Soup tere naam ka
By: Anita Raheja and Heena Agarwal
October 16, 2005
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TV star Gurdip Kohli says, "You are turning me into a big foodie. When people will read this piece, they are going to be convinced that I am very fond of food."
The other interests of this sensitive and pretty sardarni include watching movies and painting, but she only manages to sketch, never paint. Her serials — earlier it was the medical drama Sanjeevani, now it is the family soap Sindoor Tere Naam Ka — keep her too busy for much else.
Born, brought up and bred in Mumbai, Gurdip loves Delhi's food. And she says that her zest for living and food has been encouraged by her boyfriend, Arjun Punjj, also a TV star.
Gurdip's thought for food
I am non-vegetarian. I prefer chicken in any form — Mughlai, Chinese, Italian. I also like prawns and pomfret.
I don't believe in dieting; food is very important. If I am depressed, I eat something nice because it makes me feel happy. Yesterday, I had a pastry. Today, I'll make it a point to workout. I used to go to the gym before, but now because of my hectic schedule, it gets difficult. I have a small gym at home — a treadmill and some weights and stuff. I have an instructor who comes home and makes me do free-hand exercises and sit-ups. I can run on the treadmill for 20 minutes non-stop. I work out thrice a week.
I don't have tea or coffee. I just have a glass of warm water and follow it with my prayers. I eat thereafter.
Though I am a sardarni, I steer clear of parathas. I have milk and cornflakes or a poha or a sandwich. But I must have a glass of orange juice everyday; it's best for my skin and ensures that I'm taking in vitamin C. I like to have it fresh — within 20 minutes of its extraction. I consume lots of water. I carry water, nimbu pani and coconut water when I am shooting.
I always carry lunch from home. If I have had a heavy dinner the night before, then I have salad and curds for lunch. Otherwise I eat dal, sabzi and roti. I don't eat rice unless I am in a mood to treat myself.
I have dinner by 10.30, the normal dal, sabzi, roti and a non-vegetarian dish. I have one roti, two bowls of dal and vegetables galore. I try to avoid carbohydrates with my meals. I eat brown rice as far as possible. My ghar ka atta is half-wheat and half-soya flour.
I visit a restaurant at least once a week. I am open to the idea of eating anything, from a Chinese dish to a pizza or pasta.
My mom is a good cook. My tiffin is always a delight. She makes excellent Goan fish curry and dum pukht-style biryani. She makes nutritious but tasty food. Food is cooked in minimum salt and olive oil; it has low cholesterol. Since I have a water retention problem, I drink nimbu pani without salt and sugar. My mom educates me on the kind of food that I should eat. She makes excellent soya bean koftas. I love potatoes in all forms, but I eat them boiled.
I can cook a decent meal, although I don't excel at making exotic dishes. I can cook chicken with gravy, masala chicken, a decent sabzi and a dal. My elder sisters excel in baking cakes and making homemade ice-creams. I make a soup which my family calls 'Gurdip Special Soup'; it's like a meal by itself.
In restaurants, I recommend Mangi Ferra for Italian and Urban Tadka for Punjabi food. The Risotto at Mangi Ferra is excellent. I like all the restaurants of J W Marriott — Saffron, Mezzo Mezzo, the coffee shop. In Bandra, the food at Olive is delicious. It's worth traveling all the way to town to eat a Bade Miyan roll.
I love experimenting with food; I like chicken with pineapple too.
In vegetarian food, I love paneer in any form and rajma too. Soya beans are very healthy.
I will go to the extent of ordering dishes with vague names and quite often the dish doesn't turn out to be up to the mark. Whenever we go out for a family dinner, I am dissuaded from ordering food because I end up ordering something vague and weird.
I associate Delhi with excellent Punjabi food. Last Diwali, my entire family had dinner at Park Baluche near Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. I love the pizzas and ice-reams at Nirula's in Delhi. The chaat in Delhi is something to write home about too. I am so happy that we have a chaat place, Kailash Parbat, at Lokhandwala.
My friends are constantly seeking suggestions from me to try out new places.
I was a student at JJ School of Applied Arts. I was always in my college canteen and I loved the misal pav. We would gorge on samosas at Mafco outlets. The chicken bolgonese at Intermission, Metro, was my all-time favorite. I was a regular K Rustom and Gaylord.
I went on a cruise that took us across the Egyptian Nile. I loved the food on the cruise. The buffet was elaborate and the desserts were awesome. I ate squids for the first time on that cruise.
In Dubai, I had an awesome pizza. The pizza bread was as huge as the size of a two-seater round table. I think the place was called Round the Clock Big Pizza.
For me, food and ambience are equally important. At the Hard Rock Caf, Dubai, they display memorabilia associated with Bollywood stars.
My favourite cuisines are Chinese and Italian.
In desserts, I LOVE brownies, chocolate pastry and Lindt chocolates. When I go abroad, I buy a lot of chocolates from duty-free shops.
My favourite beverage is fresh lime soda. Occasionally, I enjoy a red wine and cheese.
During mango season, Mezzo Mezzo serves an excellent mango Martini.
I have at least three-four fruits a day. My current favorite is litchi. I love the flavour of peaches. The saying 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' is very true because apple has iron; I'm anaemic.
My favorite spice is chilli, which I like to nibble on while eating food. You will always find chilli pickle in my house.
My favourite appliance is the microwave. I don't like my mother to keep waiting, so my food is kept in the microwave.
I binge on popcorn if I am awake late in the night.
I am like an orange — it's difficult to figure out whether I'm sweet or tangy. I can be very moody.
Monsoon is my favourite season. When it rains, I like to eat vada-pav at Prakash Batata Vada Wala, Dadar. I like dining at Zodiac Grill; they have a seven-course meal which is really elaborate. For the last three years, we have been dining at Zodiac Grill on my mom's birthday. It hurts your pocket, but it's worth it.
My boyfriend, Arjun Punjj, is a complete foodie. He loves Indian Punjabi food. He is the one who introduces me to new restaurants and cuisines. He loves eating out.
Gurdip's special soup
Serves four
2 chicken breasts
4 cups chicken stock
1 medium-size onions (chopped)
1 tsp pepper powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp corn flour powder (mixed with 3-4 tbsp water)
1 cup boiled noodles or wheat pasta
A few mint leaves
Grind the chicken breasts along with onions, pepper, salt, oregano and basil into a fine mixture. Make tiny balls of this mixture. Keep the stock to boil. Boil it.
Gently add the minced meatballs into the stock and again bring it to boil on a medium flame, till the meat balls are cooked. Add the corn flour mixture to the soup and mix well to thicken the soup. Add boiled noodles or pasta and mint leaves. Mix well and serve hot.
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