1 MINUTE PLEASE!
![Alpana Habib](https://tds-images.thedailystar.net/upload/gallery/image/arts/alpana_1.jpg)
With her cooking show Rannaghar, Alpana Habib has carved her culinary niche in the world of cooking and the heart of cooks: from the expert to the beginners. While all the TV channels are loaded with a number of cooking shows, her show stands out for her easy-to-make delicious recipes and mealtime strategies, her advices on healthy food consumption and her easy going hosting. “One of my greatest achievements was a compliment from Siddiqua Kabir, the cooking guru, who believed that we have so many similarities in our cooking and the philosophy behind it,” says Alpana smilingly. It is also very important to her that the recipes work outside of her own kitchen, so she decided to work on her first cook book. This week we bring you a conversation with this celebrated culinary expert.
Your Culinary Beginning
I started cooking when I was a student of class six. My mother would take an afternoon nap after her lunch, and that was the time I started experimenting with different ingredients and flavours holding Siddiqua Kabir's recipe close to me.
Favourite Cookbook
Siddiqua Kabir's Recipe has always been my cookery bible.
Your Mentor
I have not taken any formal training in cooking from anyone, but I consider Siddiqua Kabir as my first and foremost mentor. Apart from that, I always try to learn from everyone I meet, starting from the guy who sells roadside shingaras to the chef of a five star hotel.
Current Project
I'm about a few months away from publishing my first cookbook. Right now I am writing and developing a number of new recipes for that.
Chef Specialty
I never follow any particular cookbook to the word; whenever I cook something I try to add something of mine into it.
Advice for the Novice Cooks
Don't take cooking as a dull everyday necessity; rather learn to see the beauty of the total process. Be it a simple salad or an hour long biriyani cooking; try to pour your heart into it. The moment you will start enjoying the process, your dish is bound to be tasty.
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