The Art of Cooking: A Family Tradition

Growing up, I was always a bit of a floater when it came to helping out in the kitchen. My mom would often have me assist with simple tasks like pouring wine, and I'd help my dad chop veggies for our family's favorite recipes. However, one thing that always made me feel at ease was cooking with whole spices. In fact, Indian aunties and uncles would always start with whole spices to create a more aromatic dish. This trick has been passed down through generations of my family, and I've learned to appreciate the importance of starting with whole spices in many recipes.

One of our family's favorite holiday traditions is making a big pot of chai. There's something about the combination of spices that just makes the entire room smell amazing. My mom would often add sugar and then crush two to three cardamom pods, which she'd let steep at the bottom of the tea to infuse it with flavor. I've learned to appreciate the art of making chai, and I always look forward to adding my own touch to this family favorite.

As for our holiday cooking traditions, we always stick to what works best. My mom is an amazing cook, and she knows exactly how much sugar to add (or not) when making certain recipes. She'd often let me help with simple tasks like stirring the pot or pouring wine, but I knew my limits when it came to actual cooking. One year, however, things got a bit messy in the kitchen, and we had to make do with what we had on hand.

Despite the occasional mishap, our family's holiday traditions are always a hit. We'd invite extended family members over for a big celebration, and my mom would spend hours preparing delicious dishes like stuffed squash or roasted vegetables. I loved helping out in the kitchen, even if it was just a small task, because I knew that every dish was a labor of love.

Speaking of food, our holiday party was always a special occasion. My dad would make all sorts of baked goods, from pies to croissants, and my sister would help with setting the table and making sure everything was perfect. As for me, I'd take care of the drinks – or in this case, the chai – and make sure everyone had enough to drink. It was always a special time of year, filled with laughter and good food.

One thing that's always made our holiday celebrations truly special is the presence of family members from all over. We'd invite extended relatives from far and wide, and it would be amazing to see everyone catching up and making new memories together. This year, we have 40 people coming over, and I'm excited to help make it a day to remember.

As a food writer, I've always been fascinated by the art of cooking – especially when it comes to Indian cuisine. There's something about the combination of spices and flavors that just makes me feel at home. In fact, my love for chai has become a staple in our holiday celebrations. Whether we're serving it as a warm beverage or using it as an ingredient in recipes, I know that it brings people together.

Of course, with any family tradition comes some room for improvement – and I'm no exception when it comes to cooking. I've always been a bit of a worrier, and I'd often worry about what my mom would think if she saw me making mistakes in the kitchen. But as I grew older, I learned to appreciate the value of experimentation and trying new things.

For example, this year I decided to make a big pot of chai for our holiday party. I was nervous at first, but as soon as I added the spices and let it steep, I knew that everything would be okay. The aroma filling the air was amazing, and my guests loved it when they took their first sip. It was one of those moments where I felt truly proud of myself for trying something new.

As the holidays approach, I find myself counting down the days until we can all get together again. For me, this is a special time of year filled with love, laughter, and good food. Whether it's making chai or helping out in the kitchen, I know that every moment will be cherished by our family members.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif food writing doesn't work out i think i'll just buy a pair of like high-heeled sneakers and become one of those pump up people at bar mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs holidays in my kitchen are crowded and chaotic but in the best way possible we decided that we'd have like our keynote holiday we'd celebrate all the holidays in one we celebrate thanksgiving then we celebrate christmas and then we also celebrate bai duju which is an indian holiday my mother cooks an entire feast for 20 to 40 people by herself there's like wild rice with mushrooms there's mutter paneer there's puri which is sort of a fried bread there's alukarasa which is potato soup but really the thing that encapsulates the holidays is my mom's which is her butternut squash it's basically this sweet and sour butternut squash dish i feel like a lot of people think the only way to make butternut squash is to roast it but my mom sort of taught me that the best way to do it is to kind of just saute it low and slow to really like release the sweetness of the squash and mix it with a bunch of spices and it's just this like perfect like sweet and sour combination there's not a single dish that screams the holidays more than that butternut squash thank you for watching my squash cutting tutorial you'd think that as a food writer that i would be in the kitchen during the holidays but when you're a food writer who wrote a cookbook with their mother who's an amazing cook you will always be the sort of like latchkey kid who's not great at chopping so my mom almost never allows me in the kitchen unless it's at like five o'clock and we're pouring wine okay we're good chopping completed now it's easy street from here so the trick to this guju recipe is honestly just starting with whole spices and that's the trick to so much of indian cooking the whole version just has so much more flavor it's so much more aromatic indian aunties and uncles they're always starting with the whole spices in our family everyone kind of has these rolls and i've never really settled into one so my dad he goes out to costco to buy the magnums of wine my sister kind of handles setting the table putting all the silverware out and then my mom does the cooking and my dad will help her with the chopping and he'll do the dishes so i've kind of been left almost as a floater so i just kind of help wherever i can help you know what like bar mitzvahs there's like people you hire to be like party starters who like get the crowd really pumped up i would say that's as close that's my what my role is in the holidays i'm like the party starter we usually invite a lot of extended extended family so i think this year we have 40 people i will be really impressed to see my mother cook for 40. maybe she'll finally let me into the kitchen this year because she needs the help so we know when it's ready when you can cleanly stick your fork in and you can eat it and it's like tender to the touch and tender to the taste oh my god it just got the steam coming out of your mouth we don't have mashed potatoes on the table because we have this kabu and it's better it's like mashed potatoes but more flavorful and with so much more texture okay cool it's looking looking good pretty much done i'm gonna give it a few extra seconds i'm really nervous about a repeat of last time yum oh my god we're gonna have squash for days it was like everything you want sweet tangy a little spicy got some nice acid to it i wish we had brie i've always been a little bit tepid about throwing parties and it's not because i don't like entertaining or having people over it's because like i don't like messing up my apartment and i have a lot of social anxiety about like whether or not people will actually show up but i think this year seth and i wanted to have like a big party where seth made a bunch of baked goods like pies maybe croissants likes baklava cookies i feel like by saying it out loud the party will happen and i hope that we can start some kind of tradition because i really i really really love the holidays one thing that i definitely will be having at that holiday party is i plan to make like a big pot of chai chai is kind of everything to many indian families including mine nothing makes me feel more at ease than chai i'll definitely have that at the party if nothing else it just like makes the entire room smell amazing you're gonna add your sugar and then you're just gonna crush like two to three cardamom pods so you're just gonna do that and then i just put everything in pot and all for me the holidays are just like a reminder of how lucky i am that i'm surrounded by such amazing family and friends and that i get to actually spend a lot of time with them i truly am so bad at evaluating how much milk to add it's hard to know until you actually mix it the thing about chai is you don't want to have it really really hot i like having it warm but not boiling lava hot you can totally strain it but my mom just kind of like lets the cardamom sink at the bottom because it's just like continues infusing the tea with flavor and then like whatever you've got like a little sedimentary stuff at the bottom of the tea that's how you know you're done drinking oh that's good okay that's it chai is so easy i'll be thinking about how my mom is going to be watching this video at home and like probably thinking about all the stuff i'm doing wrong if i'm being honest that's what i think every time i make anything of my mom so i'm like oh god she's going to tell me i cut the butternut squash too small didn't put enough cardamom too a little sugar but of course i'll be thinking of her in the holidays like during time like this when you're a food writer like the holidays are kind of like your super bowl but like once november hits i'm literally counting the days until i get to go home all of us are it just truly is like the happiest time of the year for me youif food writing doesn't work out i think i'll just buy a pair of like high-heeled sneakers and become one of those pump up people at bar mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs holidays in my kitchen are crowded and chaotic but in the best way possible we decided that we'd have like our keynote holiday we'd celebrate all the holidays in one we celebrate thanksgiving then we celebrate christmas and then we also celebrate bai duju which is an indian holiday my mother cooks an entire feast for 20 to 40 people by herself there's like wild rice with mushrooms there's mutter paneer there's puri which is sort of a fried bread there's alukarasa which is potato soup but really the thing that encapsulates the holidays is my mom's which is her butternut squash it's basically this sweet and sour butternut squash dish i feel like a lot of people think the only way to make butternut squash is to roast it but my mom sort of taught me that the best way to do it is to kind of just saute it low and slow to really like release the sweetness of the squash and mix it with a bunch of spices and it's just this like perfect like sweet and sour combination there's not a single dish that screams the holidays more than that butternut squash thank you for watching my squash cutting tutorial you'd think that as a food writer that i would be in the kitchen during the holidays but when you're a food writer who wrote a cookbook with their mother who's an amazing cook you will always be the sort of like latchkey kid who's not great at chopping so my mom almost never allows me in the kitchen unless it's at like five o'clock and we're pouring wine okay we're good chopping completed now it's easy street from here so the trick to this guju recipe is honestly just starting with whole spices and that's the trick to so much of indian cooking the whole version just has so much more flavor it's so much more aromatic indian aunties and uncles they're always starting with the whole spices in our family everyone kind of has these rolls and i've never really settled into one so my dad he goes out to costco to buy the magnums of wine my sister kind of handles setting the table putting all the silverware out and then my mom does the cooking and my dad will help her with the chopping and he'll do the dishes so i've kind of been left almost as a floater so i just kind of help wherever i can help you know what like bar mitzvahs there's like people you hire to be like party starters who like get the crowd really pumped up i would say that's as close that's my what my role is in the holidays i'm like the party starter we usually invite a lot of extended extended family so i think this year we have 40 people i will be really impressed to see my mother cook for 40. maybe she'll finally let me into the kitchen this year because she needs the help so we know when it's ready when you can cleanly stick your fork in and you can eat it and it's like tender to the touch and tender to the taste oh my god it just got the steam coming out of your mouth we don't have mashed potatoes on the table because we have this kabu and it's better it's like mashed potatoes but more flavorful and with so much more texture okay cool it's looking looking good pretty much done i'm gonna give it a few extra seconds i'm really nervous about a repeat of last time yum oh my god we're gonna have squash for days it was like everything you want sweet tangy a little spicy got some nice acid to it i wish we had brie i've always been a little bit tepid about throwing parties and it's not because i don't like entertaining or having people over it's because like i don't like messing up my apartment and i have a lot of social anxiety about like whether or not people will actually show up but i think this year seth and i wanted to have like a big party where seth made a bunch of baked goods like pies maybe croissants likes baklava cookies i feel like by saying it out loud the party will happen and i hope that we can start some kind of tradition because i really i really really love the holidays one thing that i definitely will be having at that holiday party is i plan to make like a big pot of chai chai is kind of everything to many indian families including mine nothing makes me feel more at ease than chai i'll definitely have that at the party if nothing else it just like makes the entire room smell amazing you're gonna add your sugar and then you're just gonna crush like two to three cardamom pods so you're just gonna do that and then i just put everything in pot and all for me the holidays are just like a reminder of how lucky i am that i'm surrounded by such amazing family and friends and that i get to actually spend a lot of time with them i truly am so bad at evaluating how much milk to add it's hard to know until you actually mix it the thing about chai is you don't want to have it really really hot i like having it warm but not boiling lava hot you can totally strain it but my mom just kind of like lets the cardamom sink at the bottom because it's just like continues infusing the tea with flavor and then like whatever you've got like a little sedimentary stuff at the bottom of the tea that's how you know you're done drinking oh that's good okay that's it chai is so easy i'll be thinking about how my mom is going to be watching this video at home and like probably thinking about all the stuff i'm doing wrong if i'm being honest that's what i think every time i make anything of my mom so i'm like oh god she's going to tell me i cut the butternut squash too small didn't put enough cardamom too a little sugar but of course i'll be thinking of her in the holidays like during time like this when you're a food writer like the holidays are kind of like your super bowl but like once november hits i'm literally counting the days until i get to go home all of us are it just truly is like the happiest time of the year for me you\n"