This week's episode of The Sporkful podcast is up! Listen through the player, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts. (And please subscribe!)

Kumail Nanjiani takes his food very seriously.

"My favorite [foods], I'm pretty rigid about. I want them to be a specific way," he tells Dan. "I'm kind of a messy guy, but then with food I have the most rules."

The actor and comedian says he was "inconsolable" when his favorite burger place changed their buns. And he doesn't want different foods to touch on his plate -- especially if those foods aren't meant to be eaten together, like curry and biryani (below).

"If I go to an Indian or Pakistani restaurant with a friend of mine and they get biryani and then they put some sort of curry on it, it bugs me so much," he tells Dan. "Those are separate foods, they're meant to be eaten separately!"

This week on The Sporkful, Kumail nerds out on his food preferences -- from tacos (skip the cheese and salsa) to biryani from his native Pakistan (hold the raisins and cashews) to grilled cheese sandwiches (double-buttered and smooshed).

Can a guy with so many rules about eating learn to embrace the intentional anarchy of fusion foods?

Plus, the conversation turns serious when we discuss the issues of identity that often play into Kumail's work. And listen in to the full episode to hear why Kumail thinks all Islamophobes should be forced to try Pakistani food.

This week's episode of The Sporkful podcast is up! Listen through the player, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts. (And please subscribe!)

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Interstitial music in this episode by Black Label Music:

- "Sun So Sunny" by Calvin Dashielle

- "Stay For The Summer" by William Van De Crommert

- "Child Knows Best" by Jack Ventimiglia

- "Summertime Delight" by Cullen Fitzpatrick

Photos: Courtesy of Kumail Nanjiani and FlickrCC/Nadir Hashmi