Sensual, sweet, tangy and desirable

That's how Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto describes strawberries the fruit she most resembles

Sensual, sweet, tangy and desirable

That's how Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto describes strawberries the fruit she most resembles

Freida's thought for food

Freida Pinto

I am: Non-vegetarian.

My favourite food: I love Italian cuisine. My palate is pleased by seafood risotto with porcini mushrooms. Besides that I love my Manglorean seafood dishes and the sukha chicken.

I begin my day with: A few glasses of water.

My breakfast is: A bowl of cheerios honey ut cereal, a glass of milk and fruits.

My lunch is: Light and simple. Sprouts, vegetables, chapattis with curd and dal sometimes.

My evening snack is: Oatmeal cookies or nachini chips. Health food items fascinate me.

My dinner is: Baked fish or roasted chicken and vegetables. I avoid rice and chapattis for dinner.

In sweets I like: Rasmalai... yummy! I also love dark chocolate.

My favourite restaurants abroad: In Singapore, I dined at Song of India. It serves Indian food with wine. The recipes are tweaked a little to incorporate a slightly western touch yet it retains the Indian flavour. The presentation is top class. There is nothing like our desi food with an international twist. I also loved the food I ate in these little restaurants by the sea in Phuket! They served the best seafood salad I've ever tasted!

I visited Afghanistan a few years back and had: An iftar feast! It's rich food but it's delectable to the core and a meat lover's paradise.

I am very much from Mumbai and I love: Mahesh Lunch Home, Apoorva, Basilico, White, Mezzo Mezzo and almost every restaurant at the Sheraton.

I can cook: Really good spaghetti Arrabiata, though I am not much of a cook.

My favourite cooks in my family: My mother and my grandmom. I love my naani's fish curry and mom is an expert at roast chicken and fish preparations.

My best dining friends are: My sister and my boyfriend. They both love experimenting with food. My sister tries dishes that may sound repulsive. Fortunately, she has a knack to pick out the best.

My idea of a romantic meal: By the sea or on a hill or mountain with Jack Johnson playing in the background! Wow!

My Sunday lunch is: Either some yummy sea food or a chicken dish. I have my roots in South India so instead of the regular rice and rotis, my mother makes rice pancakes and other rice preparations.

My fitness regime: I don't like to gym. I find it boring. So I eat the right food, do yoga and a bit of pilates.

One thing I can't resist buying in foodstuff is: Health food items. I don't know if I enjoy eating it but I am plain fascinated with the concept!

I feel guilty after eating: Foodstuff with MSG and hydrogenated fats. Bakery products give me the strongest guilt pang.

My childhood memory of food is: Eating a special Manglorean jackfruit vegetable with rice in my dad's quaint little house in Mangalore. My dad's mum and sister-in-law would prepare the best traditional vegetable dishes Also, I remember gorging on my aunt's onion and aloo parathas in her Noida home.

I think I resemble: Strawberries! They are sensual, sweet, tangy and desirable!

My fridge always has: Sprouts and milk. But because my sister is a cheese lover we also stock cheese for her.
I always carry with me: Fruits, oatmeal cookies and granola bars.

My comfort food: Seafood. Give me dal, rice and stuffed mackerel and I will forget all my woes!

I am averse to: Custard apples.

My favourite spice: Bay leaf, black pepper corns and cardamom.

My favourite beverage: Fresh fruit juices.

My favourite kitchen appliance: None! They scare me.

My favourite foods are: Butter garlic calamari, shrimps, baked salmon, stuffed pomfrets, mackerels, mussels and shellfish. Apart from sea food, one dish I absolutely love is the nawabi galouti kebabs.

My director Danny Boyle's favourite food: Strange I never asked him that. But I can tell you my co-star Dev Patel's favourite food is the crabs at Mahesh Lunch Home! He misses it big time in London.

On the sets of Slumdog Millionaire: Tian were the official caterers. We had a wide variety of Italian, Chinese, Thai and Indian cuisine. Sometimes I opted for simple dal rice and sabzis.

Anil Kapoor ate: I have no idea. I ate with my co-star and make up artists from Fat Mu! They were a lot of fun.

Freida's favourite recipe: Roast chicken and red chilly

Ingredients

1/2 kg broiler chicken (cut into medium sized pieces)
1 tbsp oil
3 to 4 Kashmiri chillies
Few peppercorns
1 small piece cinnamon
Few strands of saffron
1/2 tsp cumin seed powder
2 to 3 tomatoes (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

Method

Clean and wash the chicken pieces.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the chilies, peppercorns and cinnamon.
When the spices become hot, add the chicken pieces along with saffron andu00a0 cumin seed powder. Add salt and mix well. Add tomatoes and mix well. Cook on a low flame till it becomes tender and dry. Serve hot.