Happy New Year 2009 to everyone!

Stands at our doorstep, another year anew,

Awaiting to paint our life with every possible hue,

Let us invite it in, treat it well, and take care

That it leaves behind loads of peace and happiness to share.

Wishing all my readers a wonderful Happy New Year 2009. Here is hoping that the new season will bring all of you the much needed love, peace, health and success. May the Almighty take away all your troubles and in His infinite wisdom, grant you all your wishes and make all your dreams come true.

Please click here if you to wish to see a card specially made for you. :)

See you next year! Stay well and all the best!

Cheers!

..ShaKri..

[ShaK Recipe] - Okra Kurma / Bhindi Gravy

Dear Reader,

Presenting another little experiment of mine that I tried out today listening to some Alejandro Sanz in the background. Okra Kurma, it is called. A concoction made with okra and spices. I am attaching below the mouth watering result and following it is the recipe. Hope you try it too and enjoy it as much as I did with my stuffed aaloo paratha!

Ingredients

Okra/Bhindi/Lady's Finger - about 15 (thoroughly washed and VERY dry)
Onions - 1
Tomato - 2
Ginger/Garlic paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Coconut paste - 1 table spoon
Oil - 1 table spoon
Curry leaves - a few
Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Mustard seeds - for seasoning


Method

Wash and pat dry the Okra. It has to be very dry. Cut them into 1 inch pieces and fry on dry tawa till it changes bright green in colour. Keep aside.

Heat oil add mustard seeds, curry leaves. Then add chopped onions and sauté till they are brown in colour. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry well for a couple of minutes.

Then add nicely chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook the dish till tomatoes are well cooked. Then add the Okra and mix well. Add coconut paste with water. Cook on high flame for 5 mins. Simmer for 10 mins until the gravy thickens.

And that's it! Enjoy with rice and/or roti with daal.


I hope you try this out some day and enjoy it as much as I did. It's great with aaloo paratha as you can see in the mouth watering photograph I have added above. Cheers!


..ShaKri..

Ghajini : One more review

Fine. So here is another review on Aamir’s latest movie. Considering I have had immense respect for him given that he has always challenged himself to do different and very original stuff, I have to say ‘Ghajini’ was a bit of a let down. And yes. I have seen ‘Memento’ too and believe me, this was nowhere near that classic. Memento’s USP was its water proof script that made the audience think, analyze, remember and most importantly, be shocked! The arrangement of Memento was so brilliant that I was always sure if ever a desi version of it came out it would be filled with meaningless fights, male chauvinism and full of other masala that audience crave from movies in the sub continent.

And, sadly, I was right. I say sadly because the Hindi version – or should I say the version that is bound to reach a lot more audiences than its previous avatar in Tamil – features Aamir Khan. I don’t know why he chose to put himself through such an exhausting routine of muscle building and genuine head shaving for a movie that is simply put – a revenge drama. There is absolutely nothing in the movie that makes the audience want to take the journey of memory loss along with the protagonist. We never feel as lost as he does when clues are brutally erased from his body. We don’t even get a rational explanation as to how he managed to remember everything again without the thousands of photographs and sketches he had for himself. Serious loopholes that make a rather dark story a tad too easy to understand which should be the opposite aim for such scripts. Stories that compel the audience to become part of it and not just passive watchers who see a man out to kill his lover’s murderer. Too simple.

So we have a guy who falls in love with a simple lass who has a major affliction to helping random strangers and an immensely positive attitude towards life – nothing wrong there. The guy is a millionaire but wont say it since, well, he wants to ensure if she likes him it has to be because he is ‘aam aadmi’. Nothing wrong there either. A tragic twist of cinematic liberty and goons come rushing in finishing the girl off and smashing Mr. Millionaire’s head into a 15 minute replay button.

The basic problem with this ‘Ghajini’ (since I haven’t seen the Tamil version which I am told 80% of the scenes in this version are a direct translation from) is its super simple execution of what could have been a brilliant script. Aamir’s performance, as convincing as he always is, just doesn’t meet that benchmark he has created for himself with each performance. Be it Dil Chahta Hai or Rang De or Taare Zameen Per or even Lagaan for instance. Movies that bore a quintessential Aamir signature. Bar the heavy breathing and wild wide eyed craziness brooding over a hunky body set to take on goons, Aamir comes of as ‘just another Bollywood hero’. A tag I am sure he has struggled very hard and very successfully to avoid.

Music is alright albeit the songs have nothing to do with the story. A classic cliché like all other masala movies. The female lead is not too bad either although her only genuine scene seemed to be the one where she is killed. Otherwise she was unnaturally peppy with a ‘Juhi Chawla’ hangover with her giggles and overconfident persona. Much has been written about Jiah Khan but I fail to see where it was she really got into the skin of her role. It was nothing more than a confused medical student’s character that was so messed up to begin with that she interfered with a lot of vital sub plots and came off without any redemption.

Anyway. ‘Ghajini’ is here and sadly it didn’t quite make it for me. I did find the chemistry between Aamir and Asin endearing but not enough to call this a milestone movie for Aamir who quite frankly should be more careful with his choices next time. No more remakes please Mr. Khan. Your audience has put you on a special pedestal for a reason. Please stick to it without bogging down to meaningless rank races and muscle building melas that seem to have taken precedence over meaningful stories.

So now lets all hope to become the 15 minute replay button and try to forget this movie. Shall we?

Rating (for the sake of it)

Script 2/5

Music 3.5/5

Performances 3/5

Entertainment Factor 2.5/5

..ShaKri..

Tomato Dosa - experimenting with food!

Dear reader,

Xmas vacations are a time for me to expand my cooking skills and try out new recipes. I am not much of a chef, per say, but I do experiment with things I feel meet my basic cooking skills. This new recipe - Tomato Dosa - was one among them. I am attaching an image of the dosa I ended up making. I had it with some spicy Karela gojju (the # 1 favorite dish on my list) for dinner tonight so thought of sharing the joy - and the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice (about 200 grams)
4 medium sized ripe tomatoes
4-5 long red chillies
Coconut - shredded or a can of coconut milk
Salt to taste


Method:
1) Wash and soak rice in water for about 2 hours.
2) Grind together - coconut, tomatoes and red chillies to a fine paste. Make sure there are no lumps.
3) Add rice slowly to this mixture and keep grinding until a fine batter is ready. Add salt to taste and grind it one more round.
4) This dosa is not like a rice dosa where it has to be turned to be cooked. So, ensure that the batter is a tad thin - but not too thin like Neeru Dosa either.
5) Pre-heat the pan with a little oil and ensure the pan is really hot.
6) Pour batter on it in circular motions. One swift motion recommended without spreading it around like a regular dosa.
7) Sprinkle a little more oil on it and cover it with a lid to let both sides cook for about 2-3 minutes.
8) Once done fold it carefully and put it on a plate. And thats it!


I am sure there are several variations for this that more experienced folks can accessorize with. For me, this was heaven considering I had it with Hagalkai Gojju!


Cheers,
ShaKri

[New Year Cards @ Shubhashaya.com]

yeMjAy!

Shubhashaya.com promotional video on YouTube

Promotional video for Shubhashaya.com on YouTube.

yeMjAy!

--------

--------

Christmas Cards on Shubhashaya.com

Dear reader,

Shubhashaya.com once again presents its array of cards for Christmas. Please feel free to click on the links below to view the collection and send a word of care and love to your near ones.

Your support remains our only motivation.

Direct Link to the Christmas cards page - http://www.shubhashaya.com/christmas.htm

Cheers,

SK