There are those times when you simply don’t feel like ordering in food. Especially in a country where Chinese food is sweet and everything is bread and cheese, as an Indian you are compelled to go into the kitchen. I am not averse to cooking, it’s fun. But it takes too much time. And standing while waiting for the food to heat is boring. A few days back I wanted to eat something that was prepared well. So far I’ve been using the easiest way to cook—chop vegetables, add the variety of spices in your kitchen and heat in oil till it feels right—it works. Anyway, I found an app a while back for the Windows Phone that I’ve been wanting to try and I did.

Called Sweet’N’Spicy, it is a collection of Indian food recipes with tips and nicely categorized dishes. I chose a Potato based dish since, well, I had all the ingredients needed. Following the instructions was easy. I realized the subtleties of cooking when adding ingredients to luke warm water produced different results compared to cooking in regular water over the past few months. (US doesn’t have room temperature water. It’s either hot or cold.) Similarly, preparing based on the app’s instruction was the same. I left some condiments in lesser oil to heat for longer than I usually would. The end result looked and tasted good. The Windows Phone helped me overcome the boredom of standing in the kitchen while the food cooked. I cleared my RSS feeds and listened to music over Zune. Next I’ll be buying groceries based on the ingredients of other dishes.

If you’re looking to feed yourself or impress someone, the app is helpful. It is free and even available for iOS.