For the love of Idli! Harleen Sethi shares her July 26 Mumbai floods story | Exclusive

Harleen Sethi

Actor Harleen Sethi, who is out with her new web series ‘Bad Cop' is a true blue foodie. Growing up in Mumbai, she knows the city in and out for its delicacies and has recommendations at the back of her hand. A chaat fanatic with a sweet tooth, Harleen calls herself a ‘cafe person' who has never sipped on tea but will surrender to a chilled cup of Vietnamese coffee that comes with just the right amount of almond milk.

In an exclusive interview with mid-day.com, Harleen recalls how she ended up wading through waist-deep water during the July 26 Mumbai floods (2005), all for the love of idli-sambar!

Harleen was a college student in 2005 when Mumbai was flooded due to torrential rains. She revealed how her love for idli-sambar at the NMIMS canteen led to an unforgettable ordeal. The actor shared, "I was so crazy about idli-sambar over there. I am sitting in the NM canteen. It was raining heavily around 3-3:30 PM, we were asked to go home. In the middle of lectures, they asked us to leave. I've not gone home. I have come to NM canteen. I was like ‘Kya? Baarish hi toh ho rahi hai'. I have ordered my idli, which has arrived, and I've started eating. I see rainwater entering the canteen. I left my chair and sat on the table, but didn't stop eating. Once I was done, I left."

Harleen revealed that she had to walk it up home since there was no transportation and the telephone lines were down. The actor waded through waist-deep water and finally made it to her uncle's house.

Harleen says she gets her foodie traits from her father who is a great chef. She states that he owned a cloud kitchen on Carter Road back in the day when it was a new concept.

"I have never eaten better Chinese food than that. Unfortunately, for some reason, there were 2 to 3 partners and they had a small-ish dispute, and then my father also had his other business, he was just getting too tied up, which is why he shut it down."

"My dad had a Maruti car when we were very small. It was a picnic car for us. There used to be a place called Salt N Pepper in Juhu. My dad would take us there, we'd open the trunk, put on a mat, and sit there to eat. We would call for the food outside," she added while reminiscing food trails with her father.