The long journey of recipes

I did not make this. My husband made this.
The day before he told me that he was going to make beetroot and aloo sabzi. I have never heard of the combination. He says he recalled it from his hostel days. at first when he saw the beetroot, he was reminded of the salad, he and my mil liked. Some pomegranates and lemon juice. With no pom, he moved onto his next memory of the curry he would make the next day.
I asked him for the recipe, he says its done as a usual curry. I was very excited about the meal. This is the first time he made it too. He has made some daals and curries now. But dreaming of making something, well he has started clearing his own path in the culinary jungle.
I was tempted to look at a recipe before eating it but somehow controlled myself so that I would get the first look in the kitchen. The combination seems to work for halwa, cutlets and paratha.
Recently while making paalak paratha I was thinking about my friend who said that she is enjoying making rotis from scratch. While making paneer she was thinking about me. Back story: Once she told me that she was making paalak paneer but she had already made it last week. So I told her to make shaahi paneer. This time too she made both of those. While mixing the dough for roti, how can we know if its reached the right consistency. If its hard to knead, then you know some more drops of water will do the trick. Is it just chance that the ease of the dough corresponds to its rightness too.
Everyone's story with food is unique. Some recipes have to wait for a person who has had them grow up, develop an interest in cooking, to propogate. The cooks who make food for hundreds at hostels dont know that if their food resonates with the college students they cook for, they might one day recreate the food experience for themselves and others around.
From my hostel, my favourites are mattri, bread pakoda (involves frying, so out of reach).