“Didi, what should I make tomorrow?” Tulsi calls out, untying the dupatta knotted around her waist while cooking. This is a customary question before she leaves for the day. “I’ll message you later,” replies her employer Komal Shah, 37, a marketing professional.Tulsi, 26, relocated from Nepal to Bengaluru seven years ago. Now, she cooks at three houses daily, spending at least a couple of hours in each. That evening, Shah sends her a WhatsApp voice note and a link, asking, “Can we make this tomorrow?” The link is for a YouTube recipe video on bisi bele bath, a spicy rice dish from Karnataka that Tulsi has never heard of. “The name itself is challenging,” she says. She watches the video between dinner and chores, and again while walking to Shah’s house the next morning.
“My WhatsApp has more cooking links than anything else,” Tulsi jokes, naming at least 10 dishes, from a Greek tomato and feta salad to an Italian marinara pasta, that she’s attempted in the last three months.
| Photo Credit:
Pratima Chabbi
In the kitchen, Tulsi props her phone against a steel dabba and hits play. As a voice lists the ingredients, she pauses the video, gathers the vegetables and spices, and then presses play again. This is her new normal. “My WhatsApp has more cooking links than anything else,” she jokes, naming at least 10 dishes — from a Greek tomato and feta salad, to a Keralan avial and an Italian marinara pasta — that she’s attempted in the last three months. She follows a cooking video at least three times a week. “When someone stands beside you, there’s pressure. With a video, if something isn’t perfect, you can fix it the next time,” she adds.
