Priyanka Chopra Jonas Eats Her Last Meal

Channel: Mythical Kitchen

YouTube Video ID: NrFf7zEOGO4

Episode Post Date: March 3, 2026

Transcript

Hi, I'm Priyanka, and this is my last
meal.
>> [bell]
[music]
>> Every person has exactly two things in
common. We all got to eat, and we're all
going to die. Today's guest is an actor,
producer, New York Times best-selling
author, and one of Time's 100 most
influential people. She's currently
starring in The Bluff, out now on Prime
Video, and she cut her teeth in the
pageant world, famously winning the May
Queen Ball at the Bareilly Club in 1999.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, welcome to the
show. Oh my god. Okay, so you did your
research, I see. I see. Yes. Um that
wasn't a very famous pageant, though. I
But listen, everyone knows about the
Miss World pageant and all the
categories. But the Bareilly Club's May
Queen Ball, now that's where it all
started. Do you remember what they
actually had you do? What were the
qualifications to win? Well, I was
attending that night, and it was it was
the um the country club uh for
the army military professionals. My
parents were both in the military, and
and I had just moved back from the
States. Um I was in 11th grade or 12th
grade. And we were every Sunday or
Saturday we would just go to the
Bareilly Club, and parents would have
drinks, meet their frie- friends. I
would hang out with friends that I knew.
So, this was just a casual night,
another weekend out, and they were
having this May Queen Ball.
And I remember my mom's friend, Mrs.
Shingle, who was sitting with her, told
her, "She should She should participate.
Your daughter should definitely
participate." My mom was like, "You
should participate." And that just
included, honestly, walking on a stage
back and forth, smiling. I'd never done
it before, but I saw other girls do it,
so I was like, "I could do that." I've
seen this in movies.
And there was a crown on my head at the
end of the night. And you thought that
the people from Miss India knew about
the Bareilly Club win, and then were
like, "We got to We got to get her on
the stage." You know, my my um
when you're a teenager, I think your
sense of self is just completely wrong.
A bit inflated, mostly. Yeah. At that
time, it was inflated, but I I had ups
and downs. There were times when I it
was inflated, and there were times when
it wasn't, but um I did think that I
when I got a call back from the Miss
India pageant, that it was because I was
so famous. But I won Bareilly Make
Queen.
>> And I'd like to think that it still was.
Um thank you so much for joining me here
today. This really means a lot,
especially for the fact that um you are
the
third husband-wife duo to be on the
show, but this is the first ever
husband-wife several in-laws that have
been on the [laughter] show. What did
they tell you about the experience? Um I
didn't speak to Joe and Kevin uh about
it, but Nick and I have spoken
extensively about how it was a really
like a mountains and valleys kind of
experience for him, and it brought up
questions about mortality and life, and
and yeah, everybody wants to start their
morning like that.
Have you thought about your last meal
before?
No. Not before you asked. Wow. Did it
bring up any memories that you weren't
expecting? Um no, it brought up my
tumultuous relationship with mortality.
You know, as you become a parent, or you
I'm at that stage in life where I'm just
like, "What would that mean, and what
does that look like, and Yeah. you know,
people around you are getting older, and
it's just it brought up a lot of that
for me, which is something I run away
from. A lot of people when they're
younger, they have a very intense fear
of death from the time they kind of, you
know, their first pet rabbit dies, and
they learn what it is. Were you that
type of person when you were younger, or
no? No, it was the opposite. Mhm. They
say they, you know, youth is wasted on
the young. Like, I was insane when I was
in my like teenage years, early 20s. I
was invincible. I could do anything. I
wasn't afraid of anything. I loved um
adventure sports. I went white-water
rafting, bungee jumping, skydiving.
I would just do stuff. Like, I don't
know. I was like, beckoning something to
happen. Zipping around the city streets
in a DeLorean, you know?
>> Driving at
>> 3:00 in the morning at like high school.
Like I can't Sometimes I think about it
and I'm like
God must have liked me to [laughter]
like let me get through that. I don't
know how I made it, but
>> And now you've lasted long enough to
have the existential thoughts about
death and I think that's a good sign.
>> Yeah, I think you know, my 30s that
at least my late 30s I really did start
thinking about it and you know, you
start think about what have you done in
life? What is the meaning of it? What
have you achieved? What have you What
are you leaving behind? And also what it
looks like. And I think we'll figure all
of that out while eating a hot dog. Oh,
yes.
>> You ready to get to it?
>> Yes, please. Do it.
>> [bell]
>> All right, Penka, for the first course
of your final meal, we have a classic
New York style hot dog with ketchup,
mustard, and relish. Amazing. And then
we have
>> [laughter]
>> a classic cosmo from our bartender Tony.
>> Cosmo, it's so hard to transfer these.
>> It really is. The fact that everybody
wasn't stained with these in the 90s is
[laughter] shocking.
Wow.
It's a little early for me for that, but
let's go with it. This drink and just
the way it looks and tastes is such a
specific moment in time. Yes.
>> When was the first time you had this?
What do you associate this with? Um Sex
in the City. Yep. Uh-huh. For me, um I
was
not allowed to drink at that time. Mhm.
Um this is my like go-to when I can't
think of what to order at a restaurant.
Like there's too many options and it's
just like just keep it simple and make
it a pretty cosmo. And I actually do
like it to [music] be this shade of pink
where it's not too dark. Yeah, yeah.
>> It's not too much cranberry. The first
time you had this, did it feel like you
were fulfilling some sort of dream that
from a little girl I saw Carrie Bradshaw
drinking this and now I'm here?
>> Yeah, it was my teenage dream. Like I
was like, oh my from Carrie to me, of
course. Yeah.
>> [laughter]
>> So I love um a cosmo for that.
>> Are you a Carrie, a Miranda, a Samantha,
or Charlotte? I would like to think
[music] I'm a Carrie.
>> [laughter]
>> I have a little bit of all of them. I
have a lot of Miranda in me.
>> Miranda rising. Miranda is your moon
sign. I think so.
But I'm also Samantha. I'm very [music]
very Sam. You can get after it, you
know, get after it. The younger guys,
Samantha makes sense. Okay, okay, jump
into the hot dog here. Now, in your
memoir Unfinished, you said you spent
most of eighth grade falling in love
with hot dogs, hot pockets, and a hot
boy with green hair named Seth.
>> [laughter]
>> Where do those three things rank for you
now? Um the hot dogs, like it's
something that I want and covet a lot,
but I won't eat it as much as I should.
>> Yeah, yeah. But
up until
like at least 10 years ago, when I would
land into New York cuz I didn't live
there very much.
When I would land into New York, I I
liked one of those
you know, hot dogs from the stands
outside of Central Park. Nothing better.
That's exactly what we tried to
recreate. Thank you. I really appreciate
that.
>> Yeah, these hot dogs have been sitting
in room temperature water for about 3
days. Great.
>> [laughter]
>> My favorite.
That's what brings the flavor. It really
I am Listen, when you boil chicken, you
call it chicken stock, but when you boil
hot dogs, it's not hot dog stock. I
think that's weird.
>> [laughter]
>> Welcome to your last meal.
>> Thank you.
>> Nick, get the tissues. You didn't
mention the barf bucket.
>> [laughter]
>> Let's do it.
A hot dog and a Cosmo is an incredible
combo.
So, you grew up living all around India,
and you grew up traveling all around
India, having some of the best flavors
that the world has to offer. And then
you get dropped in the middle of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. What was your first
impression of American food?
>> Hot dogs and hot pockets.
>> But the like when you tasted this for
the first time, were you like
"Oh my god, that's incredible. I saw
this on Saved by the Bell." Or was it
like, "This? This is what you've been
eating?" With a hot dog, it was honestly
first love for me. Yeah. I knew of hot
dogs. I mean, we had them back in India,
too, but we had chicken um chicken
sausages.
>> Yeah, yeah. I remember my aunt used to
work and I was living with my aunt and
she didn't have time to make lunch when
she came back when we came back home
from school. So, she was like, "There
are your hot dogs. There's the bread.
Stick in the microwave. That's lunch."
And um
I was like, "Great." And I would like
crush six. And she still tells that
story. Oh, the teenage metabolism.
>> Yes, a teenage metabolism. [music]
Crush like six hot dogs. So, I have a
very vivid association of America with
hot dogs.
>> I'm curious what emotions come up when
I bring these out. So, this is something
that I had never had before.
>> [laughter]
>> These are Monaco biscuits. Yeah, they're
great.
>> She's and a dollop of ketchup on it.
Somehow the most American thing I've
ever seen in my life, but you were not
eating these in America, were you? No, I
was Do you think this is American? Like
a cheese and cracker energy? You think?
>> This almost ketchup I guess this looks
like exactly what it is, which is
something that seems like American, but
almost like a what do they call the
uncanny valley? Like something's not
quite right. It seems like a
>> baby. I love that. This was a snack that
my parents made um at parties when they
used to host. It was like a quick thing.
My mom would come back from work, throw
some cheese on this, little bit of
ketchup. She would actually stick a
toothpick in it just to make it fancy.
That is how you read people.
>> Which you're like,
"Really?" Um but I used to crush these
before the guests even came because
>> [music]
>> it's cheese and crackers with ketchup. I
have to jump in on this cuz this Tell me
what you think. It's so funny because
when I you know, read your book and you
were talking about Monaco biscuits, I
they sort of were imbued with this like
magical power and I was like, "They must
be these incredible crackers." And then
they came and I was like, "Oh, Ritz. We
call these Ritz."
That's what you call them?
Like for a 6-year-old kid,
this was great.
>> The way you describe your parents
hosting these parties, especially as a
kid, is you view them very much as like
these larger-than-life figures that
really took a lot of time to like imbue
these lessons of morality in you and how
to hold yourself in the world. What are
the biggest things that you saw them do
that try you tried to take into your own
life?
>> Both my parents had this um
amazing charisma.
Like they just drew people to them. Um
and I used to I didn't know what it was.
I could never put my finger on it. But
when my dad spoke to his patients or he
was always the center of attention and
he loved it and he just had this way of
talking to everyone but just you at the
same time. And my mom had her own
version of that, like a feminine version
of it and she knows she's very worldly
wise and you know, is aware. So she can
really arrest your attention and I used
to find that really magnetic about my
parents. I really wanted to imbibe it,
too. Yeah. Was there anything in
particular that you could pinpoint? Like
oh, they they always uh put their hand
on someone's shoulder or they say their
name. Were there any tricks or it was
just who they were? Making eye contact.
>> Yeah. And looking at someone when you're
talking to them and not looking around
the room or thinking about your next
step. I think that was something that um
both my mom and dad always did. My mom
said anybody with shifty eyes is someone
you can't trust. So if they're like
shifting, don't trust them. Always
smelled amazing. My parents. My mom
smelled of Dior's Poison. And my dad
used to
>> a perfume called Poison?
>> Yeah, it's called Poison. Oh, Poison.
What wait. Poison was fish. No, in
French it's it's called Poison.
>> Okay, got you. But it's pronounced
Poison. Poison. Poison.
Spelled Poison.
>> by Dior. Not fish. It's not with a
double S.
>> Got it. Okay, single S. Single S. Got
you. Got you. Yeah. So I know it's
Poison. I failed French.
>> want to say like American like Poison.
>> Got you. Um but yeah, she used to smell
of that and uh my dad of Old Spice.
>> I'm I'm very familiar with your dad's
scent. Yeah, not your dad. I wasn't
smell You know what I mean.
>> Yes. Yeah, yeah. That Old Spice smell.
So, I think that was also part of it.
Just the allure around them. Yeah. Your
family had this tradition that you said
is like more common in India in general,
but also something very specific to your
family where if one parental group was
say getting a new degree [music] or
launching a new business, they take the
kids and kind of send them to live with
an aunt or uncle. Well, the [music]
extended family and the culture around
extended families is very
Asian. Yeah, yeah. And something that in
the Asian communities we're very proud
of. Like a lot of communities where
>> [music]
>> extended families are a huge part of
your own family. My cousins were always
my siblings. Yeah. [music] And my aunts
and uncles, my parents' siblings were
you know, almost like parental figures
for us. My grandparents raised me. So,
it never felt like I was you know,
booted off to go live with my aunt. It
was like, [clears throat] "Yeah, I'm
just going to go spend a few years with
family." Yeah. But also like what a cool
thing to be able to have different
experiences. So much of us
our parents are the main figures in our
lives and we like you said you kind of
inherit the good and the bad, but
they're the figures that you're learning
from. Whereas [music] you're suddenly
learning from an aunt that's in Cedar
Rapids. And then when she went to I
believe get a new job in Indianapolis,
suddenly you're in Queens.
>> Queens, New York. Maybe the most
>> Crushing the hot dogs. Maybe the most
diverse area in the world actually.
>> Yeah. You know, and [music] then coming
back to Indianapolis it was like you had
this
very globe-trotting childhood despite
the fact that Indianapolis and Cedar
Rapids most people wouldn't think of as
globe-trotting. I mean, it's far from
Bareilly, India. Certainly is. It's It's
It's not a stone's throw. [music]
But I don't know I feel like there's a
common thread in my life which has been
being nomadic. I didn't My childhood
didn't need to be nomadic, but my
[music] parents were in the military and
I was I lived in the States and then I
went back and then my career ended up
being nomadic, but I really feel like
um, I believe in the serendipity
serendipitous nature of the universe,
right? Like, it brings to you what you
need in your life. You may not realize
it at that time, but life is a sum of
all our choices and experiences. [music]
So, when you look back, you're like,
"Oh, that prepared me for this." Like,
all that moving around in my childhood
made me really resilient when I had to
move around in my career.
>> [music]
>> Um, it's really tough to be able to
leave your family, go away for months,
um, two years sometimes for a job. Is
there any part of you that kind of
enjoys the toughness of the challenge? I
know for me, if I'm ever facing
something daunting, there's kind of this
sick thing inside of myself that, uh,
gets really excited about it. I'm like,
"It's going [music] to suck for the next
2 weeks, for the next month, whatever."
And I kind of love that because I know
I've had things that sucked in the past,
and I come out the other side a better
person, and also I look back on those
times, [music] and those are the things
that I'm most proud of. Yeah, I call it
soldier mentality. My dad was a soldier.
>> Yeah.
>> And, um, and it's kind of the discipline
that you need to adopt when [music] you
put on that uniform. In every job, work
ethic is so crucial. You have [music] to
have the kind of work ethic where people
around you want to be with you. I really
do like switch on when I have a
challenge ahead of me, and I I don't
know if [music] I enjoy is the word, but
I look forward to it. I call it Spartan
mode, but only because the movie 300 was
so popular when I was a kid. And the
abs, they were just so glistening.
>> [bell]
>> Feel like for course number two of your
final meal, we have kebabs from around
the world. So, we have the donair kebab
from Turkey, we have the shish kebab,
and then we have the galouti kebab with
a bottle of Chateau Margaux.
Can I pour you some? Yes, and with the
good wine, come through, George.
>> Listen, come on, it's your last meal. We
had to celebrate. Also, what a pairing
with all of the red meat kebabs. Yes, so
good. Uh, this combination of food and
drink has never existed in the history
of the world and I think that's going to
be special.
>> Yeah, not at all. No one's ever done
this before. Cheers. There's one person
in Lucknow being like, "Hey, I well
whatever." Mhm. This is a dish that is
very special that I had never heard of.
What can you tell me about Galouti
Kebab? So, Galouti Kebabs are well,
don't I'm not [music] a historian, a
food historian, but um,
I grew up in the city called Lucknow as
well in Uttar Pradesh in um, in India.
And they're known for their Galouti
Kebabs. And they're like melt in your
mouth incredible kebabs and I used to go
to school in La Martiniere Girls School
in Lucknow. And I remember my mom used
to bring this as a treat for me every
time she came to visit it. [music] We
would go back to Bareilly on this train
and this would be my lunch. Galouti
Kebab wrapped in a Rumali Roti. Oh my
god. Okay, so we didn't go with the
roti. We actually we made a Sheermal
instead which is uh, I believe sort of
indigenous to Lucknow. So, this is
brushed with uh, saffron. This is Nawabi
cuisine. Beautiful. Exactly. Yeah, yeah.
This is very much Lucknowi.
>> is a very Nawabi city. 100%. Um, the
history please dig in. Don't let me stop
you. This is a um, a Mooli ki Chutney
right here with uh, radish and flaxseed.
Oh, Hindi. I've stolen I've stolen all
the recipes from Chef Ranveer Brar. He's
awesome.
>> No, but your pronunciation of your
Hindi.
>> [laughter]
>> I appreciate that. Thank you. I try my
best. Um, I can tell you a little bit
about Galouti Kebab because
>> tell me. I have been studying this and I
found it very fascinating. There are
three main sort of myths behind Galouti
Kebab. So, Galawat is papaya
and you blend the green papaya skin to
tenderize the meat to make it to where
it actually falls apart in your mouth.
Oh, that's what does it. Legend has it
that's why this is so tender. It doesn't
even have to be chewed.
>> Yeah, it just melts. And according to
the legend, there was a Nawab a king in
Lucknow who didn't have teeth but he was
very beloved by the people and they
wanted to figure out how to still make
him a kebab that he could enjoy in his
old toothless age. And so they added the
galawat to the kebab and made it so a
toothless man could chew. But then
there's another another myth that a
governor was visiting Lucknow for a
mango festival and he said Lucknow has
the best mangoes in all of the world and
the Nawab was so proud, but then he said
I wouldn't feed Lucknowi kebabs to a
dog. And then he left and so the Nawab
said, "We got to figure this out.
Everyone national kebab competition. We
got to get it." And this was the winner.
Then there's another one. Wow.
>> the term tunday kebab? Yes, I have.
Tunday I believe means somebody with one
arm.
>> I don't know what language it might be
in. Apparently there was a tunday chef
in the late 1800s who had one arm and he
made these kebabs and these are a ground
meat kebab. So the reason these are
misshapen is because you make the kebab
as an homage to him with one arm behind
your back and you shape it with one hand
and throw it directly onto your tawa. Oh
my god. Look at you teaching me so much
about my culture. Again, these are all
myths and I'm only paraphrasing Chef
Ranveer Brar. Thank you so much homie.
Hope to see you again soon. There is so
much history in India not to like
indulge in the eat, pray, love
fetishization of it all, but in a way
that like as an American you can't
really comprehend even around food.
You're also a fairly new country
compared to Yeah. a lot of countries in
the world, right? Um like 400 years old
about Like 250? 250 years old.
Wow. I know, right? We're babies. Um so
I think India
its culture goes back thousands and
thousands and thousands of years before
even
uh the known calendar. Mhm. And uh we
have um
history of civilizations that have lived
in India from the Indus Valley
Civilization, one of the first to have
ever existed
all the way down to now. India has been
invaded multiple multiple times by so
many different cultures from around the
world. So, there are major influences
um
um from around the world, whether it's
you know, the Portuguese or from the
Gulf or from England or and vice versa.
So, I think that um you know, India's
one of the most diverse countries in the
world that you will ever see. It not
just in people's faces, but in
languages. Every state has a different
written and spoken language. That
diversity and influences just so
magical. I always tell people if you're
ever planning a trip to India, don't
make a short trip. Don't do like 5 days.
Even I haven't experienced India on the
whole and I've traveled it so much. So,
like you have to She's not a
destination, she's a journey.
You continue to
um experience different parts of her and
wherever you are in the in your life,
somehow you can find a place in India
that'll reflect that. That's awesome.
Now, I want to eat pray love. Uh dig dig
into the [laughter] donair kebab.
>> Really?
>> Grab the fork. Dig into the This is the
donair kebab from Turkey. Um kebab is a
very loose term that really depends on
where you are in the world and what it
actually means, but it kind of just
roughly translates to like roasted
{slash} fried deliciously spiced thing.
>> Um this is one of my brother's favorite
um dishes. He
got me onto it because college kid. Mhm.
I love kebabs anyway. Mhm. Grew up on
kebabs. But just such a different flavor
from the Indian kebabs that I I I loved
it. Talking about India's diversity,
your first film role in Indian cinema
wasn't even a Bollywood movie, it was a
Kollywood movie, right? It was an
entirely different language that you
didn't speak at the time. Called Tamil.
Called Tamil, yeah. I didn't speak I
still don't speak any other language
besides Hindi and English. Um but I can
as an actor, I've always been challenged
by dabbling in many kinds.
Um so, Tamil was my first movie. I'm
doing a movie called Varanasi, which is
in Telugu right now.
Um I've dabbled in Mandarin, Italian,
Spanish. It's funny cuz earlier when you
said you're from a multicultural family,
I didn't even like factor the Jonas's
in. I was just thinking of your family.
Or maybe it's because
>> is multicultural. My family from India
is very multicultural, yes. Yeah, you
said you're
>> But also the Jonas's. That too. Uh and
New Jersey has its own culture. Yes.
There's pork roll in the north and then
Taylor Ham in the south. But the Jonas's
as um Nick's grandmother um Fran always
likes to tell us
her side of the family is from Sicily
and then Jersey. So, it starts from
Sicily.
>> Sicilians love saying Sicilian. Yes. But
no, your own family, your your
grandmother was Christian, you had an
aunt that converted to Islam. Both your
parents were Hindu, but like your dad
would go um he's from Punjab and so
you'd go sing in like Sikh Gurdwaras.
You had all of these religious and
spiritual influences. What did you take
from each of them? Like did it kind of
just
form your own personal belief system or
did you draw from one more than more
than another? I'm raised Hindu, um
but I also went to school in like a
Catholic school when I was growing up
and I had a lot of influences of
different religions where I grew up. So,
I think my relationship with religion
has
become
spiritual. I have respect for every
religion because I feel like each
religion is
um a conduit and
like a way to get to the same thing,
which is the higher supreme being, which
is faith, which is whatever
your faith looks like, we feel the same
thing eventually. The feeling is
something larger than yourself,
something that you know, will protect
you, something that
lives inside of you, has created
everything you know as you know it. So,
I feel like those sentiments are all the
same around for almost every religion.
So, I have tremendous respect for all of
it.
>> Yeah. All right, we have one more kebab
we have one more kebab in our kebabs
around the world.
>> [laughter]
>> This is by Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Which one is this? So, this is just your
classic shish kebab. This is from a
Lebanese restaurant. So, this is Yeah,
it's a kebab. I I for a long time my
social media bio is just a local grilled
meat on a stick enthusiast.
>> [laughter]
>> Yeah.
>> still am. Yeah.
>> It's the best food. Everyone figured
out. Unfortunately, in America, people
know chicken tikka masala Mhm.
or like tandoori chicken is the
baseline. Yeah. But hopefully after the
show,
people will try more. I will say I don't
know any single restaurant that serves
galouti kebab.
>> And how good is it though?
It's so good. This is
>> Is it the most tenderest kebab you'll
ever eat?
>> This dish in itself was like an odyssey
for me. We didn't even get to There's a
story around this sheer moment. They
have the nawab's bite. If you were to
see this in its whole form, there's like
a hole inside of it because a nawab once
took a bite of it and said, "This is so
good. We need to make this bread
famous." So, to honor him, they leave a
hole to signify that first bite. How
amazing.
>> All these stories are so beautiful and
Right? I think, you know, coming from
the Indian film industry, that's a lot
of IP to to get ideas from that frankly
the rest of the world is only just
finding out about. Were there any like
big watershed moments where you went
like, "Oh, the rest of the world is
ready to hear Indian stories."? I
remember when I first started working in
America,
I was told that Indian films don't
translate in terms of box office outside
of a few key markets because people
don't have the patience to watch
subtitled movies. Yeah. Which has
completely changed now with streaming.
Everyone is consuming whether it's
K-dramas or, you know, shows from Iran
or from anywhere in the world where, you
know, we're watching incredible
filmmakers tell stories in their own
language and to see that diversity of
cinema flourish is just the most
exciting to me. It was complete
tear-shed moment for me and it's
happened in this last 5-7 years
tremendously. And
I feel like people are opening up their,
you know, eyes to
>> [music]
>> like Bollywood was a genre for the
longest time. It crushed my heart when I
used to like look at streamers and it
would be like action, drama, Bollywood.
But Bollywood is not a genre. It in
itself has genres. So we have
Bollywood is just a popular name for
Hindi language films. Like Indian films
have a different pace. They're longer.
They have a different screenplay. We
don't have three acts when it comes to
our screenplays. We have two. It's the
first half and the second half because
we have an interval in the middle. So
there's like it's just a different
medium to um
to consume. And I feel like now with
people's minds opening up to different
cultures around the world, which is why
I love cultures so much, is I think it
it makes people curious about each other
versus being afraid of one another. And
I feel like we as a world have reached a
place where instead of
when I was growing up be like, "Hey,
where are you from? What's your name?"
But instead of that I see kids [music]
today or people today like not wanting
to engage very much if if they don't
know enough about you. Not wanting to be
wrong by saying the wrong thing. There's
so many
insecurities that we've built
amongst ourselves when it comes to
interacting with different human beings
and experiencing different cultures
that, you know, I really want to
encourage people to like
peek into different countries and
different worlds and and you're doing
such a great job with the food.
Also, your knowledge, man, you must have
done some real research last night.
>> But but no, but I mean that's that's the
seed of it is just that idea of
curiosity. The fact that you can taste
this dish and ask the question,
"How do you get that burger so tender?"
And then that will suddenly open up
>> going to put that papaya enzyme on in
burgers now?
>> I'm actually thinking about it. Yeah,
yeah. Yeah, we should do that experiment
and try it.
>> I'm totally in. That's a great idea.
Grilling day.
I'm
>> I want to I I want to know.
>> Come over your house. You got a pool?
>> We'll do it. Yeah. All right, perfect.
>> We'll do it. Done.
>> [bell]
>> If you all go for the third course of
your final meal, we have the spaghetti
cacio e pepe, a caprese salad, and the
spicy margarita. You did not suggest
that we serve the spicy margarita with
this.
>> [laughter]
>> This was our own editorial choice, and
we stand by it. Great. That's a That's a
Well, we could do it. You know what?
We're going around the world.
>> Cosmopolitan woman of the world. Going
to
>> [laughter]
>> I don't even know if margaritas are
Mexican. I think they're Texan, which
Texas was a part of Mexico. We've been
through this.
>> Yeah. History's complicated. Salute.
There you go. Salute.
Mhm.
That tahini, though. Mhm. You know, I
take it
in my set kit around the world. Do you
really? Tahini will go everywhere with
me.
Tahini, mango pickle, and hot sauce.
When I went off to college, so my best
friend in the world of 20 years, we
started as basketball rivals.
He's Gujarati, and I would eat his mom's
food all the time. And I was just so
obsessed with the flavors I'd never had.
When I went off to school, she gave me a
bag of sandwich masala. And she was
like, "The dining halls aren't going to
season their food." There's no
seasoning. And so I used to carry around
a little baggie of sandwich masala in my
college years.
>> It's just me We need We need seasoning.
Truly. [laughter]
Truly.
Tahini, though, please. Uh tell me about
the spaghetti and the caprese. The
caprese always just makes me smile.
Yeah, this is one of those like um you
know, in the galouti kebab, Yeah.
>> there were like um I think actually 47
ingredients. Really?
>> Uh yeah. I think I've exhausted my
history on it.
Um but, you know, sometimes three
ingredients can also be beautiful. Yes.
Classic
and
delicious.
And pasta. I mean, what's not to love?
Butter, cheese,
and pasta. It's so funny you said
butter, because there is butter in this
in a traditional cacio e pepe.
>> No butter. There's no butter. And the
skill
>> cheese?
>> The skill is emulsifying the pasta water
with the cheese and I remember
>> a TikTok on it recently where you put it
in water and you put in cheese and you
have to keep moving it, right? Keep
churning it. People say you just have to
do X and then you actually try to do it
and your cheese is a gloppy mess and you
go, "Oh, the TikTok made it look so
easy."
>> It did. And that's the history of the
world. Please dig in. My My last words
to our culinary producers were, "You can
cheat and use butter."
And so we did. It tastes better.
Oh, don't get Don't get into an argument
with an Italian.
>> Dovete italiani mi dispiace. Oh, wow.
Very nice.
>> so much. Uh grazi. Don't get into that.
>> [laughter]
>> Listen, if if you need to take a break,
sometimes you eat a whole bowl of pasta
you can't really do anything.
>> I mean Simplicity at its best. This is a
great segue. Did you know that Uruguay
is 44% Italian by heritage? No way.
>> When you were in the Miss World pageant
Killer segue, [music] Josh. Thanks,
Josh. You had to ask other contestants a
question and Miss Uruguay got yours.
>> Oh, no. It wasn't Miss Uruguay, yeah.
>> Do you remember what your question was?
I was asked that question in my [music]
previous pageant.
So I couldn't think of anything else so
I asked the same question. It's a very
deep question that as I was reading it
>> years old so I
>> Which is crazy.
>> It is crazy. Was it um if ignorance is
bliss, why would you seek knowledge?
Yeah. That's like a riddle.
I feel like not to diminish your win. I
think you won because you just confused
the other contestants.
>> [laughter]
>> I did.
I would agree with you. I don't know why
I won that night. There were so many
things that went wrong. Miss Uruguay
2000, please reach out to Priyanka to
make amends uh as her last meal.
>> to me.
Do you have an answer for that question
now? I I
got to put on my soldier mode.
>> [music]
>> I can't turn it on if I'm not equipped
with um the tools that I need to get
through it. And usually those tools come
with seeking knowledge. I like
excellence and seeking excellence in
everything I do, whether it is painting
a wall or like doing my laundry or like
anything, my dishwasher. Like I like to
be like
the most um
efficient version of any task that I
take on. So, I like knowledge. It
expands the mind. It expands human
evolution. It gives us the ability to
create roads that might not exist. I
think ignorance can be bliss. Um
but I don't admire an ignorant person.
Mhm. You know, I think that in a way
you're hiding you're hiding from your
problems because you don't want to take
the world on head-on. So, I think if you
don't have tenacity and and it's okay
that I mean you you don't have to have
courage your whole life. You we can't
possibly be brave every single year that
we live.
>> [music]
>> But um I think I would I prefer the
approach of
um operating in the world with a sense
of openness and wanting to grow. So,
many of your roles that people may have
said at the time weren't the best for
your career. They were to explore the
complications within people characters.
Think about like 2007's Fashion. That
was like a big risk for you that ended
up really defining at least the path
your career was going. You have a new
movie out called The Bluff where you
certainly play a complicated character,
Bloody Mary Boten. Do you see any parts
of you within that character? The whole
thought of that movie for me from the
time I finished reading the script was
holy
how far
would a woman go to protect her family?
Like as a new mom at that time for me.
Yeah.
I I [clears throat] I'd rip a
apart if come for my family, you I'm not
coming at you.
I'm hanging out at the pool making
galouti kebabs and lamb burgers, dude. I
I don't want no trouble.
But that was like what really pushed me
to think in that movie.
It's not about the stunts, it's not
about the action. Whatever I've done
that million times before, and that's
not what the fascinating part of this
is. The history, the the slice of time
in which this is based in, that's really
interesting to me. And the fact that you
know, she's a woman
>> [music]
>> that
built this life with like each stick and
with so much perseverance, blood, sweat,
and tears.
And then you're going to take that from
me, and you're going to threaten my
family. Like, how far as a human
would you go [music]
to protect your children?
And that really
like the rage a woman can feel is
you you cannot
you cannot compartmentalize it into
anything. It It knows no bound when you
come after her kids. And that's what I
applied to every scene.
I think a lot of people think to tell
stories that matter, it has to be a a
cry-your-eyes-out dramatic biopic about
a historical figure. But like, this is a
It's a shoot-'em-up awesome action
movie, but also has a much deeper story
to tell that I think you told very
eloquently there. This is also
co-produced by you and Purple Pebble,
your company who's
three Oscar noms in the past 5 years.
That's what's up. Thanks. But why was
this story an interesting story for you
to tell? First, it was my first one as a
whole producer of a movie that I starred
in in Hollywood. I hadn't done that, so
that was really exciting. But I'd worked
with the Russo brothers in Citadel. We
did two seasons together, and one day
Joe dropped this script in my inbox.
Just like, "Check it out." I was like,
"What?"
And I read it, and I was like, "Female
pirates, what are we talking about?
There's no like
female pirates. That didn't exist."
And then I did a deep dive. Oh, there
were some baller female pirates.
>> I had no idea. And we don't talk about
them, nor nor do we glorify them in
history, and nor do we make movies about
them. So, I was so excited that Frankie
Flowers, who's our amazing director,
he's from the Cayman Islands, um
proud um seventh-generation
um from the Caribbean. And uh the second
thing was
um
to be able to
tell a movie which is so grounded in
reality, not like the pirates that we've
seen so far, like, "Argh." You know,
we're not
We're not doing that. Pirates were
bloody tough, and bloody, and scary, and
this movie has all of that, which was
really cool.
Like female pirates, like Grace
O'Malley, and and and so many amazing
women that I read about, how brutal
their lives were. Like, I cannot imagine
as a female
to
you know, have your own pirate ship in
like at that time. Like, I cannot
imagine what that would have entailed.
Beatings, you know, abuse.
>> Yeah. And ultimate survival, and I'm
guessing a lot of other emotions.
>> were killed um in front of them,
beheaded. So, like, insane time to be
alive. So, taking us back as characters
into that time, and and Karl Urban is
just the best pirate in the world. Like,
you're like, "Of course you're a pirate.
Like, you're born to play a pirate." Was
the most amazing adversary. Um
and you know, I I really like that the
director didn't want to be like, "Oh,
there's this small woman, and then
there's Karl Urban, and I'm beating the
crap out of him." That doesn't make
sense. So, I loved that she uses her
stealth, and she uses her smarts, and
she's in the dark, and she hides
herself, and you know, so it's it's
really done in a cool, fun way. Yeah. It
was time travel. It was really cool.
>> [bell]
>> Bianca, for the fourth course of your
final meal on Earth,
we have the lacha paratha, we have the
Punjabi style chicken curry, we have the
dal makhani, a little bit of mango
pickle, South Indian style buttermilk
served in the clay, some rice and
basmati. So, this is like a
Indian North Indian South Indian
mishmash right now. But, that's me. My
grandmother is from the south of India.
My mother's mother. From Kerala. My
father is from Punjab. Hence, um, all of
that Ambala.
And, uh, you know, my grandfather was
from Kashmir, and I was raised in UP.
And lived in Maharashtra, which is
Mumbai. Yeah. So, I have so many
influences of food, but at home, like a
simple chicken curry with lacha paratha
and pickles
is like the thing you do. Yeah. And, uh,
and I [music]
This will be controversial. Don't come
after me, okay? Not a fan of lassi.
Because it's sweet. I don't like sweet
very much.
>> Okay. So, I like either chaas, which is,
uh, buttermilk, which is from
Maharashtra, or the South Indian style
buttermilk. I'm filming a movie in
Hyderabad right now.
And I drink this every day. So, you when
you asked me Yeah, yeah. I was like, it
has to be This is fresh on the brain.
South Indian buttermilk.
>> How much do you have to worry One,
cheers. Cheers. How much do you have to
worry about offending different Indian
cultures just through your food
preferences?
>> Man, I got slammed for picking something
that was non-Indian.
Just recently on a red carpet.
Why are we so territorial about people's
choices? It's just food. I guess people
They I mean, you have so much identity
locked up in food, you know what I mean?
With the hundreds of years of years of
history. But, that said, preferences
shouldn't actually
>> about preferences. I'm not talking about
historical accuracy. I don't claim I'm a
historian or somebody who knows too much
about food. I just know my taste buds
and what I like. And, [music] you know,
your food preferences or preferences in
general are influenced by life, right?
And [music] the experiences you've had.
Okay, so we have one we have aloo
paratha and lachha paratha. I think this
is the aloo
>> Yes, this is the lachha. I'll take the
lachha. I'll take Punjabis accounts
prontha? Punjabi pronounce it pron-
pronte. pronte?
Um in UP you say paratha. There's like
different versions of it. Like I told
you, it's like really diverse. The thing
that I love most about being able to do
this, it's almost like Trojan horsing
[music]
information and knowledge. Um I want to
talk about the award you won, the Times
of India award for a movie called Barfi.
Your dad came up on stage with you to
give a speech after you won the Times of
India award. How much did that moment
mean to you in your career? It was 3
months before my dad passed. And the
ceremony I think was in Vancouver,
Canada, if I'm not mistaken. And my dad
had to he was being treated in
in Boston, actually. It's a really long
trip for someone [music] who was so sick
and had been so sick for that long time.
This is 3 months before he passed, so
you can imagine how weak he was.
>> [music]
>> So he broke the trip in a couple of
places. Um he really wanted to come
for this award ceremony. He really
believed in my performance in this
movie. And my dad was my biggest
champion, like he was really loud about
how proud of me he was. [music] Like he
wasn't ashamed of telling everyone. Like
I remember I won an award once and he
was sitting behind me and he's the one
who got up first, like
>> [laughter]
>> "Whoa!"
And I was like, "Dad, there are like
people around us."
>> I want to see that movie. But that award
show we broke the trip
>> [music]
>> and he landed in Vancouver and I
remember I was performing as well, so I
had rehearsals
the night before. I was really busy.
Um and I went to his room to see him.
And I don't think he could even take a
turn to the other side.
He had like tubes inside of [music] his,
you know, clothes uh helping him
survive.
And I sat with him and I said, "Dad,
it's a long show. It's like 4 hours.
You're front stage. [music] You don't
have to come. I'll get you out." Um he's
like, "No, I want to watch your
performance and I want to see." And I
was like, you know, "What if I don't
win? I haven't won any of the others."
Like
he's like, "No, [music]
I just I just want to be there
and see you up there and even be
nominated. I don't know what
>> [music]
>> he was thinking, but I remember
watching him. Like my dad is a soldier.
He used to press, iron, [music] sorry.
It's British English, Indian English,
American English. He used to iron his um
uniform and him and I In India in school
we wear uniforms. Yeah.
Um [music] so we used to iron our
uniforms together because he used to
take so much pride in polishing his
brass buttons and, you know, making sure
his medals were right and
and seeing that same man,
you know, finding it really hard to even
button his shirt. My mom was helping him
put [music] on his tie, but he still
wanted his tie to look right. He did his
hair and he wanted that to look right.
He put on that Old Spice.
Um we sat him in a wheelchair and we
brought him to the event
and had him seated, but when I won,
you know, I asked him from behind him. I
was like, "Dad, would you want to come
on stage with me? It'd mean a lot to me
cuz it was the only award I won for the
movie."
And he said, "Yes." I said, "I'll bring
the wheelchair." And he said, "No, I
want to walk."
Yeah. And that was a long walk for
someone who couldn't even turn on his
side. [music]
But military guy, you know, he had
dignity and he wanted to walk and
we walked on stage and
I was [music] I didn't know he was going
to pass in the next few months um
because my dad had really survived 8
years of battling cancer Yeah. and
thrived during doing it. He'd started
[music] his own business. He started his
own band, he was recording music, he was
living a full life. So,
>> [music]
>> I really thought he would make another
turn around.
But just watching him on that stage
advocate for me one more time.
You know, just
>> [music]
>> stand there
and stand up for me one more time and
Yeah. you know, say, "My daughter
deserved this
>> [laughter]
>> Oh, my god. Embarrassing me. Yeah, yeah.
I was like, "Dad." Telling everyone she
deserved the awards.
Um but he stood there and fought that
battle one last time for me. That's just
so special because after that it was
just downhill and, you know, 3 months
later he was gone. One of the most
heartbreaking things you talk about in,
you know, your memoir is
that your dad never got to meet Nick
because of how much he would have loved
him. Your dad loved hanging around with
musicians and loved people with old
souls and how do you think your dad and
Nick would have gotten along? Nick says
that all the time because I talk about
my father so much. I'm so influenced by
him. But my like Nick
is
exactly the kind of person my dad would
have
picked for me if he had a choice.
Um
you know, someone who is a musician. My
dad's first love was music. He loved
music and I really do feel like my
husband is a prodigy. I I think he's for
those who know him as a
singer-songwriter or as a writer Mhm.
who have seen him in the studio, it's
wild to see. Whenever I want to be
reinspired, I go to the studio to watch
Nick work because
he
he's in the zone and he creates from
>> [music]
>> just ideas and inspiration and he puts
together things so beautifully. So, that
is one thing that he would have loved
about Nick, but more than anything you
know, Nick is a really wise soul. I
think that he would have wanted someone
like that [music] for me cuz that ain't
me.
>> [laughter]
>> I think you're plenty wise.
>> wise.
There is still a bit of a counter
balance.
>> the balance that you need, you know, the
yang to your yang. And
>> that would have been a wish of mine that
my dad would have met
um my husband and my daughter.
>> [bell]
>> Priyanka, for the final course, final
meal on Earth, we have
Mama Jonas's Texas sheet cake.
>> Did you get the recipe from her? We did.
>> You did? She shared it? She did, and I
will say as much as I nerded out about
the technique behind the galouti kebab,
and I did, this is also a technique that
I've never seen before, and I'm dead
serious about this. It's very cool. This
is American culture right here. What you
do is while the cake is still hot,
conventional wisdom says you let the
cake cool and then spread the frosting.
Not in Mama Jonas's sheet cake, you
spread the frosting while it's hot, and
that way it actually soaks in.
>> I know, I knew that. She said that's
what makes it so good because you get
the glazing inside the cake. Yeah. And
it's so good.
>> It really is good.
>> that they she shared that with you. She
shared with me.
>> Thank you, Mama Jonas.
>> knows I can't cook. That's why she
>> [laughter]
>> trust me with it. But, you know, I don't
love dessert. I don't like sweet.
[music] I I don't have a sweet tooth at
all. But um
when I first had this, I was like, "Ugh,
what is this?" It's the textures, as
you'll see. It's [music] not that sweet.
The same thing with this kheer, also
Mama Jonas makes this rice pudding,
which is fire. [music] But this is the
Indian kheer. But um yeah, my favorite
desserts. This is American culture right
here. Right here. It's my second home.
So, it's the same, right? And this is
good old home cooking. Mhm.
When Nick was on the show, he said that
he took great comfort in thinking of the
idea of reincarnation, knowing that he
would spend not only this life with you,
but every single life with you. And I
thought that was one of the most
beautiful things I've ever heard. Do you
feel the same way? We got engaged in two
months and then married in four months
after [music] that. So, in six months it
was done.
From our first date. Um
So, in India, after we got engaged, he
proposed to me in Greece on this
beautiful island of Crete, the [music]
day after my birthday. It was magic.
There was a big bottle of actually
1982 Rothschild that day. Wow. For my
birthday, for my birth year. So, a lot
of that had been consumed when I said
yes. [laughter]
Um and after that ceremony, we called
everyone um on our list and told people
we were engaged. We had to go back to
India to do a roka. A roka [snorts] is a
North Indian
I don't know if it's just Punjabi, but
it's a North Indian tradition where it's
a ceremony with the family. Mhm. But the
engagement ceremony with the family. So,
different members of the extended family
come together to celebrate the couple,
to bless them, give them gifts, um
starting their new life. And we have a
few of these in Indian weddings, right?
Like
the couple sit together and the families
come and bless them.
But this is like 6 months prior.
So, at our roka, um even I didn't know
it was going to be such a thing, but my
mom,
you know,
daughter's getting married, don't have
dad, really wanted to make it special.
Yeah. Um so, we had like four pandits,
which are Indian priests,
sitting and chanting. And I walked down
and my mom mom had changed the whole
downstairs. All the couches were moved
and there was like low seating. Um there
was a haven kund in the middle, which is
um
for a fire ceremony.
And there were these pandits just
chanting. And the
the whole feeling
was as if I was walking into a new life.
It didn't hit me when he put the ring on
my finger.
Maybe it was the Rothschild. Maybe it
was Greece. I don't know.
But when we walked in hand in hand,
I was like, "Oh, some like things are
shifting. This is different." Yeah. I go
from my mom to my hu- like husband. It's
like my family I'm choosing
my family. Yeah. So, the gravity of that
was not lost on either of us.
And after the ceremony was over, which
Nick did perfectly, [music]
much to the joy of all my aunties. They
were like,
"He's saying swaha. He's saying swaha."
They loved him. "Oh, wow, he can play
the dolak." It was great.
Um and so, when we went back upstairs to
just,
>> [music]
>> you know, change, take a minute, come
down for lunch, he held my hand and he
said, "I feel like we are on our third
or fourth lifetime." [music] Cuz in
Indian weddings, when you walk around
the fire seven times, you're making a
promise for your seven lifetimes.
[music]
Yeah. Uh we believe in reincarnation and
we believe that you find
your person again and again and again.
>> [music]
>> And when he said that to me, I thought
about it for a second that we're in our
third or fourth. And I said, "Why do you
say that?" He said, "Because it's so
familiar.
It feels like home. But at the same
time,
I want to experience so much of it
together and
I mean, how are you not going to marry
that man?
If he said that to me, I'm marrying him
I was like on the spot.
>> Yes. Again. You didn't ask me, but yes.
>> [laughter]
>> Uh we ask every guest, what do you think
happens when you [music] die, other than
finding Nick Jonas
again and again?
I would like to believe
that um
the human body is a vessel
and I would like to believe
because I feel like
I've met [music] people
on this earth that feel like they've
seen so much more than some other people
have. Yeah. Like I feel like the soul is
other worldly
and I do feel like it's
it comes back in different forms and
[music]
I also believe that you come back on
earth and choose the same people around
you.
>> [music]
>> They're They might change. Like your mom
might be, I don't know, your brother or
your best friend or your dog might be
somebody you know, but I feel like you
kind of surround yourself with similar
souls, I'd like to believe. And that's
why she won the May Queen ball, ladies
and gentlemen, that eloquence.
>> [laughter]
>> You ready to go to the lightning round?
Yes. Oh my gosh. This lightning round is
brought to you by IKEA, because I forgot
to eat it.
>> I forgot to eat it, too, and we have to
try it.
So good. Not too sweet. Who's the one
person, dead or alive, you'd want to
share your actual last meal with?
My dad.
>> [music]
>> Do you ever think about the fact that if
Kevin Jonas wasn't such a big fan of
network TV, you may have never met the
love of your life? Probably. That's
crazy.
>> [laughter]
>> What song do you want to be played at
your funeral? Should have thought about
that before I came in here.
>> [laughter]
>> It defaults to Happy Birthday if you
don't answer. Yeah, that would be nice.
That would be okay, cuz I'd want to come
back. I love Earth.
What annoys you more, hearing people say
chai tea or naan bread? Both.
It's It's not annoying to me, I'm
annoyed for you. Sure. You know, I'm
like embarrassed for you.
That's the wildest I've ever heard.
That's crazy. I'm embarrassed for you.
Yeah, I feel bad for you, that you don't
know. Who's your dream eulogizer at your
funeral? I think I would want it to be
my daughter. Who wins in a fight, Nadia
Sinh from Citadel or Bloody Mary Bowden
from The Bluff?
Bloody Mary. She's scrappy. She's so
scrappy. Yeah, she'll she'll like stab
you in your ribs and not care. Finally,
Priyanka, are you happy?
Yes.
She seems happy. I'm incredibly happy
that I got to share this with you. Thank
you so much.
Thanks to the entire Jonas clan for
taking part in our Mythical Kitchen
referrals program. From Joe to the
brothers, Nick to you, truly, you'll get
your Cheesecake Factory gift cards, I
promise. [laughter]
Thank you so much. We should have perks
by now. Yeah. Thank you. Scan your
rewards card on your way [clears throat]
out. Make sure you get your points.
>> [laughter]
>> If you want to deliver your last words
to that camera right there. It's It's me
emotional, and
you know, it's not every day you think
about your last meals, but
I'm really grateful
for having had the life I've had. Goods,
the good, the bad, all of it.
Because I'm really proud of the woman
I've become.
>> [music]
>> And
I'm okay with
the mistakes that my younger self made.
Cuz it led me to who I am today.
Thank you so much. This is incredible.
Everyone check out The Bluff on Prime
Video right now. Got anything else
you're up to?
Do you get to rest? You going to Italy
at any point?
Sit down for a sec. No, I should. My
husband just told me that we were
supposed to take a summer vacation, but
he just dropped a bomb that he's doing
two movies this summer. So, yay. Between
the two of us, we're going to be
traveling a lot. I'm still in the middle
of production for Varanasi [music]
and I have Citadel season two that will
come out later this year. Yes, it's it's
a busy time, but when is it not? And
>> [music]
>> how lucky are we and privileged are we
to be tired or exhausted from the work
that we once seeked? I'll take a
vacation for them. You can find me in
Sardinia on a beach hammered drunk.
>> How lucky? I don't It's nice.
>> When is the nice down day to take a
vacation? This is the real existential
spiral. It's not about death, it's just
when you going to take a vacation.
Lexi.
>> [laughter]
>> Shop the new We All Got to Eat tees and
sticker now at mythical.com. A portion
of proceeds will benefit No Kid Hungry.