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Gracy Singh lives by herself. Wistfully she says, "I used to live in Delhi with my

Also read: + Gracy's favourite travel spot: Bidar Click Here + Gracy the Dancing Queen Click Here + Gracy on her Lagaan Adventure Click Here + Gracy plays Radha Click Here + Gracy on Money Click Here

parents, my brother and sister before I came to Mumbai. Living with them was a luxury; I didn't have to pick up even a glass of water. In fact, my mother used to tell me 'what will you do after you get married?' She used to keep telling me that I must learn to cook." Eventually, Gracy did learn to cook because she had no options.

She says, "During the course of modelling I met the veteran make-up man Pandari Dada, who asked me to meet director Sanjeev Bhattacharya. He selected me for a role in his TV serial Amaanat and I shifted to Mumbai. Once here, since I was living by myself I had to learn cooking. Now I am quite adept at making myself a quick meal."

Gracy shares her cooking expertise with us for Lifafa Parathas- Crispy and delicious stuffed parathas.

For the parathas: 2 teacups plain flour, 1 teacup milk, 1 tablespoon melted ghee, 1 teaspoon salt.

For the stuffing: 500 grams grated cauliflower, 100 grams grated paneer, 3 chopped green chillies, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander, 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger, salt to taste, butter or ghee.

Method

For the parathas: Mix all the ingredients and make dough. Roll out small thin oblong parathas and bake them on a tawa very lightly.

For the stuffing: Mix all the ingredients together.

How to proceed: Put a little stuffing in the centre of each paratha and close like an envelope. Cook on a tawa on both sides with butter until pink spots come on top. Repeat for the remaining parathas.

Handy Tips: Variation : Mint Parathas : Instead of milk, you can prepare the dough using mint leaves water. Mint leaves water can be made by blending mint leaves, water and a little lemon juice in a mixer.

I am… Basically a vegetarian

For breakfast I have... Corn flakes and milk, and sometimes cheese sandwiches. My favourite is Amul cheese. Le Bon is also very good. I love Mozzarella cheese on my pizzas. During my long outdoor schedule in Bhuj for Lagaan we were supposed to have breakfast at six in the morning even if we were not hungry because after that we had a long day at work. When I am not shooting I have my breakfast only at twelve in the morning.

For lunch... I like to have rice with dal or vegetables and salads. Palak is my all time favourite, especially palak paneer. I also love bhindi and tinda.

In the evening I snack on... Baby foods like Farex and Cerelac. Around five or six in the evenings I feel very hungry. I have my Farex or Cerelac with milk or hot water. Farex is really very yum, I just can't do without it.

For dinner... I must have a proper meal. In fact if I feel hungry in the middle of the night I get up and eat. I cook my own dinner. I cook parathas, fried rice, vegetable pulao. Rajma chawal is my all time favourite and chhole comes a close second. Since I am away from home I really miss my typical Punjabi food, especially the Punjabi kadi cooked by my mother and grand-mom.

After dinner... I prefer to have a dessert. I always stock ice cream in my fridge. Fruits too.

My favourite recipe... A pizza. For me its health food because I feel its ingredients - flour, vegetables, cheese, tomato sauce and mushrooms have got all the necessary vitamins.

On the Lagaan shoot... Lunch was served at 12 in the afternoon. There was a rich repast of vegetables, non-vegetarian food and pastas. On weekends we had traditional food, Kutchi, Punjabi, South Indian. Every weekend they would select a region. From Monday to Friday we had regular fare. Yellow dal and Continental food was a regular feature. The food on the sets was very good. Once in a while I ordered cheese with a toast for myself.

My favourite restaurants in Mumbai are... McDonald's, Pizzeria, Dominos and Hotel Regent. I think I have had the best food in Bombay at the Regent.

In Delhi my favourite restaurants are... Taj and Maurya Sheraton, especially the Indian restaurant at the latter. But in Delhi home food was the best.

My favourite cuisines... Indian, especially Punjabi and South Indian food. In Italian food I like pastas and pizzas.

My favourite desserts are... Gulab jamun and kulfi with falooda. I am very fond of apple pies and cheese cake. My favourites are chocolates like Almond Bell, Rham Mandell and Ferrero Rocher.

My fridge is incomplete without... Chocolates and cheese.

My favourites fruits... Mangoes, lychees and chikoos.

My favourite mocktail... Orange juice and water-melon juice.

My favourite drink... I like to have Port wine occasionally, especially on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

During hot summer months... I relish fresh lime. Watermelon juice is my top favourite in summer.

During winter... When shooting for Lagaan in Bhuj it used to be really cold in winter so I would keep myself warm with steaming hot cups of coffee. I used to have bajri ki roti with lasun ki chatni and khichdi with makhan. When I am in Delhi I have makai ki roti with sarsoon ka saag.

When I am outdoors... Fresh fruit juices keep me cool.

This story has been taken from Sify Enternatinment as it appeared on 20 January 2002