Belgian waffles may be about to become more environmentally friendly.

Bittu Sahgal and Dia Mirza enjoy a meal at Kitchen Garden by Suzette in Bandra. Pics/Shadab Khan

There is a peacock whose cacophony Bittu Sahgal wakes up to at his Napean Sea Road residence every morning , before he starts hammering away at articles for Sanctuary Asia, a magazine he launched and has been editing since 1981. And as Dia Mirza tells us how she came to be associated with Sahgal's various projects, a butterfly fluttering in the al fresco section of Kitchen Garden by Suzette lights up her eyes. The actor, who has been deeply involved with the cause of the environment, attended The International Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Forum in Kyrgyzstan last month, and was appointed the ambassador of the Wildlife Trust of India earlier this year. As the mentor and the mentee meet over lunch, words flow as odes to nature, unravelling the green legacy of India and the ecological miracle called Mumbai.

Hasan: How did your association come about?
Sahgal: She walked into our lives like a breath of fresh air.
Mirza: There had been always a sense of awe for the man he is and his work, but I hadn't had facetime with him. So, when I met him socially at a dinner, I chased him. I told him, 'The problem with people like you is that you don't communicate with people like me. If I had more access to your mind, I would take your ideas to more people.' Bittu is someone I look up to as my guardian, my guru. He really changed my life.
Sahgal: It takes a lot out of somebody to keep fighting for 40 years. Then I look at you and I say to myself, 'We won!' Life is a marathon and the baton has been passed on.
Mirza: The world is constantly drawing you away from your purpose. Bittu came into my life as a reminder of all the things I was nurtured with when I was being brought up. I went to a J Krishnamurti school, where we did classes under trees, we grew vegetables and discussed materialism. My work in films had taken me far away from all this but he reminded me that the two can co-exist. And I made a choice.

Avocado Toast and The Greek salad arrive.
Hasan: Speaking of choices, are both of you vegetarian?
Sahgal: I don't perceive meat as food. I was born in a non-veg loving Punjabi family, but I stopped eating meat when I was old enough to say no to my mother.
Mirza: I am not a vegetarian, but I have become more conscientious about my consumption. There are certain meats I don't eat, like wild animals.

Hasan: Where does Mumbai stand in the fight to ensure urban centres retain their green cover?
Mirza: As citizens of Mumbai, we need to remember that we are the only city in the world with a large forest cover in the heart of the city.
Sahgal: We have a garland of mangroves protecting us. Sanjay Gandhi National Park has more butterflies than the entire UK. We are like spoilt rich brats who don't understand the value of our wealth. Like the biodiversity of forests, we need biodiversity of attitudes and strategies.

Mirza: And laws. Isn't it appalling that we are waking up to waste management systems only now?
Sahgal: We have planners planning infrastructure at sea level, when the rest of the world is planning for six metres above sea level. It defies logic that my generation is straddling your generation with white elephant investments that can never work. Nature doesn't give you judgement, it gives you consequences. Mithi river was a consequence, as is Florida.

Mirza: As Bittu always quotes Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum: In the end we will conserve only what we love and love only what we learn about.

Mom's Butter Chicken Tikka Masala. Pics/Atul Kamble

When Cafe Delhi Heights sold its 2,00,000th Jucy Lucy Burger (Rs 445), the chain organised a competition at its outlets in Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida. Ashish Singh, the corporate chef of 13 of the outlets — with another one coming up on Janpath and Mumbai's first branch launching at Kamala Mills today — tells us that the winner ate two-and-a-half of the burgers, while the runners-up gave up at two and at 1.75. Consisting of a 250gm mutton patty, 70gm cheddar cheese topping and 15 to 20gm of jalapenos, respectively, all stuffed in a six-inch bun, this burger is definitely not for the weak-hearted. But if you love gastronomic challenges, it's a must-try. We make a mess when we try one, but relish the paprika-herbed patty with crunchy veggies and a cheesy aftertaste.

Panzanella Salad

A board displays 2,08,133 when we walk in, the number increasing with each Jucy Lucy sold. A look around the vibrant 80-seater space, opposite Farzi Cafe and cushioned between The Beer Cafe and Love and Cheesecake, reveals it to be family-friendly. The booths come with LCDs; there is a low-seating area for noisy groups and a bar section to slip into nightclub mode.

Owners Sharad and Vikrant Batra have also got Michael Swamy — who opened Nueva, a South American fine-dine, with the duo in Delhi — to create a recipe book based on the 80 dishes from the menu, which will be launched in Mumbai next month.

Anti-oxidant Smoothie

We start with ISBT Makhani Maggi (Rs 285), loaded with chunks of butter that melt into the creamy gravy. Our cholesterol level shoots up even before we take the first bite of the spicy, Indianised recipe that may receive scorn from Maggi purists. But we are surprised at ourselves for actually polishing off this bowl.

The Sushi Chirasa (Rs 825) — traditionally served as a bowl of sticky rice, with crabsticks, avocado, tuna, salmon and peppers tossed in — is completely avoidable as the sticky morsels fail to impress us.

ISBT Makhani Maggi

We cleanse our palate with a Nimboo Anardana Shikanji (Rs 205), which is garnished with coriander and embodies the best of a chatpata flavour.

By the time we reach the Eggs Benedict (Rs 375), we are wishing that the dishes went easy on the butter, since they are comfortingly palatable without it. The Benedict comes on a bed of moist croissant and bacon, and the yolk oozing out of it tempts us to dig in.

Jucy Lucy Burger

The croutons in the Panzanella Salad (Rs 375) are crunchy, and so are the French beans, broccoli and babycorn, flavoured with Parmesan and herbs. We also sip on an Anti-oxidant Smoothie (Rs 325), which has chia and flax seeds, strawberry and yoghurt.

Finally, slow claps and drum rolls for Mom's Butter Chicken Tikka Masala (Rs 625), please. This one's a family recipe, with the chicken smoked in the tandoor and tender to bite into. To our delightful surprise, the creamy tomato gravy is sans cashew nuts. The dish is served with hot naans and saffron-scented rice. Slightly tangy and spicy, this is one butter chicken that Mumbai's been craving for.

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