THOUGH born and brought up in a middle-class family in Mumbai, Abhishek Shankar found his true vocation in Chennai under the archlights and through the camera lens. No one in his house had any connection to creative arts or films and thus it was a struggle to convince his family and well-wishers that this is what he wanted to do. Abhishek made his debut as a lead actor in the critically acclaimed film Mogamul (1995) and later, he switched over to television after Ekta Kapoor offered him a role in her new serial, Kudumbam. Currently, he is playing a chef’s role in a TV serial.

Abhishek reminisces his school days in Mumbai — he had six friends and all their names started with the letter S. He was called Shankar which was his surname. He rarely carried a lunch box to school and always shared food with his friends. He got to taste different dishes like sabudhana vada, aloo parathas, etc. It is easy to get great street food in Mumbai. “A shop at the corner of Chembur Railway Station used to sell the most incredible chaat, especially, pav bhaji. One can smell the masala from far away and many people thronged the place,” says Abhishek. The actor remembers how the shop owner used to make pav bhaji. “Firstly, the pav will be grilled on the tava with butter (he used only Amul butter) and then the bhaji will be mixed with vegetables. Masalas will be tossed around on the gas with lots of butter. The dish was served on a plate with cut onions and a piece of lime,” he adds. Pav bhaji not only satisfied his hunger but the taste has lingered in his memory and heart. Even now, when Abhishek visits Mumbai for work, the first thing he eats is pav bhaji. The actor met his wife Padma, an internationally renowned Carnatic musician, at the same chaat shop.

After settling in Chennai, Abhishek started loving the vegetarian fare offered in most places; his favourites dishes are sambar sadam with potato fry, stuffed kathirikai rasavangi, vada and kara kozhambu. While shooting, he sits with the crew and never ate in his vanity van. The simple way vegetables were prepared with just a little coconut is what he loves the most. He also loves to indulge in creamy kulfi or badam halwa and his mother’s Mysore Pak.

Pav in all its forms was first introduced by the Portuguese in Goa and then it travelled to Mumbai and became a staple food there. The white bread was the legacy of the British and more an upmarket commodity. Some street food shops used to serve pav with various options like omelette or spicy kheema. Mumbai folks adapted to pav like rice or rotis; it became a great alternative. It is claimed that pav bhaji was the food of the Indian mill workers in 1850. The first pav bhaji stall was set up opposite the cotton exchange to provide a quick get-away meal for the workers. Today, Abhishek shares the recipe of pav bhaji.