Vatsal Sheth is a simple non-fussy actor, and that reflects in his meals too. He says, “I love my alloo ki sabzi, roti and dal. I would be happy eating it every day of my life.”
My dietary preference: I’m a vegetarian and my favourite dishes are basically food made by my mom. She’s the best cook.
The first thing that I have when I wake up: I have two glasses of lukewarm water. That’s my routine since years.
My breakfast: Is heavy because I feel very very hungry when I wake up. So I eat poha/omelette/upma or oats ka chilla and a cup of coffee.
My lunch is: Dal, rice, roti, sabzi, salads and pickle. I like mirchi marinated in mustard, a favourite with Gujaratis including me.
In the evenings I snack on: If I am hungry I have a cup of coffee, a biscuit or a toast. Occasionally I have boiled eggs or omelette.
My dinner: Since we keep having various different kind of foods, we call it “fancy”. So sometimes we have sev puri for dinner at other times Idlis or khichdi kadi.
My favourite dessert: Jalebi.
My fitness regime: 45 minutes physical activity -- it could be a walk or playing badminton or cricket. Sometimes I go for a swim too.
Before my workouts: I actually have a cup of coffee and some biscuits or cookies.
After my workouts: I usually eat omelettes. Or lunch.
A confession: I am trying to avoid sugar. And packaged foods like chips and noodles. They contain a lot of preservatives, you know those chips and noodles.
My favourite restaurant is: Facing East in Juhu I think it has this yummiest Chinese food.
My favourite cuisine is: Chinese and I also love the Gujarati thali.
For a romantic evening: The venue has to be definitely by the beach -- both Ishita and I would love that. Since both Ishita and I are teetotalers. We both love coffee -- so coffee it will be. Both of us are partial to Chinese food, so the meal will be -- what else but Chinese.
I can cook: Very good bhurjee pav
My childhood memories of food: I was a very fussy eater, I didn’t eat too many vegetables. I detested the taste of tomatoes, I still do.
The weirdest food that I have had is: No chance of that happening. I don’t like experimenting with my food.
During winters I enjoy having: Adrak ka halwa; we call it aadu pak in Gujarati. It’s heaty, spicy and yummy.
A tip on food: Some people live to eat and others eat to live. I belong to the second set of people.
My favourite recipe: Handvo from Swati’s recipes.
Handvo recipe
Prepare the rice and the lentil batter with veggies
Ingredients
1 cup rice
1/4 cup tuar dal
1/4 cup chana dal
2 tablespoons urad dal
2 tablespoons yellow moong dal
1/2 cup curds
1/2 cup water
1 lauki ( approximately 3/4 to 1 cup)
1 carrot ( approximately should be 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
1/4 cup baby spinach ( washed and finely chopped)
1 tablespoons grated ginger
1-2 green chillies ( finely chopped)
1-2 teaspoons oil ( for greasing the tin)
3/4 to 1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons turmeric powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida powder
Ingredients for the tempering
2 tablespoon oil
11/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 sprig curry leaves
3 teaspoons sesame seeds
Method
Rinse and soak rice, tuar dal, chana dal, urad dal and yellow moong dal for 3-4 hours. You can also substitute tuar dal with chana dal or masoor dal. The other option is to replace moong dal with chana dal. Drain the water and add the soaked rice and lentils to a blender or grinder. Add curd to the blender. Pour ½ cup water. Blend into a smooth, yet slightly coarse and thick batter (should be like idli batter and pourable). Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Cover and let it ferment overnight. You can also skip fermenting and use a leavening agent as mentioned below. Prepare the veggies as mentioned above in the ingredients. You can bake this in the oven or in a pan on the stovetop. To bake in oven, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) for at least 15 mins. Grease the bottom and sides of a 6-inch round or square baking pan with 1-2 teaspoons of oil. Or you can also use a cast iron skillet like the way I used below. Add grated lauki, carrot, coriander leaves and baby spinach (optional). Next add salt, turmeric, ginger paste, chopped green chili, red chili powder and sugar. Also add hing. Stir well to combine.
Make the tempering
Heat 1 tablespoons oil in a 6 or 7 inch cast iron skillet. Spread the oil to grease the skillet with a spoon including the sides. Reduce to low flame and add 1 teaspoon mustard and 1/2 cumin seeds. When they splutter, add 1 sprig of curry leaves and 11/2 teaspoon sesame seeds. Stir for 15-20 seconds. While you perform this task, go ahead to the next step.
Bake the handvo in the oven
Pour the prepared batter to the hot pan or the greased cake pan and spread gently only the top. Sprinkle the tempering all over on the top. Turn off the heat and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 180°C or 350°F. To cook it on the stove top, scroll down to stovetop section. Check the oven dish after 35 minutes. Depending on the oven, handvo takes 35-45 minutes to bake. Insert a tester in the center. If it comes out clean, the dish is ready. For a crisper crust, broil for 2 minutes. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a pan or kadai on the stovetop. Reduce to medium flame and add ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds and ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. When they splutter, add 1 sprig curry leaves and fry until crisp. Then add sesame seeds and stir. Spread all the ingredients all over the pan. Pour the handvo batter as much as you want and spread it gently only on top. You can also make individual handvos with just 2 ladles of batter. Use a small pan in that case. Cover and cook on a low heat for 5 to 7 minutes depending on the quantity of batter you poured and the kind of pan you use. When the top layer becomes partially dry and the bottom layer turns golden brown, flip it gently. Press down the handvo with the spatula all over and cook uncovered until the bottom is all cooked and golden and crisp. Flip it back and cook for a few minutes until you get a really crisp and golden crust on the handvo. Remove this to a wired rack for cooling and then cut it. Repeat with the remaining batter to make more handvo. Serve hot with coriander or garlic chutney and tea or lassi.
PS: If you have not fermented the batter then add ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Or use 1 tsp Eno and 1 tbsp water. The mixture will get frothy. Mix the entire batter.
