The first Indian envoy in Formula 1 and now the first motorsportsman to win the Padma Sri Award Narain Karthikeyan can easily shift gears to don the Chef’s hat. Sowmya Ravindranath caught up with Narain and his lovely wife Pavarna to find out that the fastest Indian pauses, to make some barbeque delights, and loves entertaining friends with secret recipes from Chellapalli. Excerpts from the hearty conversation!

Let’s talk about your culinary skills...

Narain: I can go 5 days eating the local food in any part of the world but after that I crave for Indian food. I had the most difficult time in Japan, there were no Indian restaurants where I stayed, so had to learn cooking. I like making Chicken curry, my mom’s recipe.
Pavarna: My mother-in-law makes the yummiest food. So let’s not talk about MY cooking skills!

As the conversation drifts into food preferences, the couple take on each other...

Narain: You don’t like to cook, you like to eat!
Pavarna: I love eating good food. Thanks to me you have gotten a little more adventurous about food.
Admitting with a smile, Narain: Yes that I must agree. As a child I was a very fussy eater.

On their food trail across the world...
 

Pavarna: When we’re traveling I love indulging in the local flavours. But as we get close to the races, I exclude Narain from my food trips. I completely enjoyed the fresh and surprisingly spicy seafood in Monaco and love the food in Malaysia. Australia completely disappointed me food wise. England has so much variety.
‘England’ gets Narain all pepped up: I love Brit Indian food; she hates it when I take her to a Brit-Indian restaurant.
Pavarna: I despise it! Everything tastes the same. Even the colours are so flourescent!
Narain: If there’s one thing I hate the most its Japanese food.. the worst ever!

After a round of hates, we settle to find out about favourites in Indian cuisine...

Narain: The Andhra biryani from my Grandmother’s house is the best. Frontier food is another favourite. I like Chicken Podimas, my mom makes excellent keerai from the herb garden produce.
Pavarna: My mother-in-law makes the yummiest shrimp. I love biryani too. While in India I must have rice and dosa.

Favourite haunts in Chennai...

Narain: Ponnuswamy, Tuscana and the Park. I like Southern Spice at the Taj Coromandel
Pavarna: I like 601 for the pizzas. Amaravati is my favourite for biryani. Sometimes I go there by myself. It reminds me so much of my college days.

Flavour favourites

Pavarna: We both like spicy food, but Narain overdoes it, he carries a bottle of Tabasco wherever he travels!
Narain: I like adding a little flavour to everything. A nice steak is what I crave for. ‘Fire’ at the Crown Plaza in Delhi makes the most flavoursome steak.

Lets talk about food fetishes...

On Pavarna, Narain: What fetish? You eat everything!
Pavarna: I enjoy a well cooked meal. I get very fussy when it’s not consistent. Tea is something I enjoy a lot. Narain makes his own terribly thick coffee!

What comes first, fitness or food…

Narain: Fitness most definitely! I do like junk food - fries, wafers the works! But I make sure I burn 1200 calories a day.
Pavarna (looks away): Don’t ask me this question! Food all the way…
Narain: I do tell her to work out, but she has such a fantastic metabolism, infact I think it’s better than mine!

On their homecoming dish...

Pavarna: My mother-in-law makes Chicken Villeroy whenever we get here, I look forward to it every time!
Narain: I love the Tacos my mother makes, actually everything she makes!

On the most memorable food celebration:

Pavarna: For Narain’s 31st birthday I organized a street food fiesta at home. I got carts painted in different colours to give it the look of road side stalls. We had them serving Chaat, tandoori, sonpapdi and much more. I even had the replica of my favourite Parotta Kadai, a regular haunt for the lorry drivers in Coimbatore. Narain really enjoyed it!

Most Romantic meal

Narain: For me it won’t be just the food or the ambience but the whole package – the conversation, just that we’re having a good time will make it most romantic! If I had to order for her it would be Fish with lemon butter, I know she enjoys that a lot.
Pavarna most pleased to know that: Flowers and a good meal always do the trick!

...Sweet note?

Narain: Tiramisu is my favorite. She likes Cheesecake, I hate it with a vengeance. Cheese is cheese, not a dessert!
Pavarna: Hmmmphf! It’s been a long time since I had a good cheesecake. My best memories are of the ones I ate during college.
Narain: I wish I could make it for you…