Tanishaa Mukerji reveals her food habits

Tanishaa Mukerji savours a blend of Maharashtrian courtesy her mom Tanuja and Bengali cuisine courtesy her dad the late Shomu Mukerji Add to it the Punjabi flavours from her sister Kajolrsquos hubby Ajay Devgnrsquos household and her platter is full She reveals her food habitsTanishaa whips up Konkan Prawn Curry in her kitchen PicsSatyajit DesaiTickling the tastebudsMaharashtrian cuisine ruled at home as I was brought up by my mom She makes the most amazing PomfretPrawn Kaalvan which has a coconut and tomato curry She also cooks yummy Bombil Bombay Duck and Teesri clams My dad never stepped into the kitchen mdash he just loved eating fish and mutton delicacies I acquired my love for food from him I also enjoy Bengali cuisine because of him though I donrsquot know how to prepare anyLegacy of foodIn my childhood we often visted my maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth and great grandmother Rattan Bai at their house in Lonavla Nani would serve us hot jowar bhakris with butter So I have had three generations of Maharashtrian women from whom I picked up cooking tips I would observe my great grandmother who would personally supervise the cooks I would sit with her and try to make rotis which would invariably be of every shape but round I learnt to make round aloo and methi parathas when I took part in a reality show I like cooking nonvegetarian food especially red meat and fish I donrsquot find cooking vegetarian food challenging I enjoy baking too but the sad thing is that we are mostly on a diet So whom do I feed it to I would love to feed my cakes and cookies to someone who wouldnrsquot count the calories it is laden with Northern influenceMy sister Kajolrsquos motherinlaw Veena Devgn is an amazing cook I love tucking into her palak parathas and delectable chicken biryani My brotherinlaw Ajay Devgn is also a wonderful cook He is good at making Mutton Khichda which is an elaborate affair but he enjoys taking the the effort Trial and errorI first started cooking when I was studying in Australia I would call mom for tips and she would hand the phone to our cook Once I asked mom whether I should add water or oil while kneading the dough to make rotis And both mom and nani started arguing on the phone about it The anticlimax to the story was that I added oil to the dough and my rotis turned out stiff as ever My nani had even sent me a pressure cooker to Australia Sister actWhile I love cooking Kajol cannot cook at all In our younger days she would make me even boil water for her But we have similar tastebuds and are both tea and coffee addicts We also love experimenting with food I personally love French and Japanese cuisine Not for deprivationI am not the kind of person to deprive myself of food that I crave for I donrsquot believe in diets but eating healthy and working out For me the thought of starving oneself to just get into a dress is ridiculous I like girls who have curvaceous bodies I enjoy pani puri at my friendrsquos house Cream Centre serves yummy chole bhature and I dig the dosas at Shiv Sagar I also have a weakness for chocolates and icecream I try to eat everything in moderation I sometimes get midnight cravings for desserts but I curb it by having a cup of tea or coffeeDining experiencesWhile I was studying in Australia dad once came over to meet me on my birthday I took him out for an eightcourse meal And guess what After the meal dad asked me ldquoWhat are you feeding me I know you want me to lose weight but you canrsquot starve me like this Letrsquos go home and have a proper Indian mealrdquo I was laughing all the way back home Another wonderful dining experience was in Sydney The chef was extremely creative he made a dessert creating an edible foam ball on the outside with a thick chocolate sauce inside I wondered till the end how a low density foam ball could hold thick chocolate sauce mdash it tasted heavenly too