• I found a [cake/muffin/food] that can be baked in the microwave!
• It only takes twoooooooo minutes!

The art behind it

There really is no book that could be written on how things happen in our kitchen – and this is intrinsically why food randomly but surely turns out so good.

However, you can identify 5 very distinct dimensions that form the basis of Komal’s kitchen.

The taste

Like I mentioned, things turn out awesome, flavoursome and delicious pretty much all the time. So no arguments on this.

What you may know about a particular food or recipe, you may need to leave aside and be ready to discover a slight variant in taste, as ingredients get replaced more often than you think.

The look

We all find appetising food that looks good. Both of us believe in beautiful food. Again, no arguments.

However, sometimes things don’t turn out in the shape, colour or dimension you thought they would. Expect “relaxed” Anzac cookies, cakes with strawberries dipped like people in a Jacuzzi, or tarte tatins fighting Newton and his laws of gravity. But shall I remind you point no. 1 – The taste – for this will not be compromised. In fact, quite the opposite!

The sound

This is a requirement – or is it? – and adds to the basis of Komal’s kitchen. I’m sure people living in our apartment complex could easily tell when a creation is in progress.

The peaceful silence in our city is often broken by:

• random screams (out of dropping something in hot oil),
• more random screams (out of almost burning a finger or two)
• even more random screams (out of actually burning a finger or two)
• a scary “Marrrcooooooo heeeelpppp!!!”
• some colourful and creative curse words that I shall not spell out to preserve the eyes of the reader

The smell

This requires some differentiation – savoury vs sweet recipes.

The savoury ones (aka “the outsiders”) are seldom seen or smelt by anyone in the house until they’re ready, for they’re are crafted behind a closed door. Their name describes the fact that they’re almost always perceived first by people outside the house.

The sweet smells (aka “the insiders”) are quite the opposite. You can come home, open the front door, and be overwhelmed by a sweet, delicious smell, that can hardly be perceived outside. Luckily – I’d say! – or else I we would need to invite half of our neighbourhood for dinner.

The touch

Yes, there is a “touch” bit as well. This is typically shown in hands cooled down under running cold water, or limbs being washed countless of times in the process. Or even fingers being licked to clean pots and pans with delicious dough or raw ingredients. Once again, part of the experience.

The results