Wooing women with their culinary skills

These new generations ‘gastrosexuals’ flaunt their culinary skills to win their women’s heart With more women becoming independent, confident and self-driven, they desire men who can help out in the kitchen. A quality meal is what impresses them more than flowers or compliments. TGS Life speaks to three Puneites about their cooking skills and what delicacies they prepare to win their women’s hearts. Raaihul Bhuyarkar, fashion designer I love to cook at least one meal every day as it relaxes my mind and body. Cooking is actually a more rewarding and creative form of domestic contribution than other chores. I check the recipe on the Internet and compare it with different cookery books. I try to prepare something new or modify a tried and tested dish. It is challenging to master a particular dish. Once the recipe is finalised, I source the ingredients from the nearby market. I do goof up sometimes with spices and herbs but balance the taste by adding extra alcohol and other ingredients. I mostly prepare continental dishes such as salad, soups and pasta. I surprised my wife Arti by cooking an elaborate meal after just one month of our marriage. That night I made tomato soup, fresh salad and baked a dish consisting of mushrooms, thyme, garlic, black pepper and olive oil. Everything turned out well and the spread was just out of the world. I had placed a couple of candles at the centre of the table to give the romantic effect. Arti was touched by my gesture. Raaihul’s secret weapon: When in doubt, add more alcohol.

Harsh Todi, IT professional I think cooking is a macho pursuit and men are perfectionists when it comes to this particular skill. My friends and I pick up pots and pans and whip up four meals a week. It used to be a necessity when we were bunking together in a PG accommodation as restaurants were closed when we returned after work. Many nights we had to go to bed hungry. I learnt to boil eggs, cook noodles and make tea, and found that cooking was fun. Slowly, I started cooking rice and vegetables, and today I can cook up the most delectable dishes. Last Sunday, I tried a simple traditional Indian cuisine for my girlfriend Ekta. Keeping in mind the rainy season, I cooked a dum biryani for lunch and served it with pineapple raita, which is a cooling and refreshing side dish for any meal. I like to use freshly ground spices, tomatoes and lots of onions as the flavour of these components is the hallmark in this dish. For the raita, I used tinned pineapples mixed with creamy yoghurt and garnished it with a dash of cumin, black pepper and green chillies. Other than main dishes, conjuring up mouth-watering side dishes is my forte. Harsh’s secret weapon: Freshly ground spices which he sources it from Shivaji Market at Camp. Jeet Rai, trading consultant Before preparing a dish, dicing vegetables in correct proportions is very important. The size of cut vegetables affects the cooking time and taste of the dish. For salads, I cut tomatoes, cabbage and cucumbers in different shapes and sizes. While cooking pasta or any Italian dish, I roll up two or three leaves of basil before cutting them crosswise. I finely chop onions and garlic when I am cooking mince pies or mutton curry. Cutting vegetables is an art and I love every bit of it. I am also very fond of fresh fruit and salads. As my girlfriend Prema and I are health conscious, coming up with different salads with unusual dressing that are calorie free is a big challenge. My partner was amazed when I made her a Caesar’s salad for the first time. I had to tell her the list of ingredients to convince her that it was not ordered from a restaurant. Now she pesters me all the time for a fresh fruit or an exotic salad. I keep the dressing light for salads. I usually procure it from the nearby grocery stores or, if time permits, I concoct it at home with olive oil, avocado, walnut and pepper with a dash of salt. Jeet’s secret weapon: Roll basil leaves before cutting them crosswise.