By Hindustan Times

Mumbai, April 25 -- Once, when in Thailand, Sameera Reddy and her dad bought themselves packets of crunchy popcorn from a local vendor. When they popped it into their mouths, it tasted funny, neither salty nor caramel sweet. Intrigued, they made some detailed enquiries and discovered that they had been munching fried grasshoppers.

Ouch!

Sameera's sister Meghna is married to a Greek. During a trip there, she was coaxed into trying out the local delicacy, octopus. They have the eight-legged creature steamed, braised, fried and just about every imaginable way.

"It wasn't very nice," she says. "But with my sister's in-laws around, I forced myself to swallow it down. Once was enough." Anushka Sharma, the Rab Ne Bana Di star who returns to the theatres in two weeks with Badmaash Company, mentions octopus tentacles as the highpoint of her culinary adventures.