Padma Lakshmi Gives Architectural Hacks For The Perfect Gingerbread House

Adapting to the American way of celebrating Christmas has become the way of our lives and our Desi diva Padma Lakshmi schooled Architectural Digest with the best way to build the perfect gingerbread house.

“Most of the directions that come with the kit tell you to make the house with the icing and then decorate,” she said. “I’m telling you, you should not do that. Instead, get the different pieces—the sides, the roof, etc.—lay them flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and decorate them first. Because what happens is once you glue it, everything slides.”

Lakshmi said that it takes her and her daughter, Krishna, 8, several days to complete the process.

“We get every panel, draw it out on the pencil, lay it flat, let it dry, and then we come back the next day and add stuff to it because you can’t do it all at once,” she added. “It’s like an oil painting and needs time for the layers. I have no stake in this company, but I often felt like writing to them and being, like, you should really change the printed directions.”

But the technique doesn’t stop at constructing the base of the house. Lakshmi said they “get a little Martha Stewart” about decorating it.

“We’ll get a little paring knife and make little leaves out of green jujube candies. We get little red balls and make an apple tree,” she said. “You can actually use Rice Krispies to create hay, sand, or a pebble driveway.”

Well, as one of the hosts of Top Chef, Laksmi, sure has built her way into many facets of perfectly amalgamating the Desi and Videsi modes of celebrations!