Darshan Kumaar is best known for his stellar acting chops in The Kashmir Files and Aashram web series. The Free Press Journal caught up with him for an exclusive chat to reveal his food fundas and more. Excerpts:
First thing I have in the morning: A litre of lukewarm water.
My dietary preference: I love vegetarian food, but I have to eat non-veg to meet my protein requirements and shape my body according to the character’s requirements. In vegetarian fare, what I love the most is hara saag with bajre ki roti, and in non-veg, I am partial to grilled salmon fish.
For breakfast, I have: An omelette with oats pancake.
Around 11 am, I have: Sprouts.
My lunch is: Paneer with one multigrain chapati.
A must with my meals: Salad.
My evening snack is: Six egg white omelette and sweet potato.
For dinner, I have: Grilled fish with lots of salads.
My favourite dessert is: Malai kulfi.
To keep fit: I get up early in the morning for my kickboxing class. In the afternoon I go to the gym for an hour in my society itself which has a beautiful pool view with a lot of greenery around. Later in the evening, I go for dance training and kickboxing on alternate days. I enjoy doing physical training. It’s a way of meditation for me.
For health reasons, foods that I consciously have and avoid are: I eat palm-size protein, good carbs and salad in each meal, and I avoid junk food.
I can cook: All I can make for myself is chai (tea).
My favourite cook in my family is: My mom. I love whatever she cooks, but my favourite is gond ke ladoo.
My childhood memory of food: I belong to a Jaat family where milk and milk products are part and parcel of daily meals. I would have garam, garam parathe with milk. A big bowl of curd and seasonal vegetables with roti loaded with makhan and a big glass of milk before going off to sleep.
My idea of a romantic meal: A candlelight dinner on a rooftop restaurant and seafood.
My favourite cuisines: North Indian food.
My comfort food: Any paneer dish.
I feel guilty after eating: Kulfi.
While travelling, the most exotic / weirdest food I have had: I have had mutton chhole in a middle eastern country!
My favourite drink is: Lassi.
A food and drink I relish on a hot summer’s day: Dal churma and lassi.
During winters: My favourite meal is hara saag and warm milk.
During the monsoons, I enjoy having: Pakode and chai. But I can’t eat now! Jaane kahan gaye woh din (laughs).
When I’m shooting in Mumbai: I carry food from home, but at outdoor locations, I eat grilled food and salads.
One food tip you would like to give our readers: One should eat more protein, lots of salads, fewer carbs and drink lots of water. And yes, a 20-minute walk or exercise is a must.
Darshan’s favourite recipe: Oats Pancakes
REPRESENTATIVE PIC
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1 banana
1 egg
Few drops of vanilla essence
Pinch of cinnamon
1 -2 tablespoons olive oil
Peanut butter
Method:
In a bowl, mash the banana and one egg. Mix them well.
Then add vanilla essence, cinnamon powder and oats. Mix well. Heat a pan and drizzle some olive oil.
Put three dollops of batter on the pan, cover and let it cook on a medium flame for 1 minute.
Flip it and cook for another min. Pancakes are ready to eat with some peanut butter.
