A delicious conversation

Latika Khaneja, director, Collage Sports Management, is hard at work when we land up at her place for some Goa fish curry that she's promised us. "By the way," she says, "the match has just got held up," meaning the ODI between India and Sri Lanka. "I am at work today watching the match, it is crucial for Veeru," she grins. It is make or break time for Sehwag indeed.

But what happens if he fares poorly yet again "" and doesn't get a World Cup berth? Khaneja shrugs, "You can't do anything about poor play. You can only help someone who is playing well but missing out on endorsements," adding: "When I started out, the young players would blindly sign contracts with companies who would own them because even a lakh seems big when they are starting off."

For Veeru, on the other hand, the money will keep rolling in thanks to the endorsements she has helped clinch in the past "even though I can't see anyone happily paying up those sums for the 15th man". But there are better things to do than ponder over this on a day when a match is washed out. A spot in the kitchen, stirring in some aromatic masala, can surely rev up our spirits.

Khaneja has been a foodie "since birth" but you won't know it looking at her, a fact she attributes to good genes. Growing up in Canada, she and her sister would "cook and cook, you know how it is during holidays".

Her husband "" whose South Delhi Club team many of the cricketers, including Sehwag, played for before Khaneja took them under her wing "" may not be an adventurous eater but with a young daughter who loves to eat too, the family is particular about what finds its way to the dining table.

Khaneja has a well-thumbed collection of recipes though she is clear she only uses ingredients that are common in a kitchen. "There is no point buying half of INA Market and then making something." The authoritative Prasad is where this particular recipe comes from, but there are also Tarla Dalals for vegetarian dishes, pages torn out from Femina for smart tips, a South Beach Diet book for healthier options, and Chinese and Thai recipes. Each time they entertain, there is a dish or two that she loves to make herself, though she claims that her daily interest in the kitchen is limited to plain supervising or teaching the cook something new.

And she is fond of eating out "" mostly Chinese and Thai and Moti Mahal takeaways but she is open to adventurous fare too. That would include Bengali cuisine. She remembers accompanying Gautam Gambhir, another protege, to the restaurant O Calcutta for another publication. "You know, he couldn't eat anything. After sampling just two or three things he excused himself while I sat and went through almost 35 dishes!" Now that's a foodie.