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Eat like a Delhiite
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Take a peek at Delhi's own, tele-actor Shakti Anand's culinary preferences
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PUCCA DILLIWALLAH! Shakti Anand enjoying his lunch at Ambassador hotel in New Delhi Photo: ANU PUSHKARNA
`When it comes to food, I am a pucca Dilliwallah,' tele-actor Shakti Anand announces at the start of the conversation. True to his word, you spot him picking chicken for his lunch from the buffet lay-out at the Ambassador hotel in New Delhi. One other thing which most Delhi households can't do without is paneer, and that too soon finds place on the Delhiite's plate.
"I like chicken in any form... roasted chicken, butter chicken, anything. I have to have a chicken dish either in lunch or dinner every day. That way I am a true blue Punjabi, you know the chikkan tikkan type," laughs Shakti.
Hailing from the city, Shakti, driven by the great Indian hope of shining in Tinsel Town, packed his bags some summers back for Mumbai and never returned. "Now that I am doing well on television, have got married to a Mumbaaiite (telly-actress Sai Deodhar), I can't think even in my dream to return. Though with Sai, I keep fighting why Delhi is better than Mumbai. She is all for Mumbai and calls me a typical Delhi type," relays Shakti.
Desi food
Classic desi food, he seriously thinks, is the best in Delhi. "But for seafood, Mumbai beats Delhi any day. You get all kinds of fish there and it is so fresh and cheap. Seafood in Delhi basically means highly-priced imported prawns," he says. The actor says he misses the tandoori food found in Delhi eateries so much that he has now got a small tandoor in his kitchen. "We try it out often when we invite friends home," he shares.
Having started his telly-innings in 1999 with Balaji Telefilms' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi as Hemant, Shakti got on to doing many well-appreciated roles over these years as in Saara Akaash (where he met Sai Deodhar), Nach Baliye, Crime Patrol etc. He is at present seen on Sony TV's Monday to Thursday daily, Ek Ladki Anjaani Si.
"I play Nikhil in the serial. It is all about delicate human relationships. Nikhil doesn't like kids but by a medical error he becomes a father and then he begins to mellow down, though there are a lot of twists and turns in the process," he says.
Though he began his career riding the saas-bahu wave on the box, Shakti today doesn't want to be seen doing one. "Honestly, I don't want to do those serials again. Ek Ladki... has a different side to the story and it is interesting," he comments.
After having his feel of butter chicken and saag-paneer with a little bit of jeera rice and tandoori roti, Shakti is ready to try out a bit of salad too. As he munches the salad with a bit of lemon squeezed on it, he talks about the Old Delhi food trips. "I love doing that. Unfortunately, there is no time when you come to Delhi these days," you almost catch his sense of longing for the fare.
In Delhi, he says, "I am game to eat at Nizam any day. Also, I like Nathu's chaat at Bengali Market." Reminiscing his early days in Delhi, he talks about "the Mandi House days" when after doing some play-acting he along with a friend used to walk down to Bengali Market for a chaat. "Those were poor days and we used to share a plate of chaat that cost Rs.12 those days," he adds.
Having done his Bachelor in Pharmacy and then his MBA, Shakti kicked a corporate career for television. "We grew up with a lot of good shows on television and so I had looked forward to acting in tele-serials but now increasingly, you see one following the other in a TRP war. The creative people no more experiment on television. It is time they wake up," he feels.
Meal over, he skips his dessert, and instead sips a salty lemonade. "So hot, you see," he reasons. You understand a Dilliwallah's obsession with lemonade so affectionately called limu paani (nimbu pani) by many.
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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