CHENNAI: When Fatima S Rajkotwala is not busy with her cooking classes, she is busy experimenting new recipes in her humble kitchen. Fatima has been cooking for 20 years now, and also conducts workshops for children at home. “My philosophy is to make the best out of what’s available. Along with recipes, I share nutritional tips to children. Cooking is a skill that cannot be forgotten. It’ll make life easier for kids especially when they travel abroad for studies,” explains Fatima, a Gujarati who loves South Indian food.
Fatima plans her weekly syllabus a week in advance for the classes. There are four tables in her school lab, and each batch has 35 students. The children are split into groups, and groceries are purchased based on that. Starting from cooking without fire in class 5, the difficulty level increases with higher class. From boiling to frying, the kids are taught everything by the time they finish school. “The final dish they learn is Bohri thali. It’s a dish we make in our community. It comprises salt, sweet, rice and roti with sabzi. The kids are very professional. They wear aprons and gloves. They are marked based on cleanliness and presentation,” she says, adding that kids relish and know the value of cooking when they eat their own cooked food.
Her degree in Psychology makes it easy for Fatima to work with children. “You learn a lot from them while teaching. More than anything, you should know how to get the work done by them and that does not happen by merely forcing them,” she says while reminiscing her childhood days in the kitchen.
Her grandmother was a strict lady. She would split Fatima and her mother in two teams with different partners. “Chachi was in my team and she didn’t know much about cooking. This was my grandma’s way of teaching me. I learnt by just watching them cook,” she adds. Now her daughters watch and learn from her. As much as her husband is a foodie, he also tries his hand at cooking or whenever she needs help. “I learnt to make samosas from him. My in-laws have passed on some wonderful recipes to him,” she adds. Her family’s constructive criticism and appreciation keeps her going. Their favourite is her smoky chicken tikka biryani.
She believes experience and interest can help approach a dish differently. If you give her a bowl of chicken she innovates something based on the people she would be serving. “I mince the chicken and make seekh kebab. This will make chewing easier for old people. If it’s for kids then I’d make chicken 65. Even boring items can be made to look interesting,” she shares.
Fatima had recently made moong dal vada. It was hot selling among her family and friends which wouldn’t have been the case if a sundal was made out of it. However, irrespective of experience mistakes happen. “In my first attempt of making moong dal bajji I added too much water and none of them came out well,” she says.
Her latest attempt was a forgotten recipe called sarki, a traditional soup made in the Bohra community. She wants to experiment more healthy traditional drinks for summer and share it with people. Fatima also volunteers at her mosque every Monday or Thursday and helps with cooking. Her dream is to cook for her guruji. “His diet comprises light items with fewer spices. I would love to give him my coconut jellies,” she says.