Cooking Up A Storm With Suhasini Mulay: ‘I Could Eat Bengali Food Every Day — There’s So Much Variety!’

Five-time National Award winner, film and TV actor Suhasini Mulay smilingly says, “My lunch is predictable (I order a tiffin), but my dinner is unpredictable. I like to have different cuisines.” She has very strong tastes: over-spiced food is a no-no, while ice cream has to be from Natural.

When I wake up: I drink half a bottle of water. I make sure to take a one-litre bottle to bed, and if there’s anything left, I drink it in the morning. After that, I have some almonds soaked overnight, followed by my morning tea, which my husband makes for me. I like a pot of Orange Pekoe — it’s a very light tea — and I have it with two biscuits.

My breakfast: I have an incredibly healthy breakfast: a small bowl of fresh sprouted moong, followed by an apple or a seasonal fruit, and a small banana because it’s a good source of potassium. After that, I have cereal, a mix of muesli and cornflakes, with milk and more fruit. It’s a very fruity, healthy start to the day.

My lunch: It’s fairly predictable because we get a tiffin from Poonam Kapoor, who makes healthy food. The meal is essentially Punjabi: one dry sabzi, one sabzi in gravy, one dal, four rotis, salad, and rice. I eat some of the vegetables and dal, one phulka, and loads of salad.

My favourite desserts: Jalebi, gulab jamun, rasmalai, and sandesh. I don’t like my desserts to be overly sweet. When I travel abroad, I turn up my nose at Haagen-Dazs and all that fancy stuff, because I think Natural ice cream is the best. My favourite flavours are coconut, walnut, and coffee.

My favourite restaurants: In Mumbai, I really enjoy the food at Yauatcha and Kofuku — both serve Japanese-Chinese fusion cuisine. I recommend O Pedro in BKC; they offer a modern take on Goan food. And I can’t forget Ram & Shyam chaatwala!

In Pune, Le Petit Amour serves some of the world’s best bistro food. For a good old Maharashtrian fish thali, Fish O Fish is my go to place. In Delhi, my favourite chaat place is Nathus. The tikkis at a joint run by two brothers, Rajendra and Jeetendra, are to die for.

In Kolkata, I love the sweetmeats at Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick.

My favourite food: I could eat Bengali food every day — there’s so much variety! I also enjoy Assamese, South Indian, and UP cuisines. However, if I have to eat Indian food for five days straight, I get bored. So, I prefer mixing it up with Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese, or Japanese cuisine.

I cook: I think I’m a pretty good cook. However, I’m not great at making dosas or idlis, but I don’t mind since I can always eat them at a restaurant. I usually cook one meal a day.

An honest admission: I can’t make rotis.

My childhood food memories: My grandmother was a traditional Maharashtrian Brahmin. During Diwali, she would make anarsa, puran poli, ukadiche modak, gud poli, and spoil us. When she made anarsa, she would have us grind the soaked and dried rice on a hand chakki.

My favourite recipe: Tomato Cha Saar.

A Marathi spiced tomato soup that I learned to make during COVID, when fresh ingredients were hard to find. It can also be made with fresh tomatoes.

Tomato Cha Saar Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons clarified butter or oil (avoid olive oil)

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 whole hot chili (if available)

Some curry leaves (dry ones will work, optional)

A handful of coriander leaves (optional but preferred)

2 tablespoons yogurt

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon red chili powder

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Sufficient water

Method:

Blend the crushed tomatoes until smooth. Heat the clarified butter or oil until hot. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle, followed by the whole chili, turmeric, and red chili powder. Be careful not to burn the spices. Pour in the blended tomatoes and stir well. Add water to achieve a thin soup-like consistency. Bring the mixture to a boil and add curry leaves and chopped coriander. Season with salt and add 1/2 teaspoon sugar if the tomatoes are sour. Stir in the yogurt just before serving. Serve it hot with rice.