Act II nuggets

Rajeev Khandelwal, star of Aamir, reveals the secrets of his dinner bowl.

A framed poster of his film greets us at the entrance of Rajeev Khandelwal's kitchen, which by Mumbai standards is spacious and well lit by natural light. He prepared some tea for all of us while we talked about Aamir, his debut film. Khandelwal, with generous help from his domestic worker, Bhagat, chops veggies and soaks soya granules in hot water.

Is he a foodie, I wonder aloud "" can a dish with soya granules be exciting? "I am a foodie as far as health food is concerned," he says, dashing hopes that he would prepare anything exotic. "It's a basic dish but it's very healthy, something that I have regularly for dinner," he says.

Is there a name to it, I ask, hoping the name at least will do justice to our column. "It's just... Rajeev's Dinner Bowl," he says. My mind wanders desperately in search of a better name: Health Bowl, Nova Nuggets, Eggy Broth... I give up even as Khandelwal reassures us that it'll be a dish health-conscious readers will appreciate.

A familiar face on Indian television, Khandelwal, has been in the news for his tirade against Ekta Kapoor and her production house. The glossies have been gung-ho about his personal life and affairs too. "Glossies need to feed themselves and gossip is their diet," he laughs, while mustard seeds pop in the pan.

His dish has lots of colourful veggies. When I ask whether one could use a packet of frozen vegetables instead, the statement is met with a look of disapproval: "Vegetables should be fresh," he insists.

A self-confessed fitness fanatic, Khandelwal says that he can't afford to be negligent about his fitness regime and diet. He's fond of juices, but prefers to stay away from the fruit juices in tetra-packs.

He also has salads, simple Indian meals for lunch comprising of chapatis (made from eight different kinds of flour mixed together), dal and sabzi with yoghurt. When he does sample new cuisines, he selects dishes which are steamed, grilled and not too heavy.

While he's stirring and adding, Khandelwal happily speaks about Aamir, in which a young doctor lands in Mumbai from London and is handed a mobile phone and instructions to help him trace missing family members.

"We were shooting in crowded Mumbai streets and eating food while sitting on pavements. That was one time when my diet schedule went awry," he says.

The hard work seems to have paid off. Critics have gives the film and Khandelwal's performance a thumbs-up. As for the dish, it gets my approval too. It's not exotic, not at all, but its real flavour lies in its simplicity.

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FAVOURITE RECIPE

RAJEEV'S DINNER BOWL

2 spring onions
1 each green, red, yellow bell peppers
½ packet mushrooms
1 cup soya granules (soaked in hot water for 5 min)
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp whole peppercorns
5 pods garlic
2 eggs (boiled and chopped roughly)
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup broccoli
1 tbsp, fresh lime juice
A bunch of fresh coriander and mint leaves
Salt to taste
Oregano and red chilli flakes, to taste

Drizzle olive oil onto a nonstick pan and spread well. Add peppercorns and mustard seeds. Let seeds sputter. Chop garlic pods and add them along with finely chopped spring onions. Chop green capsicum, yellow and red bell pepper, and cabbage and add. Stir for five minutes.

Soak soya granules in hot water for five minutes and rinse thoroughly in cold water thereafter for another two or three minutes. Squeeze and add them to the pan. Add mushrooms, boiled eggs and sprouts. Add salt to taste, oregano, red chilli flakes, finely chopped mint and coriander leaves. Squeeze some lime juice on top. Mix well and serve.