Were you a foodie before you became Miss Universe?
Absolutely. But my tastes have changed since then. I used to be a dal-chawal and sabzi-roti person who was used to eating with my fingers. I had to learn to get used to seven-course meals and which fork and knife to use with which course. And how to drink wines and champagnes.

Wines and champagnes?
Yes. I was taught to toast with champagne. I must have had a sip every day I was Miss Universe. Then I'd put the glass down. Wines are easier. I prefer whites. I like a good Chardonnay. But I'm not picky and choosy. I'm more a Bacardi drinker. Bacardi, two cubes of ice and tonnes of Coke.

What's stocked in your bar at home?
Bacardi Gold, some whisky, I don't know the name, but it's a pretty bottle, and some vodka. I have different liquors... somebody gave them to me. Till today, I buy bottles based on what they look like! Or I take my boy-friend Sanjay Narang's help. He's a hotelier and restaurateur and knows what's best.

What's your favourite cuisine?
22It�s food, not cuisine. Sushi. I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can live on raw fish. Though first time I ate sushi at this restaurant called 'Something Fishy' in LA, I thought I would be sick for weeks after that.

This thing for fish has got to do with your being a Bengali...
No! On the contrary, I cannot eat Bengali fish. No bekti and hilsa. When I was 11, I choked on a fish bone. It was very painful. I now have a psychological block to Bengali fish.

Have the post-Miss Universe years been a great culinary experience?
I am more open to tastes, now. But I am as comfortable eating missi roti, pyaz and hari mirch at a Delhi dhaba as I am eating a lobster thermidor in a speciality seafood restaurant.

Your favourite restaurant?
In India, it would be hard to say, because I rarely go out. But still, I've been going to all of Sanjay's restaurants after he came into my life. And I like Tides at Gordon House. It's comfortable, like home, and I like the food and ambience. Abroad, there are so many.

Can you cook?
I always believed I would work hard to be able to afford a cook. Though now I am learning to make chicken stew and boiled vegetables with tonnes of butter, salt and some spicy powder for my daughter. She's 22 months and is cutting new teeth. I want her to say one day that her mother cooked for her!

What tastes do you remember from your childhood?
This breakfast food of roti broken into little pieces and mixed with banana, milk and sugar. Also yellow dal. I was over fed on that to the extent that now I will only eat black dal! I grew up in Delhi, my tastes are for Punjabi food; though I was born in Hyderabad, spent three years there, and have the taste for Hyderabadi biryani.

How do you keep your Miss Universe figure?
I work out. Lots of freehand exercises and a dance routine set to music. That helps me to burn whatever needs to be burnt! And whenever I need a flat stomach, like for a show or something, then I go on a high-protein diet. Only seafood, salads, veggies, all boiled. No rotis and no rice. And tonnes of water.