food. I wish I could cook like them! :)
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
11 Mar 11
As life said(refer earlier response), cooking requires a lot of patience and dedication. It just takes a little while to get the hang of it. But once you get it, you will start liking it. It just takes a little concentration, thats all.
Start with simple dishes and the ingredients with which you are familiar and when you are used to making good dishes out of them, then move over to complex dishes. This will give you the confidence you need to take on more varied dishes. Happy cooking!
