cooking in silence

disclaimer: i am not a cook

A romantic idea of cooking usually involves frying exotic ingredients in garlic and truffle oil, a spoon in one hand, a glass of red wine in the other, and swaying side to side to the jazz music playing in the background. It’s usually in a clean, white kitchen, with a huge fruit bowl as the only source of colour.

The way I’ve observed cooking is quite chaotic. There’s the stress of making rotli quickly so that plates are never empty. Then, there’s always someone, usually me, adding way too many mircha to steaming, hot oil, causing watery eyes and a coughing fit.

There’s beauty in all of these examples, of course. But when it comes to my own cooking, I prefer to work in complete silence.

I’ve grown accustomed to cooking in silence. When living away from home, I avoided playing a podcast or music in the background because I was worried someone would break in when I’m most vulnerable: chopping onions.

But, being back at home, cooking in silence, gives me some peace. It’s therapeutic. Cooking without background noise allows you hear to the important things: fenugreek and cumin seeds sizzling in oil, rice boiling. Sounds also change depending on what ingredients you put in— when making my tharka, for example, adding tomatoes in the hot oil causes such a stir. These sounds used to scare me when I was younger, but I’ve learned to control them. All you need to do is add a splash of water.

Cooking in silence also allows for focus. I hate too many people being in the room when I’m making something, it always goes wrong. I never use teaspoons to measure how many spices I add to a recipe. The quiet allows my ancestors to share their guidance on how much salt and chilli powder I should add to my shaak.

It also helps to elevate other senses, such as smell and sight. I love creating colourful dishes. It feels like art. I’m not the neatest cook, but seeing a mix of colourful chopped up vegetables makes me happy.

Not all of us have the luxury of quiet cooking. In fact, I rarely do. ASMR cooking on TikTok is pretty popular, and I love seeing Emily Mariko cook her simple, healthy dishes. Even though I can’t eat her food, I can almost feel it by hearing her chop up vegetables and sizzle onions.

Smelling, tasting and feeling food is important, and so is hearing. Like many, Great British Bake Off taught me to listen my baked goods once they’re out of the oven— if you can hear bubbling, then it needs more time to bake.

via Great British Bake Off/Giphy/Mashable

Food always has something interesting to say. Make sure you’re listening next time.