Funny behaviors of MIL

swaram · Jan 25, 2010

My Mil considers her and her daughters the world's greatest cook. Unfortunately for them, my FIL does like some of my cooking. he has expressly told that some of the items I make are very different and they taste great etc. Nowadays he doesnt say it - probably warned by the rest.

One incident that happened was - Once when they were visiting me I had made a red pepper chutney for dosai. My FIL told MIL this is very good, you should try it and also get the recipe . then he told his daughter the same thing too. Immediately MIL told her daughter on the phone- this is nothing new, it is the same thing we always do etc and gave her a recipe. Of the 10 items in the recipe she gave only one of the item she mentioned was there in my recipe too ( salt).

When she sat down to have dinner, she asked me to serve her just one spoonful, since she doesn't like these things etc. I was feeding my kid the same time and she ate just that one spoon of chutney. I asked her if she wants more and she said no. I made the same chutney a week later and that time I left one cup of it on the table and was upstairs doing some other work. When I came down she had finsihed the entire bowl of chutney.

If I am anywhere in the kitchen when my MIL eats she will eat only small portions of food and will also tell me that she eats very little etc. but if I am away she will eat more. Knowing this habit of hers, I stay away when she is sitting down to eat. She will do the same drama in front of DH too. Nobody is preventing her from eating, but she has their wierd habits.

ladies please share any similar/funny behaviors your IL's have.

Swaram

SriVidya75 · Jan 25, 2010

might be the old age !!!best thing...cook and keep it on the table and atleast let her have it stomach full....(am sure within her heart she would thank you...though she cant accept it right on your face)

Good part is that she doesnt feel bad if you let her have the food all by herself alone at the table!!! instead of making it a big deal or saying that you have ill treated her!! so there is a brightside with silverlining in your situation:crazy

ShilpaMa · Jan 25, 2010

Ok Swaram.. I share the same MIL traits on the mentioned eating habit & reaction post FIL appreciating anything that I wud cook.

When I leave the house she eats merrily the things that she appeared really full in frnt of me.

A lot of things she used to mess up while cooking Eg: saboo dana khicdi, naariyal chutney... she took up my way of cooking and next visit came and tole me.. see I learnt it from my kitty party lady & I'll teach you now.. and she wud repeat the same procedure... I left it as an old age affect.. for my sanity & her happiness... eveyone at home ate my chapati from day1 still each visit she comes & tells ok now u've learnt how to make chapatis under me (80% we stayed in different city)... when FIL passes a few undigestable comments on her chapatis till date.

She can't tolerate anyone saying anything positive abu me.. even when we had a house warming pooja & post pooja and food panditji told her only.. lady ur blessed to have such a DIL, she had the audacity to tell in front of all.. see how ppl take all credits when the pooris were made by me... probably she dint realise the easy finance is what makes panditji's happier.. he had 2 bags full of goodies when he was leaving.

monita · Jan 25, 2010

My MIL cannot hear properly when we talk to her. She just goes hain? every time in a very irritating way.We have to repeat everything 2/3 times. But If my husband and I are even whispering in the next room, she can hear very clearly.:spin

garvi · Jan 25, 2010

Dear Sawarm,

Do never feel low with this behavior of ure MIL be it any part of world or any community in Indian Mil are all same. Hope many IL's ladies would be agreeing with me on this point.
I still not exactly suffering from this attitude of her but now starting getting use to it. Some times wen she doesn't pinpoint anything I feel if anything has gone wrong that today I have cooked so good. This thing till date when I am staying in joint family from past 15 years thats with me every day. And specially wen my SIS comes that it all the SIS only. My major problem is that I'm a Maharashtra n married to Punjabi Jain.

The best way which i followed is to overlook it and do your work keep every thing ready and move out. Just give them cold shoulder treatment see with some time they will be all right.

Try out ....
garvi:thumbsup

riya123 · Jan 25, 2010

Hi,
I must confess that i am not a very good cook..but some items i do are good like -Paneer butter Masala, kofta curry..But MIL though she eats them always points out some mistakes like salt is less, not enough spicy..Initially i used to feel bad..But now i've learnt to ignore it..

SoundVijay · Jan 25, 2010

Hi all,

The most funniest situation that happened recently in my house is that my MIL prepares all eatables to give it to her DD in US. We all told her to hire a cook to prepare all those as she is aged and cant sit before the oil stuff in the stove for a longtime. She did all by herseld and created a big scene before my FIL stating that she is not feeling well. You should see the way she was projecting the way she worked:biglaugh cos of this i got scoldings from my FIL stating that i' not taking care of household work:spin:rant

Regards,

Sound.

swaram · Jan 25, 2010

Monita,

enjoyed reading your IL's hearing condition.

shilpa - I am sure you get amused everytime she comments.

Garvi - this behavior of her does not bother me at all. In fact I find it really amusing.

swaram

Anug · Jan 26, 2010

Swaram , as u mentioned, the exact samething happened at our house.
MIL - She will not join us in eating. She will always comments while Im cooking. Like Oh...U r adding too much of salt.....too much of pepper......And samething she will say while eating that the curry is too salty or spicy......

If I have prepared more than one dish and if my DH & FIL says one item is very good and other is too bad.....she will compliment reverse.. bad taste will be good to her and good taste will be bad for her....Anymeans I will get good comments for all my dishes...smiles....

if guests praises me for something......she will not react to that....just she will change the topic or she will start praising them(guests)

My FIL praised few items and asked me to prepare it again......that happened for one item 3 times....finally MIL said that "Oh ur FIL told me that he just complimented u just like that and u r boring with same stuff....". It has been prepared 4-5 weeks in gap. The best part is my FIL on the same day asked "do u have the ingredients to prepare that dish..?". I smiled and prepared him.

When I prepare few things that my DH has a special like for..."Oh my son , he will not eat this.....he is making a great adjustment to eat this food..."

Its funny........sometimes it irritates.....but it continues....

Happysoul1234 · Jan 26, 2010

this thread brings back memories ...

1. my MIL thought that like her 'educated' daughters I too, the 'educated' bahu will not know her way around the kitchen and came prepared with the mentality to show me who the kitchen boss is. So she was quite dumbfounded to see me 'in-charge' of my kitchen. since she could not find anything serious to complain about, she came up with the following

1. Pooja peels onions and potatoes too much and wastes money.
2. Pooja uses too much masalas in her cooking, when infact, her cooking is more spicy than mine, and way oilier I might add.

2. She hates the fact that my husband likes things I make. So she will go out of her way to make things that she thinks he loves. And then ask him how they are. More often than not, he will say he did not like them (I guess his taste has changed since he left home), and that makes her extremely unhappy. And it has hapenned a couple of times that he has expressed liking of a certain curry which I had made (he did not know who made it). and that just drives her bonkers and she goes out of her way to express what is wrong with that curry.

MILS.. go figure!