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Of all the living skills, I would rate cooking skills to be right at the top of the ladder (after toilet training, grooming, dressing, etc). We need not aspire for MasterChef levels (though who knows?!) but we can try to teach them to fix a chai or a snack for themselves or others.
The trick again in my view would be to catch them young. Having said that, it is never too late as many men start learning to cook more out of compulsion after posting as a bachelor (we did not have pg’s back then). We were lucky that the school places a lot of emphasis on this. Our thanks to the school management, Rajeev Sir, and Devika Madam, for unleashing Adi’s creativity in this area.
As Devika Madam explained, one has to distinguish between fire-based and non-fire-based cooking. Fire-based cooking should ideally be introduced only after the kid has mastered the safety part. Start with the small things. Two ideal activities can be shelling peas and peeling potatoes. Both will be good fine motor skills stuff also.
Next can be cutting vegetables. Start with a relatively blunt knife. Start with easy-to-cut vegetables in which not much force is needed like boiled potatoes, brinjals, bottle gourd, etc. The idea is to get the kid to master the art and more importantly get the feel of having achieved something. If the kid is having trouble with this, try fruits like apple, bananas, chikoo, etc. (a fruit salad can be made just with a bit of milk, cream, or condensed milk with sugar as per taste added to them- add some dry fruits too if you want to).
Next could be grating. Make sure the grater does not hurt and ask the kid to leave the vegetable (say carrot) when only a bit is left. (worst case scenario a few cuts and bruises are also a part of the game, just like falls in learning cycling). The grated vegetables can be used for salads, and raita (ideally with curd).
Try to teach the kid to knead the dough for rotis. We started this when the kiddo was just around 3, as it is a great sensory game, apart from wonderful gross and fine motor skills. Once kneading is mastered, then comes rolling out the rotis. There will be India maps and crazy shapes. As I mentioned in a post earlier it can be made into a circle by using an inverted katori or a steel box lid as a cookie cutter to get the perfect shape. And irrespective of the shape of the roti it is a heavenly taste if the kid has made it. And the sense of achievement is very important
Sandwiches are the easiest to make. Allow the kid to experiment with different ones. Also, the grilled sandwich is a favorite of all. Try the gas flamed one too for him to get the concept (that grilling can be electric or fire-based).
The entire cooking process has to be done as a sidekick to the mother in the kitchen. (of course with due respect I do not know how many present-day moms do cook, (many of them take pride in their not knowing cooking- pc rings a bell), and have a battery of maids). Unless the kid is an apprentice for a few years (preferably with mom), the kid can never learn the subtle tricks and safety aspects.
Teach the kid to operate the microwave (the time concept has to be in place). Also, induction cookers are a boon if the kid has a fear of fire (my kid has, but the mother helped him overcome it to a large extent).
Pressure cookers are also a bit of a challenge as many kids have a mental block against the whistle. Apart from rice and dal, make legumes like chana and rajma, and have the kid make them into a salad (curd and mustard paste).
The fire-based cooking has to be the last stage. A big issue is the oil spluttering with water (mustard seeds). It can cause serious burns too. So the kid has been taught to handle it from a distance.
Teach him to prepare tea and coffee first. (okay lemonade before that). Nothing is more soothing than the kiddo preparing a cup of tea for parents. It is seventh heaven.
Don’t rush it. Take your time. Don’t rush the kid in the flame-based activities.
It helps if the kid is a foodie too. My own theory is that only people who love to eat make good cooks. (That’s why in some places it sounds like a cookbook).
Allow the kid to experiment. And unless the dish is ranked bad, do not criticize it. Just point out about salt being more or spices being more. (bear hammer to go low on salt as it can be added and not reduced).
As regards preparing subzis, so far we have progressed only to paneer subzi, aalo subzi, and egg burji (all easy and simple, except the onion cutting part- wife purchased a no tear cutter). Plan to tackle a few more in the vacation through the rubicon has been crossed. After all these steps it is a lifetime journey of a lifetime.
By the way, the home science NIOS 10th curriculum covers cooking reasonably well. And if I remember right, the Guyana Govt textbooks also cover it well. And there are plenty of cookbooks on the net for kids, though the best teacher can or should be the mom.
One last thing. If the kid does not like cooking, just make it functional and leave it at that. The dishes helped the kiddo gain confidence (the sequence and the way the school went about it).
Sandwiches
Monaco biscuit toppings
Lemonades
Salads (Vegetable Salads, Legume salads, Sprouted dal salads)
Fruit salads
Aloo sev chat (readymade sev over boiled aloo with lemon squeezed on it and a bit of chaat masala)
Bataka puwa (puffed rice and boiled aloo, a common breakfast dish)
Aloo jeera
Chai
And of course the quintessential favorite Maggi!
