Padma Lakshmi’s love for Indian food

She’s a proud Indian and says that despite its “complicated” image in the West, India continues to enamour the world with its mysterious charm, delectable cuisine and awe-inspiring crafts. “I don’t think India has a bad or a good image... I think it has a very complicated image in the West. There are extraordinary things, both good and bad, about our country,” Padma Lakshmi said. Lakshmi, who adds the glamour quotient to the kitchen world with her TV show Top Chef, says it’s the taste and aroma of Indian cuisine, handicrafts and bewitching folklore that provide the pull.

“I think most Americans are dismayed about how women are treated, but that is not a phenomenon peculiar to India only. That’s a problem that exists all over the world. I think India is a source of much fascination and mystery to people. Everybody wants to go to India. They love Indian food, they love the handicrafts which come from there, and the old traditions,” she said.

Many Indian flavours have got an international ‘tadka’, but Lakshmi says there is still a lot to be discovered from the kitchens of India. “I love north Indian food... I was married to somebody who was from Kashmir (referring to British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie); so for me, Indian food is very regional and all of it is quite interesting and delicious. I love Gujarati food because that is the kind of Indian cuisine that most westerners don’t know about,” said the 45-year-old, who has her roots in southern India.