Irrfan asked Sutapa Sikdar to make khichdi when she struggled with cooking in initial days of their marriage

Sutapa Sikdar said that her late husband, actor Irrfan Khan, would suggest that she should make khichdi, when she struggled with cooking in their initial days of marriage. Sutapa shared a picture of a cookery book and revealed that she had a lot to learn when as a Bengali woman, she married a north Indian. (Also read: Emotional Jaideep Ahlawat poses in front of Irrfan Khan’s portrait as he visits the late actor’s house)

Sutapa shared in her post that she found an old cookbook Mrs Balbir Singh’s Indian Cookery, which reminded her of the initial days after her wedding. Sharing a picture of the book, Sutapa wrote, “Cleaning books is not a chore for me it’s diving into old anecdotes, memories, and I can spend hours doing that flipping pages. And with every flip, the places, people, smell and sound of that place comes alive. Each and every time… afternoon best spent. I found this tattered book today. And the memories came gurgling out like water. I could feel the sweat on my forehead ions ago… the aroma of fried onion, which I hated… the Zeenat Aman kind of sleeveless maxie I used to wear to cook… the sound of BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and& Transport) buses honking through the grills of the kitchen… that lone Tulsi tree… Irrfan entering the kitchen smoking and giving me a puff with a helpless look on his face… ‘arre yaar khichri bana lete (You should have just made khichdi)’…”

Recalling the cultural and culinary differences she faced, Sutapa added, “A big transition happened in my life and food (habits) from Bengali to north Indian, and since I was not into marriage and domesticity I knew no cooking. New in Bombay with no family and no cook, I was nervous to say the least. With no YouTube channel we learnt the hard way… we bought cookbooks. And this was my first non fancy basic North Indian cookbook. Thank you Mrs Balbir Singh I don’t know who you are, but thanks for saving my life because butter chicken, which I find an extremely overrated dish, saved my life as my boys loved it. #irrfan #earlylife #memoriesforever.”

Irrfan died in April 2020 after a long battle with neuroendocrine tumour. He is survived by wife Sutapa and two sons – Babil and Ayan. Sutapa and Babil often share pictures from the time, when Irrfan was alive. Babil is set to make his acting debut with the Netflix original Qala.