From modelling and acting to writing cookbooks, the two careers somehow don't go well down the waistline, Padma Lakshmi admits. But with her second cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot And Sweet (HarperCollins), Lakshmi has proved her culinary skills. Lakshmi's cosmopilitan upbringing reflects on her cooking. What makes the book even more alluring is its exotic touch - the use of all kinds of herbs and spices. Also a delight is the anecdotal references to some of the cooking that makes the book a good read. In an email interview with Laisram Indira, Lakshmi candidly admits to everything — from cooking disasters to whether the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Your book has an international flavour? Is there one culture that has influenced your culinary traits?
I think living in New York one is exposed to every other culture in the world and in a way the city is a microcosm of the world.
Would you say India cooking is full of spice and kills the raw and fresh smells of vegetables?
It doesn’t have to be like that. At my grandmothers house we use spices in a delicate way to embellish and enhance the flavor and natural texture of whatever vegetables we were seasoning. It doesn’t have to be filled with a lot of oil and masala.
Given your culinary expertise, one would tend to assume you would be cooking and gorging food on a regular basis. But how have you managed to maintain this hour-glass figure?
I box three times a week for an 1.5 hours. I lift weights and jump rope as well. There is no secret formula, you just have to simply burn more calories than you take in.
From vegetarianism to bacons, It was an easy transition you said in your book. Would it be now difficult to switch back to vegetarianism?
I don’t eat a lot of meat at home, I do eat chicken and fish on a regular basis, but when I go home to India and I stay at my family’s home I eat only vegetarian food and I don’t really miss meat at all.
What's your opinion about Chinese and Thai food? You don’t seem to have much influence of them?
I do have influences from Thai food, and I have grown up eating Chinese food. I use a lot of the same ingredients but interpret them in my own way.
Most of the recipes in Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet are exotic. And there are so many to choose from. Which would you say is your all time favourite soup, salad?
My all time favorite salad is the spinach and basil salad in the book. I love soups any and all kinds. I love the mushroom soup in the book as well as a version of the traditional Rasam, (mine has shrimp in it.)
For most people, cooking begins as a hit and miss affair? Was yours a similar experience in the beginning?
I have certainly had my share of kitchen disasters early on, but the more you cook the more you avoid mistakes as your cooking, even if it is something new.
Actor, model, cook.. What is your forte?
I really enjoy writing. Taking a beautiful photo in collaboration with a photographer is also a way of telling a story. Often it doesn’t matter what you do, but how you do it.
Lastly, for a slightly offbeat question, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Your take?
Cooking a plate of food for someone you love is one of the most nurturing acts of human experience.
Personalities 
From modelling and acting to writing cookbooks, the two careers somehow don't go well down the waistline, Padma Lakshmi admits. But with her second cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot And Sweet (HarperCollins), Lakshmi has proved her culinary skills. Lakshmi's cosmopilitan upbringing reflects on her cooking. What makes the book even more alluring is its exotic touch - the use of all kinds of herbs and spices. Also a delight is the anecdotal references to some of the cooking that makes the book a good read. In an email interview with Laisram Indira, Lakshmi candidly admits to everything — from cooking disasters to whether the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
What's your opinion about Chinese and Thai food? You don’t seem to have much influence of them?
