The Hindu Business Line : Gentlemen do cook and tell

This is hot from the oven and guaranteed to have metrosexual malesout to impress the women in their lives running to the bookstore, wallet in hand. Gourmet specialist, foodie, food consultant and businesswoman, Karen Anand has launched Simple Cooking For Smart Men, a book she promises would be a ready-reckoner for men who want to cook but don't know how.

Many women are liable to scoff at the likelihood of men sweating over the kitchen fire, but Karen is convinced that behind every man who has never stepped into a kitchen is a woman who has prevented him! Or, that he is intimidated by the seemingly elaborate process of cooking..

But change is definitely in the air. Food is suddenly fashionable and a whole new breed of men, especially young, urban yuppies have discovered that rustling up a finger-licking delicious meal is probably a surefire way to earn some brownie points, especially with the opposite sex.

What has also helped smoothen man's entry into what has traditionally been the woman's fiefdom (or hell hole, as the case may be) is the arrival of trendy and smart gadgets that will chop, clean, blend, beat and do most things that have even the hardened cooks baulk at the prospect of cooking a meal.

Her book is the result, says Karen, of her interaction with many men who have, over the years, confessed their secret desire to cook and their fear of venturing into the kitchen. "So I decided to take up the challenge of creating recipes and putting together a sort of how-to manual for young men interested in finding their way into the kitchen," says Karen, who now has a sneaking hope that her husband and two teenaged sons will finally have no excuse to avoid making their own dinner and treating her to one, occasionally!

Writing a cookbook for a male audience can be a daunting task, as Karen discovered. "Like everything else in their life, men like to keep things simple. They hate the thought of searching for the right ingredients, sweating over elaborate gravies or poring over complicated recipes. They love quick recipes, easy shopping and a smart table with smart accessories. And yes, they love smart gadgets that do half the work."

Karen, who has written several cookery books, including one on lean cuisine, always wanted to change the way cookery books are written in India. "We don't have soup, salad, main course and dessert at home every day and there is no reason why our books should be written like that," she says. She was influenced by the "casual chefs" abroad, who wrote about food without deifying it.

"What I set out to do with this book is to help a guy cook for various occasions. For instance, what should he cook if he were inviting a potential love interest on a date? Or his boss/ mother-in-law is coming over for dinner? Or if he is living alone but missing the food back home?"

The book is thus divided into chapters and sections catering to different moods, needs and circumstances rather than the more conventional starter, main course, dessert formula. Flip through the pages and men (I suspect even a large number of women) will find their heart soaring at the sight of recipes suited for nearly every reason and every season, including one that she calls the "ultimate acid test" — cooking for your friends.

Also packed in are chapters on party food, cocktails, festive specials, comfort foods for men, food for the metrosexual man, the fit man, the man who loves to preen about his smashing Sunday brunch, and one devoted to end-of-the-month cooking when both the wallet and the refrigerator are empty.

For young men and even the not-so-young hankering after a special woman, this book promises to lend a helping hand. After all, which woman can resist a man who will go through the trouble of cooking up smoked salmon with spicy cheese, roasted peppers with garlic mayonnaise, prawns with garlic and chillies, and figs poached in red wine and tea? Especially when he could just as easily have taken her to a swank restaurant for an expensive dinner?

Karen gives her male reader enough pointers in `Date on a plate' to keep him from going overboard and cooking till he is ready to flop down. "Rarely does seduction happen over a chat about textiles or the share index. Food is passionate, exciting, seductive and sensual... " But having said that, she ends with a note of caution, "Plan a simple menu for a simple meal, which can be cooked ahead of time. Don't waste energy on trying to impress her with your cooking skills, unless of course you are a galloping gourmet."

The book takes cognisance of the male sweet-tooth in `Chocoholics Anonymous' and `Sweet Nothings' that give several recipes, including exotic orange chocolate fondue, American-style cheese cake and homemade chocolate brownies. Karen's recipe for flambe gulab jamun is guaranteed to give both men and women a high — and scores high on drama.

"I have yet to meet a man who has not begged to be taught how to flambe a dish of sizzling hot gulab jamuns, after they see me do it at my Sunday brunches. Men love drama and love to show off their skills, especially if there are lots of women looking on in fascination," she says.

The book has a section devoted to basics like the must-have ingredients at home, a glossary that sensibly lists substitutes for exotic ingredients, and a list of handy gadgets. Karen is excited about her newest baby. "I am not sure it will make men take to cooking every day though. Cooking once a month to impress someone seems very exciting for men but cooking every day can be an exhausting thing, which is why women too shy away from it these days!" she says.

Meanwhile, she is thinking up similar situational cooking books and is raring to go with two others, Simple Cooking For Smart Women and Simple Cooking for Smart Kids.

At the moment, however, she is busy with work on her new global cuisine restaurant, in association with Indage Hotels, scheduled to open in Pune next month. "I have always wanted a restaurant at my home base and I hope to translate many of my ideas about food and presentation there," she adds.

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