Khan's first trial, and later a huge error, was the popular Punjabi dish, rajma. ``I had once eaten it at Hotel Amir and tried it out at home. I had a rough idea of what basically went into it, since I used to watch my mother in action. Besides, my sense of taste is finely tuned. So I knew that it had onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic... But, unfortunately, the rajma was undercooked.'' And that was the beginning of Khan's foray into cooking.

Cooking is now routine for him. Everyday, after work, Khan not only cooks the dinner, but also buys the vegetables and meat himself. ``On my way home, I decide the menu for the day, and accordingly, pick up the vegetables and meat from Shivaji Market''.

For Khan, cooking is not a necessity, but a pleasure. ``That is when I release my tension. But I don't want anyone around while I am cooking. Even my wife has to stay out''.

And no ordinary cooking for Khan. Since his tastes are so `finely tuned,' what he cooks must match up to his standards. On a daily basis, he cooks dishes like kababs, chicken and mutton rogan josh. But what he loves best in the kitchen is chopping onions.

``I can chop any amount of onions, and I employ a trick here. If you do not want your eyes to water, peel and chop the onion in half. Then soak it in water for 10 to 15 minutes. That way your eyes will not water even if you chop a kilo of onions''.

And there are some more tips. ``While making galouti kabas, my mother used to roast the besan before adding it to the mince. But I discovered that using Mahabaleshwar channas without its skin is equally effective. In fact, it gives the kababs a different taste''.