The greens signal

Actress and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa judge Bhagyashree gravitates towards healthy green vegetables

Actress and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa judge Bhagyashree gravitates towards healthy green vegetables

Bhagyashree's thought for food

I am: an eggetarian. I love all kinds of cuisines and am a complete foodie.

I enjoy eating: green vegetables. I love lasooni palak and sarson ka saag these are my favourites.

I begin my day with: two glasses of water. Later, I need my coffee to wake me up, after which I have my badams. I munch on a banana, as it energises me in the morning and later we all have breakfast together.

My breakfast: can vary from idlis to dosas to upma to poha to parathas, theplas any one item. We also have a bowl of sprouts, which is a must that's our protein intake. Another must is fresh fruit juice or fruits. I have inculcated this habit in my kids too.

My lunch when I am at home: two rotis, a bowl of dal, two vegetables, and a bowl of curds. I do not have wheat rotis; my rotis are made of nachni and jowar. When I am working, I prefer to carry my lunch from home or I call for a Subway sandwich, which is all greens.

In the evening I munch home: biscuits or a toast or some pita bread with hummus or a bhel. This is at around four o'clock along with my cup of coffee. But I keep munching throughout the day. I keep having dudhi ka juice or cucumber juice, which tastes really nice. I carry with me lots of fruits and have them throughout the day as we need the energy. I also carry nuts and dates, as bananas and dates are an instant source of energy.

My dinner is: By eight o'clock latest. All of us in the family have made this a habit and because we all have dinner together, this way I get time with my children. If we are going out, then we just munch a little bit outside. Dinner normally comprises roti, sabzi, dal and chawal or a pasta if the kids want to have that. Basically it's a variety of cuisines, I would say.

I enjoy having sweets: I love brownies and chocolate fondant (which is a hard covering of chocolate icing with melted chocolate inside).

My favourite cuisine: I would enjoy eating Indian one day, and pasta the second day. But if I am at home, nachni rotis with veggies is my favourite food.

My fitness regime: Besides doing your workouts and eating the right kind of food, I think it's very important to be positive from within to see a glow on your face. I work out for an hour every day and while doing Jhalak it became even more. In the gym, I do light weights for my upper body workout and I do floor exercises and stretching.

My family's food favourites: My 18 year-old son's favourite food is mushroom risotto and Alio Olio pasta. My daughter is 13 and she has to have bhel every single day; she cannot survive without it. She also enjoys pizzas, chips etc like all other teenagers do. My husband enjoys eating what his mom cooks. He enjoys very spicy, typical Marwari food; but fortunately he too is very health conscious. He also enjoys lasooni palak as I do.

I don't hate anything in food: But I do not like fried stuff, especially the oily aftertaste in my mouth.

One dish that reminds me of childhood: Varan bhath mixed with lots of ghee and nimbu. My dad used to mix it for me really well. When I was pregnant, I made my dad make this for me and feed me with his hand every single day.

In Maharashtrian cuisine I like: Hot puran poli with lots of ghee and poha.

I am an expert at cooking: Sarson ka saag and pastas. I make good pizzas too. My children keep getting their work done by their friends and in return they bribe them by saying they will treat them to pizzas.

My favourite cook in the family: My mom-in-law makes the most amazing Marwari dish called the Kabuli, which is like a biryani. That's one time when I go overboard with rice because I really enjoy it.

My favourite restaurants:u00a0 I love trying out new restaurants. I have many favourites. I like Wasabi at the Taj, Olive, Penne, Urban Tadka for Indian food. I also love eating at On Toes as they serve piping hot food. Abroad we enjoy eating at Da Gamas, Nobu, Hakkasan, which serves Pan Asian food, is our favourite restaurant in London.

My best dining friend: Jayesh Shah. Both of us really enjoy having the cheese soufflu00c3u00a9 at the Taj.

My idea of a romantic meal: The Taj has always been my husband and my favourite place whenever we are just the two of us. We also like going after dinner to the coffee shop at Taj Land's End, because it serves the most amazing coffee. The first meal I had with my husband was after we got married. I was not allowed to meet him so our dating was limited to meeting in the college canteen over dosas and coffee.

When I was shooting for Maine Pyaar Kiya: The food always came from the Barjatyas' home. Vanita bhabhi would come with the food, and we would all sit together and eat. The food would be non-spicy, and without onions and garlic. I remember the first time I had tea (I had never tasted it before) when we were shooting in Ooty as it was really cold. It was so cold, I had to hold a hot glass of tea in my hands to survive.

Food on the sets of Jhalak was: Two vegetables, dal, rotis, something in chickenu00a0... fortunately it wasn't too oily.

I can't resist buying: Fruits.

My fridge always has: sprouts, hummus (I make it at home) and brownies.

My favourite spice: Green chillies.

My favourite beverage: Watermelon juice.

My favourite poison:u00a0 Red wine, once in a while.

Bhagyashree's favourite recipe: Sarson Ka saag

Ingredients
3 bunches sarson
1 bunch bathuva
2 bunches palak
1 onion (finely chopped)
2 green chillies (finely chopped)
10-15 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 Kashmiri red chillies
2 tsp red chillie powder
salt as per taste
5 tbsp ghee

Method
Wash the palak, sarson and bathuva thoroughly and chop them. Blanch the palak, sarson and bathuva separately. Drain the water completely.u00a0 Lightly heat 1 tbsp ghee in a non-stick kadhai. Mildly saute the onions, green chillies and half of the garlic cloves. Add the sarson, bathuva and half of the palak. After this has mixed well, put it through a mixer. Lightly heat 3 tbsp ghee in a kadai. Add the Kashmiri chillies, one tsp red chillie powder and the remaining palak. Allow to stand for a minute. Add the blended puree of sarsoon, bathuva and palak. Mix well and simmer for at least 15 mintues. Add salt. Mix well. Remove in a serving bowl. Just before serving, heat a tablespoon of ghee, and add the remaining garlic cloves and one tsp red chillie powder. Evenly pour this tempering over the saag. Serve hot with makkai ki roti.