“Mom, where do you keep the salt?”

“Is this jeera or dhania?”

“How many spoons of turmeric shall I put?”

“Oh God! this hing really stinks! Do I have to use it?”

This is the refrain I hear nowadays in my house. And it’s music to my ears! You see, I have always had a passion for cooking and experimenting with food, which is why I entered the restaurant business. And I had hoped that my ‘genes’ would follow suit. So, imagine my surprise when my son asked me how to make doi maachh! I looked askance at him with one brow upraised. He burst out, “Dad, don’t you know it’s the virus all around. I am the NEW COOK now!”

Right now, I think this is the scenario in most households. The entire family has become involved in cooking. It’s a very healthy scenario. But sometimes one has to eat whatever is dished out! The other day, my friend was saying that his kids were in charge of the evening meal. So he is having to eat different varieties of pasta, fajitas and pizzas every day!

Most people are calling up their moms and grandmoms for simple recipes as they have never cooked before. The Internet and Google is overworked doling out recipes to the New Quarantine Cooks! And now we also have celebrities joining the bandwagon and teaching us how to cook this and how to cook that!

It just goes to show how dependant the new generation is on takeouts and dining out. With restaurants being closed and most delivery services shut, the fear of the virus has sent most of the boys and men of the house scuttling into virgin territory, namely, THE KITCHEN, and made them don a colourful apron.

I was just going through an article in the papers and it shocked me to know that a survey conducted by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says that an Indian man spends an average of 19 minutes a day on housework while the lady of the house or women in general spend 298 minutes! To just add that only 16 per cent of Indian men play a domestic role such as cooking and cleaning.

Now all that is passe! So now, with the lockdown, most men, whether a corporate professional or an entrepreneur, is not just working ‘from’ home, but, probably for the very first time in their lives, they are also working ‘for’ the home.

While some are in the mood to experiment like a crazy scientist, others are putting their soul into exploring their culinary skills. In fact, there is almost a MasterChef being conducted in every household where the man of the house is asked to follow the menu set by the lady and the kids are the jury. If they know the dish, well and good, or else, they are secretly Googling or YouTubing!

It’s now a trend to immediately Instagram whatever has been cooked and to share the pictures amongst friends et al. Everyone waits for the comments and the flowery praises. A film director-producer friend of mine, Aniruddha (Roy Chowdhury), popularly known as Tony, is a chef at heart. And over the years he has nurtured this creative skill by adding a touch of fusion to the traditional dishes. Apparently, a couple of days ago, he cooked the most loved and delectable prawn malai curry. But then he added a twist to it — the American red sauce! Bravo Senor Tony!

And then you have the health freaks who have resorted to one-pot meals like dahi-chawal (curd-rice) or khichri if you want to be traditional, or even the pulao. Contrarily, there are the macaronis and the pastas of the world which are not only tasty but also nutritious because they include the addition of grains, lentils, veggies and anything else that can be stocked in the freezer. There are those who want to remain in good shape and health during the quarantined period.

With a lot of recipes being shared on an hourly basis, people have become super creative, which has not only resulted in family camaraderie, but has given reasons to showcase their inner talent to become a chef at heart, if not in the kitchen.

These are dark times. These are suffering times. All we can do now is wait for normalcy to return. So, to remain sane, to remain nourished, to remain active, we adapt and take to the kitchen.

I am now going to head to the kitchen to make my favourite dish, Pabda Tomator Jhal (pabda fish simmered in a spicy red curry of tomatoes with chillies, ginger and garlic).

While I assure you that I am a chef at heart, I would really urge the men in the house to take this downtime as an excuse to unleash the chef within you, learn new skills, make new healthy recipes because I always believe that everything begins from ABCD, or ‘Anybody Can Cook, Dear’.

And remember, we should stick to home food because we cannot ignore that it is a healthier option anytime. #StaySafe #StayHealthy

Anjan Chatterjee is the chief of Speciality Restaurants, which owns Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Cafe Mezzuna, Sigree Global Grill, Hoppipola, Asia Kitchen and more. And yes, he is a foodie!