Isn’t this an interesting time to be a home chef? With social media buzzing with recipe videos, quick hacks, tips and tricks, if you are a cooking enthusiast in 2022, there is nothing else you’d rather be but a home chef. While it comes with its own set of challenges for sure, it is definitely worth it.
Those drool-worthy baking videos, quick whipping hacks and so on make us swoon each time. Baking is truly an art, and a mood lifter for many. While we are no expert, we’ve got pâtissier Mohena Ahluwalia, who can offer us a handy insight into the art of baking. Everything from measuring the ingredients, to her process of making baking videos, Mohena has quite a few tips to share.
A graduate from Le Cordon Bleu, Mohena doesn’t just bake regular desserts, but also shares vegan and healthy recipes with her followers and a community of over 18k. An avid part of the Slurrp Community, she absolutely loves how it brings together like-minded foodies and introduces new talent who helps in learning new dishes. We caught up with Mohena where she spilled the beans about her cooking inspirations, her comfort food and love for desserts. Excerpts from the conversation:
1. When did you start cooking and who taught you?
I actually started cooking when I was pursuing my master’s degree in Australia. That is when I actually cooked my first meal. I wanted to have a home cooked meal and called my granny to share her rajma chawal recipe.
2. What does cooking mean to you?
Cooking for me is happiness. It is just the comfort I get and the smile on peoples face after having a good meal.
3. What do you think you cook the best?
My dark chocolate mud cake is a go-to recipe and I serve it warm with ice cream.
4. What is your comfort food?
I am a big rice lover. So, lemon yellow rice with curd is something I can eat all day.
5. Do you have a fond memory associated with food or cooking you would like to share?
The best memory is my mom’s cooking. Every day after school she always knew exactly what me and my brother wanted to eat. We couldn’t wait to go back home and have our evening snack.
6. Who is your cooking role model?
It has to be my mom.
7. What do you like about the Slurrp Community?
It brings together people sharing the same love, i.e. food. We also get to learn a lot about new dishes and meet some amazing talent.
8. Take us through your day, how do you decide what you want to cook? How do you shoot and plan to release your videos/photos?
So, I have a list of what I will shoot the entire week on Monday. Then, I research the recipes and make a list of the ingredients. Following that, I gather the ingredients and head to the studio.
Once there, I start preparing the recipe once the ingredients are measured. If I have any regular orders, I finish those first and then head to shoot the reel. Once I am back home, I edit the video. Every video that I shoot and edit, teaches me how different I can be in the next video.
9. What inspired you to bring your cooking to social media?
I had an Instagram account but used to only post cake images. But it was only during Covid when initially we couldn’t even take orders, I thought of sharing recipes. Seeing the responses. I thought of investing more time in it. Now, it is something I really love to do.
10. If we only had 10 minutes and basic ingredients, which recipe would you recommend to us?
I would make a simple brownie mug cake recipe. Quick, easy and delicious.
11. Most useful cooking hack or tip you would like to give out to beginners
Always measure ingredients in grams and not cups. Follow the recipe always.