The Way Appa Cut Vegetables

Some of the most important things we learn in a kitchen are never taught as lessons.

Growing up in Bangalore, I spent many afternoons sitting beside my Appa while he cut vegetables. A plate would be placed between us, and we would sit together, cutting, peeling, sorting and talking about whatever came to mind. Sometimes there was conversation. Sometimes there was none.

At the time, it did not feel like learning. At the time, it did not feel like learning. But I noticed something.

Appa never cut every vegetable the same way. Some were sliced thin. Some were cut smaller. Some were kept larger. The way a vegetable was cut depended on what it was going to become.

I did not understand why then. Years later, when I began cooking more seriously, I realised that these small decisions were part of the recipe - even though nobody had written them down.

The size of a vegetable changes the way it cooks. It changes how quickly it softens, how much masala it absorbs, and how it feels when you eat it.

In a home kitchen, these things are not always explained. You learn because someone says, “Cut this a little smaller.”, “Not that thin.” or simply changes the way you are holding the knife.

At the time, these sound like ordinary kitchen instructions. But slowly, your hands begin to remember. That is the kind of learning I grew up with in Bangalore. There were no recipes on the kitchen counter. Nobody measured everything. The knowledge lived in small observations- in the way a vegetable looked, how quickly it cooked, or whether it needed a little more time.

At Anvaya, I handpick the vegetables and cook with seasonal ingredients because no two vegetables are exactly alike. One brinjal may be softer than another. One tomato may be sweeter. The same dish may need a little more time, a little less tamarind, or a different cut. That is also why home cooking cannot always be reduced to exact measurements. The recipe may tell you what to use, but the vegetable in front of you tells you what to do.

Anvaya is rooted in the culinary traditions of Karnataka and the food memories carried through our family kitchens. Every meal at Anvaya is prepared for one shared table, as part of an intimate vegetarian dining experience inspired by the spirit of a supper club. The food is seasonal, the menu changes, and every dish carries the small decisions that are rarely written down.

We were only cutting vegetables. Or so I thought.

Somewhere between the chopping, the conversations and the quiet moments, I was learning that food begins much before the flame is switched on. It begins with noticing.

• Apoorva Prakash

  Founder, anvaya

Bangalore Kitchen Stories is an Anvaya Journal series about the people, food and small kitchen moments that continue to shape how we cook and host today.

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Anvaya is an intimate, reservation-only Karnataka-style vegetarian dining experience in Thane. Each evening brings eight guests together around one shared table for a seasonal tasting rooted in family kitchens, homemade spice blends and the food memories that continue to shape how we cook.

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