Love, loss and Dosas

In the country to promote her two recent books, Padma Lakshmi talks about her role as an activist and why she will be keeping her sense of humour

January 27, 2017 04:16 pm | Updated 07:49 pm IST

“You can’t be funny if you are dumb. Not willingly.” Model-turned-reality TV host Padma Lakshmi made headlines last year with her searingly honest memoir, Love, Loss and What We Ate . Now, 10 months after her initial interviews for the book, when she tackled every possible question on her relationship with ex-husband and author Salman Rushdie, her romance with billionaire Teddy Forstmann, and dealing with endometriosis, the Top Chef star is ready for her India tour.

Speaking from New York, Padma Lakshmi says, “You cannot write about something difficult without a sense of levity.” In the book, she also opens up about her health issues, the ‘imposter syndrome’ when trying to match up to world-famous chefs on her show, and the legal battle for the custody of her daughter Krishna. “It began as a self-help book, on how your emotions can influence you and vice versa. I didn’t set out to write a tell-all. I wanted to write a book that would make you laugh and cry,” she says.

Padma Lakshmi has had both college and 60-year-old women tearfully thanking her for the book at signings. “This sickness, the ‘endo-whatever’ had stained so much — my sense of self, my womanhood, my marriage, my ability to be present,” she writes in the book. “It has hit a nerve and women have really responded to it. I am also delighted to see so many fathers come and get the book signed for their daughters,” she tells me later. In the country for the next three weeks on a five-city tour to promote her books, Padma Lakshmi says, “When I come to India, I revert to a childlike state. I eat idlis and dosas and don’t have to worry about anything.”

Excerpts from the interview:

This is your longest visit to India in many years. Tell us about your tour.

It is a big deal for me to come here to speak at The Hindu ’s panel discussion at The Huddle in Bengaluru. I want to meet the average Indian and would love it if my events here were in campuses or book stores. I will go to Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival, possibly attend a few fashion shows and visit Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. But first, I am spending a few days with my family in Chennai, so the re-entry will be gentle.”

When we spoke last, you were heading out to the Women’s March on Washington. You have since described your experience on TV and social media.

A lot of the themes I covered in my memoir — feminism, immigration, and women’s reproductive health — are all issues that people who attended the march care very deeply about. I think there is a lot of concern over what our new administration values, especially when the rhetoric used during the election was so derogatory toward women, people with disabilities, and immigrants. America is a nation founded and built by immigrants, and a lot of people forget that. My message was ultimately that we are all equal under our constitution, we should act with more humanity.

Your friend, the actor and comedian Aziz Ansari, delivered a scorching anti-racist monologue on Saturday Night Live after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

I thought his monologue was brilliant. I’m so proud of him. He took exactly the right tone, and was elegant, yet sharp and to the point. I was one of Hillary Clinton’s surrogates (who pleaded with people to unfollow Trump on Twitter). We were in that hall with her when the election results came in. I had to explain to my daughter that, sometimes, in a democracy, people make a bad decision and you need to live with it. It was a loss of innocence.

When do you think Krishna, 6, will be ready for your memoir?

I’m sure it’s going to be younger than what I would want, probably at 13. I write about facing sexual abuse as a child. It happened to me when I was a year older than she is. I am constantly telling her, ‘You have control over your own body.’ I want to arm her with the weapons to help herself. My grandfather was of the belief that he would rather have an obedient child than an intelligent one. I would have it the other way.

Love, Loss and What We Ate begins a few days before your 37th birthday, and you write: at the end of a marriage, no one wins. At 46, what matters to you in a relationship?

At this point in my life, the thing that I hold most important is empathy and kindness.

You’ve said that travelling as a model to shoot French bras in Bali and Scottish sweaters in the Seychelles helped you on your food journey.

Working in Milan, Paris and New York introduced me to different spices. My time in Italy as an actor shaped me professionally and helped me understand food. It also taught me about meat. I’ve always wanted a real user-friendly reference guide, something that sheds light on the history, biology, medicinal uses and suggested pairings for spices and herbs. I couldn’t find one as detailed as what I was looking for; so, I set out to write my own, The Encyclopedia on Spices and Herbs .

Kalustyan’s, New York’s iconic gourmet store, which collaborated with you on your book, has products from 85 countries. Yet, Americans are obsessing over turmeric lattes and ice cream. What deserves to be trending from your spice list?

Turmeric has great anti-inflammatory properties, but Eastern cultures have been using it for thousands of years! In my own cooking, I have been a big fan of using things such as Aleppo and Urfa chiles, Sumac, Za’atar and Baharat, and think those deserve some time in the spotlight.

You have a lot of comedians as friends. The funniest person you know?

I’m a big fan of people who choose comedy as a profession, because I think it’s one of the hardest things to do. I love Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, and, of course, Chris Rock and Aziz Ansari. But, my daughter is perhaps the funniest person I know; she makes me laugh on a daily basis.

Do you agree that social media is empowering?

I think what makes any social media platform successful is authenticity. I love sharing little moments from my life through Instagram. It breaks down barriers in communication and shows us that we all have more in common with each other than we realise. As for the trolls, they’ll always be there. You just have to ignore them.

With Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal and Elton John as friends, are you ever star struck?

I recently met former President Barack Obama, and that was quite moving. He’s very charismatic and intelligent. Warm, yet reserved. We will mourn his leaving the White House for a long time.

St. Michael’s Academy, Aavin Milk booth in Adyar and other places are mentioned in your memoir. Will you be revisiting any Chennai haunts?

I don’t go to many places, but I do love to go to simple tiffin rooms to eat a paper-thin, crispy dosa. I also visit Sukra Jewellers to see their silver items, and Nalli, to pick up bolts of silk fabric. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the temple, vegetable shopping, and home routine.

Padma Lakshmi will participate in a panel discussion at The Hindu Group’s first edition of a thought conclave, The Huddle, on Friday, February 10, at ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru.

***

Top Chef 3

After Top Chef , is there anything served to you that can shock you? You’ve mentioned alligator and snake on the same plate.

I’m not really shocked by much any more, but I don’t go out of my way to eat things such as bull testicles, offal or tripe.

And, duck testicles. How best served, according to you?

They’re best not served. Believe me, if it weren’t part of my job, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere near them!

With the 14th season of Top Chef underway, could you share what you have in your survival kit? Your Cranberry Drano is one of them, of course.

Yes, when I’m filming for Top Chef , I eat anywhere between 7,000 and 8,000 calories a day. So, I use Cranberry Drano to help keep my digestive tract in check. I always carry a jump rope with me when I travel, because it’s light and you can use it anywhere. I will also frequently hit the stairs, and do planks or push-ups in my hotel room. I take lots of vitamins and pro-biotics to keep me healthy, and I do moisture masks.

***

Need to know

Earliest cookbooks: Cook and See by S. Meenakshi Ammal. Marcella Hazan, Julia Child and Jacques Pepin have always piqued my interest. If I had to attribute my love of cooking to any one person, it would be MFK Fisher, for the quality of her writing.

An Indian celebrity host on your Top Chef wish list: I’d love to have Madhur Jaffrey on the show. We owe so much to her work, both as actress and cookbook author. For a couple of generations, she has defined what Indian food is abroad.

Carbs and you: I’ve never met a carb I didn’t like. I can’t resist the siren song of a slice of thin-crust pizza or fried chicken. I try to minimise how much rice I take in by substituting it with millet or brown rice, but it’s a constant struggle.

***

Cranberry Drano recipe

Ingredients

Half cup organic unsweetened 100% cranberry juice

1 tablespoon clear fibre powder

1 packet Emergen-C, or other vitamin C powder

1 cup still-hot green tea brewed with 1 teaspoon honey

4 to 5 ice cubes

Method

Vigorously mix the cranberry juice, fibre powder, Emergen-C, and green tea in a tall tumbler. Add ice cubes. Drink immediately.

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