Meezaan Jafri will be seen in Yaariyan 2 later this year. The actor is known for his fitness and love for food. In an exclusive interaction with The Free Press Journal, he talks about his diet and food fundas. Excerpts:
My dietary preference: Non-vegetarian and my favourite dishes are butter chicken and butter naan.
The first thing I have in the morning: A bottle of water. I follow it with a breakfast of four eggs. I like scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes.
My lunch is: Salmon with bhindi and dal. Dal is my favourite food. I add bhindi and a dash of dal to the salmon because otherwise it tastes too bland.
In the evening in snack on: I don’t eat any snacks in the middle. I only eat three meals. Also, I have a protein shake if I'm low on energy.
My dinner is: Same as lunch.
My favourite desserts are: When I’m cheating and stuff, I would have pancakes, waffles, Nutella and French toast. I like the combination of chocolate and biscuits, it is actually my absolute favourite.
My fitness regime: I do weight training one day and I do cardio and core the next day. So on Monday, I would be doing push, which is for the chest, shoulders and triceps in the gym and then on Tuesday I’ll do cardio and core, on Wednesday. I'll do pull, which is for the back and biceps. And then on Thursday, I’ll do cardio core and then on Friday, I will do legs. And then Saturday, again, cardio core. Sunday is my day off.
Before and after my workouts I have: Before my workout I have a double espresso with either ghee, coconut oil or butter. It’s called a bullet coffee because I’m currently on a Keto diet. After my workout, I have a protein shake or a zero carb protein shake.
My idea of a romantic meal is: Anywhere in New York. I love New York. To be honest; I’ve had romantic meals at home also.
My favourite restaurants: Nobu anywhere in the world and Wasabi in Mumbai.
My favourite cuisines: Indian and Japanese.
I can cook really well: I make very good dal and kheema. The dal, chawal, kheema combo is my speciality and I can do that really well.
My favourite cook in my family: My khaala (aunt) My mother has a few special dishes too in which no one can compete with her.
My favourite beverage and drink: I only drink water when I am on my diet which is 80 per cent of the year. Otherwise, my favourite beverage is Diet Snapple peach flavour.
The weirdest combination of food I have heard about is: People adding sauce or ketchup to their food, like that's really weird for me.
On a hot summer's day, my favourite drink and food is: My favourite drink is nimbu paani or a Mojito. In food, dal, chawal is a constant favourite whether it’s summer or winter.
My tip on food to my readers is: Try and consume as much protein as you can. But, very importantly, don’t overdo it as it should be in proportion to your body weight. Keep the carbs as low as possible. Take it only in vegetable form as far as possible. Sugar is a definite no-no.
Recipe for Masoor Dal
REPRESENTATIVE PIC of Masoor Dal | Pic: Pinterest
Ingredients:
1 cup masoor dal (washed and soaked for 30 to 40 minutes)
3 tablespoons oil
1 big onion (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2 medium sized tomatoes (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 cloves
6 to 8 whole peppercorns
1 small piece cinnamon
Few curry leaves
2 to 3 slit green chillies (or as per taste)
Salt to taste
Method: Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add onions and sauté on a low flame till they turn golden. Once the onions turn golden, add ginger- garlic paste and chopped tomatoes, cook for a few minutes till the tomatoes are soft. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon, curry leaves, green chillies and salt. Sauté for a few minutes. Add the dal and sufficient water. Mix well and give it a boil. After a boil simmer and cook till the dal is done. Serve hot with rice.
