I am a north Indian, and I enjoy food from the northern parts of India — specially the raan and mutton dishes from Lucknow. I also enjoy Hyderabadi food since it tends to be spicy, and my mom cooked it rather well. I grew up eating Mughlai food.
What’s your favourite breakfast?
I usually skip breakfast. I wake up very late! But if I do have breakfast, it is usually egg whites, a glass of orange juice and a vitamin tablet.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
I am not fond of junk food or desserts. I sometimes eat an ice-cream, or a chocolate. Gauri (Khan, wife) makes a nice ice-cream with digestive biscuits. And, I don’t eat fruits.
Do you cook? Is there something you cook well?
Well, not too much. I have cooked Batman cookies with my son when he was a little boy. I can boil eggs, make tea. And I make very good phulkas — soft and round. I also cook pretty decent pasta.
What is your favourite spice/ingredient?
Red chillies, for sure, because I like spicy food.
What do you avoid or try to avoid so you can keep fit?
Nothing! But, if I have to get fit for a role, I give up white rice, white bread, sugar and alcohol. I go on a diet of lean meats, pulses, egg whites and grilled chicken. I also eat smaller portions.
Who are the foodies in your gang?
If my friends call me out for dinner, I eat at home and go out and have coffee with them. But all my friends are foodies – Karan (Johar), Farhan (Akhtar), Farha (Khan), or my childhood friends from Delhi.
What kind of food do you eat on the sets?
I generally avoid food cooked on the sets. I get lunch from home – tandoori chicken or fish, and sometimes, bean sprouts or a vegetable dish.
And what’s dinner usually like?
Generally, tandoori chicken and tandoori roti. But, once in a while, a mutton dish.