World Food Day 2024| Karan Tacker: I am an amazing cook and food critic

As a Punjabi, the love of food comes naturally to Karan Tacker. So much so, that even on a busy day at shoot, the actor enjoys a hearty spread of home-cooked food and treats us with same on the occasion of World Food Day. “My love story with food started thanks to my mother. My palate comes from the tasty food that I, as a kid, got to enjoy from her cooking. That has become my general benchmark, and it is very high as my mum is a fantastic cook. Even till date, when I put up stories on Instagram of home-cooked food, my friends request me to call them home for a meal,” he says.
Having travelled across the world, Karan has tasted all kinds of cuisines, but his favourite remains a cozy home-cooked meal. “My comfort food is peeli dal with kadi patta and rai ka tadka, aloo gobhi, palak and homestyle chicken. Whenever I am shooting outside and I come back home, it has to be my first meal. I love the fragrance of that tadka. I even cook the palak differently as I grind it and methi together and then I put it in a garlic chaunk in ghee,” he shares.
As he mentions his culinary skills, he admits to being an amazing cook: “I’ve picked it up for my mother. I have become a very good food critic as well. I can eat something and tell you usme kya kya gaya hai, aur kya cheez ki kami hai. I am my mom’s best friend because we just sit together and discuss recipes and how to make the day’s meal interesting.” Not just his mum, but even Tacker’s dad has been his cooking teacher. “My dad taught me how to make a sunny side up. I learned it for one of my girlfriends as I was in immense love, and it is a beautiful feeling when you get to cook for someone that you love. In fact, maine acchhi chai banana bhi apne papa se seekha hai. Wo bhi main apni girlfriend ke liye hi banata tha,” he blushes.
One of the dishes that the actor eats during our conversation is Rajma Chawal and as he put the first bite of it in his mouth, he gets nostalgic. “My parents were always working when I was young. So, on Sundays, mum used to make chole and rajma, and my dad would pack it for us to go for a picnic at Juhu beach. It would be just me, my sister and my parents. It was our sense of outing when we were growing up and my parents made it feel like such a rich experience because we were rich in love as a family. Every time I have the first bite of chole or rajma, this fragrance comes with it, and takes me back to my childhood,” he shares.
While he enjoys the conversation about his love for food, Karan acknowledges the privilege of having food on his table every day. “Food, I feel, is a privilege. We are amongst the very few people in the world who can probably do an interview about eating food. I’m always thankful for the fact that we have the luxury of eating what we want, when we want and how many times we want. There are so many people in the world who don’t even get one meal a day. That’s the scarcity that we live in, and it’s the unfortunate truth. That’s why when I’m eating, I really enjoy whatever it is, and I try to make the most of it instead of just rushing through,” he ends.