Fluffy white delicious appam and spicy rich beef ularthiyathu (Kerala style beef stir fry), cooked by his mother, were the driving forces for Aju Varghese to hit back home during his college breaks. From the hot and humid Chennai, home was a relief. So was the familiar kitchen and Amma's cooking. “But I've never really so much as stepped into the kitchen,” joked the actor, who has time and again got his audience to crack up. Confirming that he was a foodie, he ventured to define the term—“I don't eat anything and everything; I've a set of dishes that I prefer to eat, and those I can keep on eating!” On those lines, how many appams and beef ularthiyathu does he usually gorge on, after being away from home cooked meals for long? “I haven't really counted, but quite a large number I must say!” **Do you diet** “I'm definitely interested in the concept, but it just doesn't pan out”, he said on a lighter note. “Unless a character in a movie demands it, I really don't cut down on food. For _Malarvadi Arts Club_ and _Thattathin Marayathu_, I had to look a certain way. So, I had tried and shed some pounds”. Aju hails from Thiruvalla, and studied in Cusat, Kochi, before moving to Hindustan Engineering College in Chennai. Amid all the running around though, his heart still goes out to home cooked meals. Although not averse to sweets, his palate craves the native spices. One another favourite dish that he names is fish curry made in earthen pot. **For Mother's Day, what does he want to share with the readers? “Respect them—your mother, wife, sisters—and care for them” A simple message, put across genuinely.**

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