Cooking to his own rhythm

Prabhu Deva might be cooking up a storm on the dance floor, but he can hardly boil water in the kitchen!

I am
A pure vegetarian. Now I want to eat non-vegetarian fare.u00a0
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I begin my day with
Green tea. I am an early riser. I wake up by 6.30-7 am.
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My Breakfast is
Cornflakes with milk or idli dosa.

When I am shooting
I eat unit food. I don't have any particular favourites. In vegetables I am partial to potato. I also like papad as an accompaniment for lunch.u00a0

When I eat snacks
I skip dinner. In Mumbai I like to snack on chaat, in Chennai I like to eat idli dosa.u00a0

My dinner is
As early as 6.30-7 pm. I don't eat rice; I prefer light fare like dosa or poha. I feel hungry by 10 but I don't indulge. When I eat, I end up eating a lot. If I want to sate my hunger pangs, I egg whites scrambled.

My fitness regimen
Is something I want to begin in earnest. I would like to walk and do yoga.u00a0 Till now I have been relying only on my diet to stay fit.

My childhood memory of food
My mother would make a meal of potatoes for me. I needed aloo in everything. Then, I ate 20 dosas at a time.
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When I am dancing or choreographing
I can eat 20-25 bananas daily. I love bananas; I lived on bananas. Before the lunch break, I would have seven bananas. After a lunch of rice and sambar, I would eat seven bananas again on the set, they would announce, 'Prabhu has come, bring bananas'.u00a0u00a0

In my fridge
I don't know. I don't open my fridge at all.u00a0u00a0u00a0

My favourite cook
My mother, Mahadeva Amma. She makes excellent payasam, rawa ladoos, chaklis and idli dosas too.
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I can cook
Hot water. I boiled water once. I don't know to cook anything else.

My best dining friends
I don't go out much. Abroad I binge on chocolate muffins, milk shakes and ice-cream.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

My idea of a romantic meal
A not-so-crowded Chinese restaurant.

In foodstuff I can't resist buying
Watermelons and mangoes in season.u00a0u00a0
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I feel guilty about eating
Nothing.u00a0u00a0

On the sets of Wanted
My food came from Shiv Sagar, because I am a vegetarian. No matter where I would shoot, the food was from Shiv Sagar. I would share my food with Salman, When he got vegetarian food from home, he would ask me to join him.

Sunday lunch
Is not special. For me every day is Monday and every day is Sunday too.

When I am shooting
I carry nothing with me.

My favourite food
from my hometown Chennai is Idli and dosa. Actually my parents are from Karnataka so I am a Kannadiga. I like the way my mother makes bissi bela bhaat.

When I am in Mumbai
I relish roadside chaats. In Mumbai I love Natural's Ice Cream. I can finish a family pack by myself.

My favourite...

Cuisine: South Indian.u00a0
Cooking appliance: I don't go to the kitchen at all.u00a0
Beverage: Coconut water and watermelon juice.u00a0
Poison: I don't drink.
Fruits: Watermelon, papaya and mango.

Favourite Restaurant
PrabhuDeva says, "I am not a restaurant person." He, however, likes South Indian food.

Favourite Recipe: Bissi Bele rice
Ingredients
1 cup white rice
1 cup toor dal
1 cup grated coconut
1 tsp oil
1 onion medium sized
1 cup peas and carrots, chopped
1/2 cup beans, chopped
1 potato, medium sized
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 to 5 curry leaves
2 tsp cashew nut
2 tbsp ghee
A pinch hing
Salt as per taste
For the Masala
4 to 5 dry red chillies, low to medium spiced
3 tsp coriander seeds
4 to 5 cloves
4 to 5 inch cinnamon stick

Method
Peel and chop onions into strips. Wash, peel and cut potatoes into 1inch cubes. Add oil and haldi to the dal.
Pressure cook rice, dal and vegetables with lots of water (6 cups of water for every cup of rice and toor dal). Make sure that the dal and rice is well cooked.
Meanwhile, dry roast red chillies, cinnamon, coriander seeds and cloves until you smell the fresh aroma of masalas. Powder the masala in a blender without adding any water.
Add grated coconut and grind the masala to a smooth paste with some water.
Mix the masala with the cooked rice-dal-veggie mixture.
Heat the mixture on medium flame and bring to boil. Stir regularly. Add tamarind paste, jaggery and salt; Mix well and bring to boil again.
For the tadka, heat ghee; add mustard seeds, hing, cashews and curry leaves after the seeds splutter.
Mix well with the rice and serve hot with raita or potato chips.u00a0