Eating out or ghar Ka khana? Just what is it that today’s Corporate Citizen chooses, given the demands on his/her time, thanks to work and travel? Kalyani Sardesai finds out more
I am a foodie, and ghar ka khana is my cuisine of choice anytime and every time. Of course, that’s not always possible given that I travel quite a bit, both nationally and internationally these days.
When it comes to business lunches or even social gatherings, I stick to a dal, roti and subzi even though the very concept of buffet is something I am principally opposed to. Just think of the waste: starting from a soup, you have a choice of lots of veg and non-veg dishes. There’s also biryani, and a live pasta cum pizza counter to say nothing of a selection of sweets!
I can’t help but balk at the wastage of food and resources, and strongly believe it can be avoided.
My wife and I love experimenting with different cuisines in fact, just the other day, we enjoyed a memorable meal at Peshawar in Mumbai.
We also have friends and relations visiting us from Delhi, who make it a point to get us some tasty sweets and savouries ranging from fresh kulchas and chhole to Punjabi sweets like doda and phirni.
Though I am a Marwari, the defence touch in my home has always ensured we go easy on the oil. Having said that, one certainly does not bother about calories or any such thing when we occasionally indulge in the ghee soaked dal, baati choorma (A Rajashtani-Marwari dish of choice). In fact, the more hot ghee you put over the dal and baati, the tastier it is. (laughs.)
This is not to say we are not health conscious in fact, since 2012, an ongoing concern has been to keep both cholesterol and weight in check. We stick to one dal and vegetables at lunch with phulkas and avoid rice. At night, we have two veggies instead of one, and no dal. As far as possible, I avoid mixing rice and roti; experts say it’s not a good idea to mix the two.
Having said that, good food is one of life’s greatest joys and one of my favourite things to do is cook my ‘famous’ chicken curry for friends and family.
Since I do enjoy an occasional drink, especially a single malt, I stick to green tea sans milk, and unsweetened black coffee. Ultimately, everything you eat breaks down to sugar, so choose your indulgences wisely.
I am not someone who takes a lot of stress, in fact I believe in being as positive as possible so simple, wholesome, balanced meals do the trick for me most of the time.
Neither of us are much for experimenting with different cuisines we like our Indian khana, thank you very much!
However, dinner, as far as possible is a light meal. I usually choose of one of the two options: dalia or khichdi. You get all the health and nutrition you need sans the calories.
Of course, calorie counting is not something I bother with when I indulge in my all time favourite comfort food: doodh roti with lots of sugar!
“I personally love Chinese and European food, and given our recent travel to South East Asia, Malaysian cuisine as well,” says Nandita Mathur
Getting Indian food in the Middle East is not tough, but China and Europe are a different story altogether! Their definition of veg food includes egg and sea food based sauces, and it takes quite a bit of effort to explain to the chef or restaurant manager that egg is not veg !! Veggie food available in the West European and Mediterranean market is bland and raw, and does not really satisfy my taste buds, so packets of khakra and thepla come in handy. Visiting South East Asia and the sight of all those joints of meat belonging to different animals strung up at road side stalls to dry is rather overwhelming, but each to his own. One tries not to be judgmental, but instead, stick to what one believes in. I am a teetotaller, and despite being part of several events and dos, I have never felt the need to pick up a drink or two.
After all this, home is definitely where the heart and palate belong no two ways about it. Simple, tasty Indian veg fare aah! Pure heaven.
Breakfast is usually at home, and lunch in the office so even though Delhi is a foodie’s paradise I have not really had the chance to eat out all that much. And of course, there’s always good old Maggi whenever I feel like it!
Typically, whatever I eat these days is a mix of convenience, comfort and availability. Since one has neither the time nor inclination to cook at the end of a long work day, I have hit upon a simple but effective way of eating healthy and keeping it easy: No cooked meals in the night, just seasonal fruit and raw salad.
This not only saves me time in the kitchen, but also keeps those calories in check. I am a typical Puneite whose choice of snacks would be bhel, misal, chaat and all those spicy items that aren’t terribly healthy but oh-so-delicious (laughs.) Also given a choice I would eat nothing but desserts all day. However, that is a pipe dream, given my ongoing battle with the bulge. I love Indian mithai especially the entire range of Bengali sweets like cham cham and sandesh, much more so than cakes and chocolates. Actually, any sweet made of milk works for me but these days, I restrict myself to a tiny portion, if at all. South Indian food is another hot favourite it’s far healthier than other options, and the way Udupis make it, it generally tends to be consumed straightway, thereby ensuring its freshness
Food is, worldwide, the great connector of people and conversations revolving around food tend to be both interactive and interesting. I am not one of those who believes in cutting out on food in the name of health
Indians, to quite some extent, tend not to like international cuisines as they find it bland and tasteless. I do agree our desi spices have their own charm, but considering the fact that the world is coming closer together, mainly for business, it is both practical and reasonable to develop a palate for having stuff that you don’t on a regular basis. It is also the polite thing to do to eat what’s served before you. Food is, worldwide, the great connector of people-and conversations revolving around food tend to be both interactive and interesting. I am not one of those who believes in cutting out on food in the name of health; working out for 30 minutes daily does the trick for me!
BY Kalyani Sardesai
