Dilip Joshi is true to his Gujarati roots. He's also has been carrying homemade food to sets for the past 15 years. Now known for his toothbrush moustache on the show Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma, the actor can't resist adding the show's popular phrase 'Hey Ma! Mataji' during this conversation
Dilip Joshi is true to his Gujarati roots. He's also has been carrying homemade food to sets for the past 15 years. Now known for his toothbrush moustache on the show Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma, the actor can't resist adding the show's popular phrase 'Hey Ma! Mataji' during this conversation 
Dilip's thought for food
I am a vegetarian: I have never tasted non-vegetarian food.
I am an: early riser. I begin my day with nimbu pani, followed by black tea and, later, normal tea.
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For breakfast I have: cereals with milk and apple. I have this almost everyday otherwise as a delicacy I love to have brun maska or jalebi ganthia. I stay in Parle East so all this is easily available.
My lunch consists of: I carry all my food from home. My dabba contains two rotis, dal and sabzi. My favourite sabzis are cauliflower, methi bhaji, palak and tendali ni bhaji. I also like yellow dal. I don't eat rice. Dahi and salad are a must. I like everything in my salad including tulsi patta and pudina. I am not very fond of pickle.
I have never had unit food: for the last 15 years. I am used to eating homemade food.
With my tea:u00a0 I like to have digestive biscuits.
In the evening: I like to have khakra or sukha bhel. I carry all this from home. I am an absolute tea drinker. My favourite brand is Hasmukh chai.
Normally I avoid: outside food but I love pani puri. I relish the pani puri at Inorbit Mall or at Elco. Earlier, I ate pani puri at Babulnath temple. I have a sweet tooth but I am not a fried food person.
In sweets I love: churma laadu and Bengali sweets like rasgulla, cham cham and mishti doi. Even the talk about Moong dal sheera makes my mouth water. The sheera made for Satyanarayan puja is the ultimate, Hey Ma Mataji! Bhakri roti is another delicacy I enjoy. Normally after lunch I have some sweet may be a small piece of chocolate.
Dinner is usually: snacks. When I am done shooting by 7:30 or 8, I eat idli or something light. I avoid dinner.
The last thing I have before going to bed: is probably fruit.
My fitness regime: I don't have a fixed routine. But when I have the time I go for morning walks and do yoga. For a short while, I went to the gym.
My childhood memory: my mom would add ghee and sugar on hot rotis and roll them up. We would eat it before leaving for school at 12:00. In those days I stayed at Bhuleshwar.u00a0
In the evening I like to binge: idli or dhokla. My wife wakes up in the morning and makes them for me.
In my fridge you will always find: fruits.
In fruits, I avoid: banana and chikoo and sitafal, though I love sitafal.
My Sunday lunch: Bhakri and asala wali yellow dal with Mooli ni sabzi.
My favourite cook in the family: is my mom. She makes awesome tur dal. By now my wife has also learned everything from her and become an ace cook.
I am an expert at making: tea. I can make only one cup.
My best dining friends: are my kids, Ritwik and Neeyati. We are foodies, we buy the Times Food Guide and try out everything in Bombay.
My comfort food: moong ka pani.
My favourite holiday dining experience: when we had gone to London there was a restaurant called Rasoi, it was awesome. It's somewhere in central London. Recently, we had gone for a vacation to UK to my brother's house. My brother is a very good cook, we had gone to a lakeside area and we had a barbeque and it was amazing. That was the ultimate holiday experience.
At a supermarket I can't resist buying: fruits, especially mango. I cannot just pass by a mango bazaar and not buy them.
I feel guilty about eating: chocolates.
My hometown is: Saurashtra, Gujarat. My favourite dishes are Rotlo, Basi rotla with vagar in chaas.
My idea of a romantic meal: My wife and I on a river cruise, maybe on the river Thames. And yes I would like to eat Italian or Lebanese food.
My favourite restaurants: Thakkars for Gujarati Thali, nobody can beat them. For Punjabi food it's Urban Tadka and Khyber. I love Mainland China for Chinese food, Woodlands for South Indian food. Naturals in Town for sandwiches and milkshakes. Vinay Health home at Girgaun for missal and ussal, its mind blowing.u00a0 Souk, for Lebanese food. Trattoria for Italian food.
My favourite cuisines are: Chinese, Italian and Indian.
My favourite spice is: Jeera, I like it in chaas and rice.
My favourite kitchen appliance: chai ki pateli.
My favourite beverage: chaas.
My favourite poison: I don't drink.
I am a diehard dessert person: I like chocolates with almond.
I think I resemble: cucumber. I am as cool as a cucumber, I rarely get angry.
On the sets of Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma: the majority of the cast is Gujju so we veer towards Gujju food. My director, Dharmesh Vyas and the cast members share meals. The unit food is vegetarian.
Dilip's favourite recipe: moong dal dhola
Ingredients
1 cup green moong dal (with chilka, soak for 2 hours)
2 tbsp curd
1 tsp idli rawa
1 tsp besan ka atta
1 teaspoon Eno salt
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons ginger-green chilli (chopped finely)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 small piece of dudhi (grated)
1 small piece of carrot (diced)
3-4 French beans (chopped finely)
Method
Soak the moong dal for 2 hours. Add curd, idli rawa and besan. Grind this to a smooth paste. Add salt, ginger-chilly, garlic and all the vegetables. Mix well. Add Eno and stir vigorously.
Pour this mixture in a greased thali and steam for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely. Make diamond shape pieces.
To garnish and temper: Take 1 tsp olive oil, add mustard seed, oregano, juliennes of ginger, slit green chilies and temper the dhoklas. Top it with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with red lasun chutney and mint chutney
(By Dilip's wife, Jaymala)
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