Men in the kitchen

Prathamesh Phadke's tryst with saucepans and spices began out of necessity, rather than interest. My parents were frequently on tour an...

Prathamesh Phadke8217;s tryst with saucepans and spices began out of necessity, rather than interest. 8220;My parents were frequently on tour and I8217;d be on my own. Since I couldn8217;t eat out all the time, I started to cook basic survival stuff. I8217;ve mainly learnt from observation, watching my mom and then my wife cook. I started with ready-to-cook preparations like chicken kheema, to which I would add tomatoes, onions, cheese and spices to make it more interesting,8221; he says.

Spurred by the success of his early experiments, Phadke has since graduated to more complicated recipes and has been cooking regularly for the past year. 8220;I am better at meat and fish preparations in red gravy with onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger,8221; he says, substantiating his cooking motto: the spicier, the better. His forte? Chicken curry and anda bhurji. In the vegetarian department, it8217;s kali daal and alu gobi. 8220;He won8217;t make simple things like daal chaval. It8217;s too simple for him,8221; laughs wife Lavina.

Phadke8217;s job as territory manager at Hutchison Max Telecom keeps him busy, so he usually reserves cooking for the weekends. 8220;Cooking needs time and patience. Initially, I8217;d want to cook everything as fast as I could but it does not work that way,8221; he says. Phadke8217;s basic tenet when cooking is to get one8217;s onions right 8211; just the right shade of golden brown.

Phadke finds cooking fun. 8220;I8217;m a television freak and cooking takes my mind off it. Besides, my wife welcomes this break 8211; that8217;s when she can watch TV8221;!

It is cutting and chopping vegetables that Phadke finds a chore. 8220;You need to get everything right 8211; whether the vegetables are to be chopped long or fine 8211; it8217;s all too time-consuming. 8221; Chappatis are another thing Phadke is yet to fathom. 8220;No, it8217;s not just their shape. I can8217;t even seem to get the flour right8221;.

Not for him any last-minute dash to the market for the missing ingredients. 8220;I need to have all the vegetables, meat and masalas ready before I begin to cook. I check to see if everything8217;s available and even my wife will admit I8217;m better at this than she is,8221; he says with a grin.

8220;There haven8217;t been any major mishaps so far, other than some Hyderabadi biryani that was undercooked because we ran out of cooking gas half way,8221; he confesses.

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Now Phadke plans to master the intricacies of Maharashtrian cooking. 8220;I did make pitla once but8230; I don8217;t even want to talk about it,8221; he sighs. But Phadke remains undeterred. 8220;I8217;ll get myself a cook book and follow instructions. I also plan to experiment with new sauces8221;.