Hema Deora is a woman of many parts. And when you consider all that she does, you wonder how  she also manages to be cook and kitchen supervisor of her high profile household. Well, the answer is, she chooses it that way and makes time for what she considers a very essential role in her life, looking after her family's culinary needs, and general welfare.

So here is Hema, interior designer, painter, charity supporter, social worker, an active bridge player, wife of many years of the indefatigable Murli Deora, minister for petroleum in the Indian government, who jets between Delhi and Bombay, balancing his personal and professional life.

Weekends, therefore, are reserved for Murli, that’s when he is usually in Bombay and that is the time when Hema gets into the act - dons the chef's hat, puts on her pretty apron and in shudh  Marathi starts instructing  her men in white, the kitchen aides who swarm around her, ready to carry out her every bidding.

Hema is a careful, caring and concerned person. Very thorough and meticulous, she had worked out her menu with me days in advance, and also made sure we would eat the lunch she was cooking. "You are not going to just taste everything and run away. We will sit and eat the food, slowly, okay?" Yes, of course, how can anyone ever refuse Hema anything, she is so sincere.

So there I was, at her beautiful well appointed South Bombay apartment,  sitting amidst her Hussains and Bendres, sipping pomegranate juice, discussing Maharashtrian cuisine, for that's the background that Hema comes from. Puran poli, val dal, masala bhat, amti, koshimbir, loncha… we were going to be eating all this and more!

I sat in her kitchen watching the flurry of activity. It made a good picture, Hema in all black, with a red apron, looking like a trendy New Yorker, the men attired in pristine white, respectfully and quietly going about their chores. Some of them like family members, having worked with the Deoras for decades.

As the oil was being warmed for the puris to be fried, in walked Muddy, cuter than the Hutch pug, looking for his Mama. Hema was at once on her knees, purring sweet nothings, dishing out his favourite brand of ice-cream, Baskin Robbins, which Muddy licked away, right there in the middle of the room, unperturbed by all the buzz. The picture had got even better!

Soon the table was laid and to my delight, in traditional Maharashtrian  style. We were going to eat on a banana leaf, the same way one does at Parsi weddings! Hema explained the manner in which the plate, meaning the leaf is set. To the left is placed some chutney, loncha, koshimbir. On the right, the veggies, usually a green vegetable, a pulse, a dal or amti, in the middle some rice preparation in an inverted bowl, which today was Vangi Masala Bhaat. Hot puris and tiny papads keep coming in. I had made a special request for puran poli to be made, which I savoured, shamelessly dunked in homemade ghee. I even got a doggie bag home, with Muddy's permission, naturally.

After lunch, when I quizzed the cookery star asking what food meant to her, she honestly and immediately replied, "Very little!" I gaped. After she stopped giggling, she explained, " I am not a foodie, I don't eat that much. I like bland food, no masala and all that. I am not even a fruit person, or a juice freak. But I love bread. Toast, sandwiches and lots of butter. Even salads and soups don't do much to me!" Ahem, and how do you survive? "Oh I love dal, sabzi, roti. When  I eat out, I like pizza, pasta, grilled vegetables, cottage cheese, mushroom, asparagus. I am quite inclined towards western food, like Mukul. Though Murli and Milind love the chatpata and spicy things". Milind and Mukul, are Hema and Murli's sons, making ripples in their own fields, the former in politics, the latter a musician, not exactly like peas from the same pod! And though, she herself is a strict vegetarian, Hema laughs and says her boys are non-vegetarians. The cat was out of the bag when they came home one day from their school, Cathedral and John Connon and said " Jungoo's food is so tasty." They were in the habit of exchanging their tiffins with non-vegetarian friends! She didn't mind, saying, “they go through these phases, now they stylishly say they are vegetarian!”

But even if the phase changes,  doesn't mean prawn curry rice and chicken masala will be cooked at home, no siree it won't, Murlibhai is a staunch marwari.