Actor Reena whips up dishes for the joy of cooking

Actor Reena Basheer is forever pottering around in her kitchen which happens to be her favourite harbour around home. She's least surprised by this revelation, for right from childhood, Reena's happiest moments were spent whipping up dishes for the family, her mother being her earliest guru. The little chef turned out to be a cookery expert on mini screen and it was this gift which fetched her a role on the big screen as well. And this gift lies in turning out the most exotic and most delicious dishes with ingredients that are easily available in the market.

Reena recalls her mother's commitment to her kitchen. She expected the same perfection from her daughter and would not allow Reena to scoot without doing the dishes, chopping the vegetables or getting everything ready for the next meal.

Little Reena started her cookery classes by listening to the live commentaries of her mother from the kitchen. Those commentaries would come at each stage…chopping, mixing, and cooking. There were times when her mother would come up with meaningful pauses which Reena would have to fill in. She would have to provide correct answers to all queries. Though she found those cooking classes extremely boring at first, they later turned out to be a wonderful experience and ultimately led to Reena excelling in her cooking classes at school. Hence, from class eight to class ten, Reena was the wonder-cook who treated her teachers and friends to hitherto untasted flavours and recipes.

The St Mary's Anglo-Indian Girls School in Fort Kochi laid the foundation for her culinary talents and the cooking classes under the guidance of her teacher Sylvia Miss were her first lessons towards stardom.

Pathiri was obviously the star dish at home with guests and other relatives being treated to them. But it needed quite some expertise to make pathiris that were soft, yet wouldn't crumble, a lesson she learnt from her mother. Armed with this expertise, she jumped into the mutton biryani fray only to taste defeat. Not to be beaten so easily, she tried again and again till she found out her own recipe. Wah! What a dish. From Hyderabadi to Kozhikkodan, there are innumerable biryani variants, each with their distinct flavours and spices. Of all the biryanis she has had and cooked, mutton biryani happens to be her favourite.

Reena is all for including cookery as part of school curriculum. She believes that a lot of confidence can be built up in kids by backing them up in their kitchen endeavours. Cooking should never be a girls-only activity and by restricting boys of their innate abilities, you are doing them a disservice, says the super cook. Kids should be taught to love cooking and this can be done by introducing them to small kitchen tips, from where they can graduate to tougher attempts.

Instilling a love for cooking is one novel way to wean your child away from the mobile, television, and other gadgets, says Reena. Lessons in cooking will also promote the quest for healthy eating habits. She believes that eating should be a conscious activity with people being aware of what goes down their food pipes.

The happy mom is quite proud of the culinary talents of her kids Binu and Angela. The kitchen is an open platform for them. The NewGen mom is very supportive and allows them to experiment. When flaws appear, it's up to them to make the necessary corrections. She would love to open a facility where she could train folks in the art of cooking and baking, says Reena.

If cooking is an art, eating too is, says Reena. The super chef is also a fitness freak as well and never indulges in hogging, however, delicious the dishes might be. A healthy mind in a healthy body can be had only with care and conscious effort, says Reena. And this, obviously, is her fitness secret.

When it comes to meat, chicken seems to be the popular choice with the young and old alike rooting for it. Chicken marinated and cooked with salt and pepper can be the base for any filling. Chappathi roll and bread roll are great tea-time snacks and the fillings can go well with them. Tomato, capsicum and other vegetables when cooked with masalas taste groovier with a bit of chicken shredded into them. Chicken with butter is a super combo. Capsicum, onions, cabbage, and chillies sautéed in butter and filled in with chicken make for a delicious filling. Add a bit of cooked basmati rice and dress it with a bit of lime extract. This should be a super lunch for kids. Fruits, vegetables and any other item for that matter can be made to taste good if cooked the right way.

Easy breakfast recipe

Slice a bun into half without cutting the pieces apart

Set apart a portion for filling

Spread butter on the slice before putting in the filling

Butter on one slice and sauce on the other

Chop a big onion finely

Cut two potatoes in half with the skin on and boil them

Boil broccoli in salt for two to three minutes, see that the green colour is retained

Chop coriander leaves finely

Use dry mango powder or lemon extract.

Lime extract to be used just before use

Green chillies chopped or pepper powder

Salt

How to prepare

Stuff the bun with the filling.

Meat lovers can add shredded pieces of chicken or beef along with the veggies.

Broccoli is fine for health.

Anything can be added in as per individual taste.