The basic requirements while preparing any meal are simple – it must be nutritious, have variety, and must be easy to digest. A right proportion of all the ingredients that are mixed appropriately and heated at the right temperature for the right span of time satisfy all the requirements mentioned above.
Let us consider South Indian food. For instance, let us take an example of Sambar rice. Comprising of 1/3rd dal and 2/3rd rice, and some vegetables, this meal is without doubt a nutritious and healthy meal. However, the complexities in preparing this dish arises in the form of mixing the right proportion of all ingredients and boiling it for the appropriate amount of time, preservation of unused material, and fresh presentation every time.
A smart South Indian housewife cooks white rice only once and converts it into tamarind rice by using tamarind spices, or into coconut rice by using coconut gratings, or into lemon rice by adding lemon spices, thus providing variety.
Consider another example of Dosa. Using the dosa batter, different varieties of Dosa can be prepared. In fact, various recipes from the same dosa mix (different fermentation levels lead to preparation of different recipes) lead to zero waste.
While preparing any recipe, be it dosa or rice, the main focus must be on Planning and Usage of expertise at the right time i.e. preparation of the right dosa mix twice a week and preparation of the right masala mix for rice recipes.
More than 5 recipes can be derived from the same dosa mix and more than 18 recipes can be derived from the same white rice. This ‘expertise driven’ cooking model ensures ‘rich variety’ in ‘less time’ and ‘re-usability’ to present a ‘customized’ recipe each time.
Similarly, a Solution Architect has to Define Clear and referencible objectives (recipe), identify core ingredients (ingredients used to prepare the dish on the recipe), reduce complexities (eliminate unnecessary ingredients that would affect the quality of the dish), spot adversaries or constraints (failure points), and create efficient solutions within the defined constraints (cook at the right temperature for the right duration of time).