 
| Good living and good food go hand in hand. The eating habits of Bollywood stars are as eclectic as their personalities.
If Preity Zinta is a cheese person, Urmila Matondkar is a true blue Maharashtrian mulgi and salivates over kanda poha.
Stars discuss their eating habits with Deepali Nandwani.
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Urmila Matondkar
I am a Maharashtrian mulgi. I love kanda poha, batata bhaji, dals and chicken. I have been brought up on my mom's food, and I love her cooking. Besides that, I like Shepherd's Pie. I am not too much of a dessert person.
I thrive on cheese and champagne. I like seafood like prawns and fish -- I can live on prawns! I am not fond of red meat.
I don't like cooking and don't cook until I am forced to. Then I expect everyone around to appreciate what I dish out.
Favourite Restaurants: I like eating Konkani food so Konkan Café [at Hotel President in Mumbai] happens to be one of my favourite. I also like Thai Pavilion [also at the President] since I am bit of a Thai freak. Especially their yummy vegetables!
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Saif Ali Khan
I come from a family of Nawabs so meals are very important and grand. Meal times at our palace in Bhopal meant a variety of meat and vegetables every day for lunch and dinner. That spoilt me rotten, and I had some problems when I went abroad to study.
Dinners would be very Bhopal Muslim, with dishes like kababs and mutton biryani. But the best meal I ate was at a farmer's house in Madhya Pradesh -- bhindi, aam ka achaar and hot parathas. My mouth still waters at the memory. After that I hated eating lavish meals.
My favourite dish, if you haven't yet realised, is fried bhindi. I am not a sweet person, but I like Balai. It is malai [cream] treated with dahi [yogurt], and had with rotis and shakker [sugar].
My mother [actress Sharmila Tagore] is a very good cook. I love the Mughlai, Bengali and Continental cuisine she makes. I also like steaks and burgers, food that I lived on as a student at boarding school in England.
I am not a fruit person, but if I do have to eat it would be green apples, berries and jamuns. I am not a great cook, but I can make rotis, burgers and bhindi. I start my day with fruits. Lunch is dal chawal and a sabzi. Dinner is generally Continental, a baked vegetable or maybe some chicken.
Favourite restaurants: I love eating out at the Zodiac Grill [at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai]. They have the best Continental food this side of the Suez Canal! [Wife] Amrita [Singh] and I generally eat out at the Zodiac Grill.
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Rekha
I like food that cools the system, like fresh fruits or green, leafy vegetables. I do eat non-vegetarian, but have few favourites.
I start my day with lime juice, some almonds and raisins. I eat all kinds of cereal or fruits like papaya or strawberry. In between meals, I have coconut water and, in season, some lichees.
Lunch is appams, vegetable korma and maybe yogurt, paneer and cheese. Dinner is generally vegetable soup, baby corn with diced vegetables and salad. Or any good sabzi in season.
I like the Chocolate Mousse and Viennese Coffee you get at Taj Shamiana [the coffee shop at the Taj in Mumbai].
Favourite Restaurants: China Garden, Shamiana at the Taj, the Zodiac Grill, Thai Pavilion and Konkan Café. It really depends on what mood I am in --- Thai, Mexican, Chinese or Indian.
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Preity Zinta
I am from Shimla, so I am very fond of Himachali food like the khatti Himachal dal or even kadi chawal.
I am a seafood person -- I can eat any amount of Manglorean fish curry with rice or prawns. Italian food is another favourite, especially pizza and pasta. But I have had to cut down on them, because with pasta I put on weight.
I start my day with a good breakfast --- either a paratha or fruits like orange or apple or a bowl of sprouts. Lunch is dal and chawal or aloo ki sabzi, sometimes maybe peas with rotis.
Dinner is either Indian like rotis, maybe chicken or vegetables, or Continental. I avoid rice at night. I love cheese and can eat any amount, especially goat cheese fermented in wine.
Favourite Restaurants: Konkan Café, for their to-die-for-fish and prawn curry. Indigo [in Mumbai], because their ambience is so good. The food is really nice and they change the menu quite often.
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Bipasha Basu
I used to eat a lot of fried food; I thrived on them. Since I grew up in Kolkata, Bengali cuisine is my hot favourite. I enjoy fish, especially the fresh river variety. I enjoy it in any form -- fried, curried, grilled. My mother makes great prawns, Machi Malai Curry and Hyderabadi biryani. My favourite food is biryani.
I had to cut down on fried food, so now throughout the day, I eat a lot of fresh fruits and salads. I am a seafood person so any coastal cuisine -- Mangalore, Goa, Kerala, Andhra -- is my favourite.
Favourite Restaurants: Any coastal food restaurant. I like my food coming from smaller joints like Trishna [in Mumbai]. Also [Mumbai's] Thai Me Up used to be great for their soups and chicken.
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Kareena Kapoor
Seafood! Give me seafood every single day and I will be your slave. I have grown up on Punjabi food actually -- parathas and tandoori chicken and I enjoy it even today.
Over the last few years, I developed a liking for seafood. Anyone who has lived in Mumbai all her life cannot say no to seafood. I especially love fish curry and prawns.
[Sister] Karisma always tells me to cut down on my eating, especially fried food and chocolates. But what to do? I am a foodie!
I can eat anything -- dal chawal, chicken, pani puri you get outside Elco market [in Bandra, northwest Mumbai], Thai, Mexican, parathas!
I eat a lot of chocolates, especially Swiss chocolates and ice creams. Now, because Karisma has been coaxing me to lose weight, I have cut down on them.
Favourite Restaurants: [Mumbai's] Yoko for their yummy sizzlers. I like home-cooked food, and sometimes eat at Olive once in a while.
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India News Feature Service
Design: Uday Kuckian
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