Famous celebrities and well-known personalities are often viewed as people who only derive happiness out of grand gestures and lavish feasts. Seems like that’s not true at all. From Shilpa Shetty to Siddhant Chaturvedi, several actors have shown us how linked are they to their roots. Homemade dabbas and special festive food continues to flatter and rejoice these big names. Do you remember the show Shark Tank India that was aired recently? The stalwarts of large-scale businesses sat there to fund the new and upcoming startups. Among the panel was one such lady, Namita Thapar.
A mom of two and the CEO of Emcure Pharamceuticals, Namita Thapar made her mark on the show with her immense knowledge as well as her dialogue, Yeh mera expertise nahi hai (This is not my expertise). Taking hints from that, she recently took to her Instagram handle to share a picture of her Gujarati lunch spread along with the caption, “Ismein mera expertise hai”. She was often seen connecting well with fellow Gujaratis on the show and her lunch thali is a clear proof of her love for her native cuisine. Here take a look.
Source: Namita Thapar/Instagram
Placed on a huge leaf (banana leaf we are assuming), she poses with the small donnas (cups) of food laid out in front of her. We can spot some steamed rice in one of the donnas, there seems to be Gujarati kadhi in another one, some undhiyu in the next one and a host of other gravy and dry vegetable dishes. While the spread looks lip-smacking, it is undhiyu which is the star of her meal. She mentions in the caption that it is “the last undhiyu of the season”.
Undhiyu, for those untouched by the phenomenon, is a one-pot vegetable mixture that is cooked in a very interesting way. The dish is part of the Gujarati winter fare and also features on festivals like Makar Sankranti. The name of the dish explains its cooking technique where undhiyu is derived from undhu, meaning upside down. The pot is fired from above and the dish is cooked underground. Here is a recipe of undhiyu that you may want to try.
She also mentions in the caption about how her friend have nicknamed her as “thepla ninja”. Thepla is another classic Gujarati dish which is made of a variety of flour and lentils. It is a Gujarati flatbread that can be flavoured with fenugreek leaves, besan and more. We have fetched a thepla recipe for you too.