‘Taste the Nation’ Host Padma Lakshmi Reveals Her Must-Have Kitchen Essentials and Dishes Everyone Should Master

The ‘Taste the Nation’ creator makes her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut this month.

Padma Lakshmi.Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s newest 2023 model, Padma Lakshmi, has a culinary gift. That’s not new information, nor is it up for debate. She’s been the host of the Emmy Award–winning show Top Chef for more than 15 years and became the creator and executive producer of her own series, Taste The Nation, with Hulu in 2020.

But the New York Times best-selling author is humbly aware of her talent, and she understands that not everyone loves or excels at cooking the way she does. The three staple dishes that she suggests everyone perfect are a roast chicken, a breakfast dish that you can “be proud of when someone sleeps over” and a good salad.

“The key to a salad is fresh, tender herbs and a very simple dressing,” Lakshmi says. “Just throw in a handful of fresh mint, basil and dill. It’s a game-changer.”

She also mentions that one of her cookbooks, Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, has tons of suggestions for delicious and hearty leaf-based creations.

Lakshmi, who was born in Chennai, India, and moved to the United States at the age of 4, also has a few favorite comfort foods that are personal to her and her family. First is a classic tadka dal, a staple dish in any Indian household. She posted an easy step-by-step tutorial for the dish on Instagram.

“I make a very light coconut milk curry with shrimp, sea bass or chicken. You can do it with tofu. It’s comfort in a bowl to me,” she adds of another go-to dish. “It has a lot of ginger, makrut leaves and basil and mint.”

The 52-year-old is often asked what she likes to cook for a special occasion or for her best tips for hosting dinner parties or holiday events. Her advice is consistent.

“It depends on who I’m cooking for,” the Time 100 honoree responds, noting that it’s important to know your audience. “I have an uncle who always comes to our house for Diwali or Thanksgiving and I know, from my mother, that he loves this one South Indian potato curry called podimas. And so whenever he comes over, I always make it, and he’s always so happy that I remembered what his favorite dish is.”

Nathan Congleton/NBC/Getty Images

Lakshmi encourages anyone who entertains regularly or likes to cook for others to be mindful about what people enjoy. There’s no need to specifically cater to everyone’s tastes, because that can get overwhelming, but just be thoughtful.

“The art of cooking for someone else is such a nurturing, loving act,” she says. “It is a very intimate thing you’re doing. That’s why I think I never wanted to work at a restaurant, because I don’t want to cook for people I don’t know and I don’t want to cook for people I don’t like. When I cook for people I don’t like, and I have done it, sometimes the food doesn’t come out as well.”

Lakshmi hopes that her 13-year-old daughter, Krishna, will develop a cache of at least 12 healthy and delicious recipes she can make for herself by the time she moves out of the house. The two love to spend time dancing around the house and roller skating all over New York City, where the duo currently lives.

While Lakshmi might not be able to tell you exactly what to cook for your next dinner party, because she says that’s personal to each guest and host, she can suggest gifts that any home chef will love and appreciate.

1. Mortar and pestle: a small set and a larger one made of lava rock, because it’s porous.
2. Microplane: for a “snow” of Parmesan or for fine lemon zest.
3. Mezzaluna: a bladed tool used for all sorts of chopping that is especially helpful for herbs.
4. Silicone pads: for baking cookies and things like that.
5. Butcher’s string: for anything you need to tie up in the kitchen.

Meet Padma Lakshmi—read the 2023 SI Swimsuit model’s full feature profile here.