Director-choreographer Remo D’Souza is known to judge dance reality shows. The ABCD series fame filmmaker has a penchant for creating out-of-the-box dance moves. However, as a foodie, his lunch box comprises simple fare. He shares his food fundas.
I begin my day with: A glass of water and some green tea.
My dietary preference: I am a non-vegetarian. I relish seafood the most.
My lunch comprises: Two rotis, a bowl of dal, some rice and a chicken dish.
An accompaniment I must have with my food: Yellow dal, I can’t live without it.
My Sunday lunch: I eat whatever my wife makes. It’s her choice.
For health reasons I eat: Lots of green vegetables.
For health reasons, I avoid: Oily stuff.
My evening snack: I have a green salad.
My dinner: At nights, I just have two rotis and chicken.
After my health issue recently: I follow a restricted diet, less oil, no red meat.
My favourite desserts: I love brownies and ice creams.
My fitness regime: It’s mostly cardio; I am not much into weights.
My favourite restaurants: In Mumbai, my favourite is Sammy Sosa. I love all their dishes. Abroad it is P.F.Chang. It serves excellent Chinese.
An eating experiment that wasn’t fun: Once, I tried Ostrich meat. It’s so heaty.
My favourite fruit is: Mango.
My favourite dish: Chhole bhature.
I dislike eating: Lauki, I hate it.
My favourite beverage: Coffee.
A childhood memory associated with food: I remember my mom would make sumptuous hot idlis and dosas early in the morning.
I binge on: Chocolates, especially Cadburys.
My culinary abilities: I am a great cook, I can cook everything.
My cooking disaster: Once I tried making a cake, I failed miserably.
My favourite cook in my family: My mom and dad, dad especially. My wife cooks great seafood, especially prawns.
My comfort food: Dal chawal and eggs.
The food item I think I look like: A chocobar (laughs)
I feel very guilty after having: Lots of chocolates.
My favourite spice: Lal mirch (red chilly).
My favourite kitchen appliance: Tawa (frying pan).
My idea of a romantic meal: Each time my wife cooks for me.
My favourite combination: Yellow dal with jeera rice.
Recipe For Yellow Dal
Ingredients
2 cups tur dal (washed 2-3times and soaked for 30 mins)
3 to 4 cups water (to cook the dal)
2 onions (peeled and finely chopped)
2-3 tomatoes (sliced finely)
1” ginger (chopped finely)
1” ginger (julienned)
4-5 pods garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
Salt to taste
1teaspoon turmeric powder
1-2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
3 tablespoon ghee
1 stick cinnamon
2-3 cloves
1teaspoon cumin seeds
1teaspoon asafoetida
Few fresh curry leaves
2-3 green chillies (slit)
Finely chopped coriander leaves (to garnish)
2-3 lemon wedges
Method
Drain the water from the soaked dal. In a pressure cooker, add the dal and 3-4 cups of water. Add salt to taste, little ghee and turmeric powder. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame. Cool. Check the consistency of the dal. Blend the dal with a blender till smooth. Boil the dal on medium gas till you get a fine aroma.
In a separate pan, heat one teaspoon ghee, add the chopped garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves and sauté for a few seconds. Add curry leaves, slit chillies and fry for a few seconds. Add asafoetida, chopped onions and chopped ginger and cook till transparent. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till done. Add the red chilli powder and a little salt. Mix well. Add this to the boiling dal. Mix well. Boil for a few minutes. Adjust the salt to your taste. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and julienned ginger. Squeeze some lemon juice.
