Sundari Venkatraman's Blog, page 74

Recipe: BATATA VADA

Batata Vada

Vada Pav is a hot favourite in Mumbai, especially during the rains. While it can be purchased at every naka in the city, one can’t beat homemade Batata Vada. I learned to make this from my sister-in-law’s husband. It’s quite easy to make and very delicious too.



INGREDIENTS



Potato Mixture



Potato – 1kg

Rai – 1 tsp

Channa Dal – 1 tbsp

Urad Dal – 1 tbsp

Garlic – 10-12 (chopped fine)

Green Chillies – 6-8 (chopped fine)

Curry Leaves – 10 (chopped fine)

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Oil – 2 tsp

Salt to taste



Potato Balls ready to go into the batter

Oil for deep frying



For Batter



Besan – 250 gm (2 cups)

Turmeric Powder – 1 large pinch

Chilli Powder – ¼ tsp

Oil – 2 tsp

Salt to taste



METHOD



1. Cook the potatoes in pressure cooker for 4 whistles.

2. Mix the batter with the ingredients mentioned along with water to form a smooth paste to the consistency of Dosa batter. I add oil instead of soda as the latter is not healthy at all. It will give the same crispness to the vada.

3. Peel the potatoes and smash well using a pav-bhaji masher.

4. Take a saucepan and heat 2 tsp oil in it. Add the rai and allow it to crackle before adding the channa dal and urad dal.

5. Fry till golden brown before adding the chopped garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. Fry till the garlic turns brown before switching off the gas.

6. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix well.

7. Now add the mashed potatoes and coriander leaves. Mix well with hand. Check for salt.

8. Mould the potato mixture into balls.

9. Heat oil in a kadai for frying.

10. Dip the potato balls into the besan batter and deep fry till golden brown.



The yummiest homemade Batata Vadas are ready. You can serve them with pavs and lasoon chutney.

Film Review: SINGAM II (சிங்கம்II)

You should not miss it if you are a Surya fan!



Cast: Surya, Anushka Shetty, Hansika Motwani, Radha Ravi, Manorama, Vivek, Santhanam, Rahman, Vijaya Kumar, Nassar, Mukesh Rishi

Director: Hari



THE STORY



The story begins from exactly where it was left off in the first one. Duraisingam aka Singam resigns from the police force and goes undercover to teach in a Higher Secondary School in Tuticorin as a NCC Master. In the meanwhile, he keeps a watch on the coastline for illegal activities as instructed by the Home Minister (Vijaya Kumar).



Sathya (Hansika Motwani) is studying in Std. XII. She falls in love with DS and chases him till she finds out that he is already engaged to Kavya (Anushka Shetty). Bhai (Mukesh Rishi) seems to be in charge of the criminal activities in town. Sathya’s uncle Thangaraj (Rahman) has sworn enmity with Bhai. Gathering his facts together, DS hopes to take Thangaraj’s help in fighting Bhai. But is everything as it appears to be?



Soon, DS comes out into the open taking up the post of DSP as there is a bigger enemy out there on the horizon. Danny (Danny Sapani) is a drug cartel kingpin who keeps to international waters to escape being caught. It appears that Bhai has dealings with Danny. DS is keen to catch them red-handed. Will he succeed?



MY PERCEPTION



It is an out and out masala flick – the same as Singam . Surya is a joy to watch on screen. He looks so handsome and fit and acts extremely well. I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Duraisingam handling a troublesome teenager in the guise of Hansika Motwani. He fights, sings, dances, emotes and what not! Excellent work, Surya!



Hansika Motwani has a good role in the film and she has performed very well.



Anushka Shetty is very so-so, same as the first film. Luckily, she has a smaller role in this one. The song-dance sequences were there for the crowd’s entertainment, I suppose. They add absolutely no value to the story.



It was nice to see Rahman after a long time. He has got a fairly chunky role and has performed well.



While the joke sequences with Santhanam don’t have much to do with the story line, the actor has done a pretty good job and keeps the audience laughing with his nonsense.



While there are a number of fight sequences in the sequel, they are not very prolonged. Thank God for that!



VERDICT: The film is worth a see if you like masala flicks. A must-not-miss if you are a Surya fan.



RATING: *** Smart



* Silly

** Shaky

*** Smart

**** Snazzy

***** Super

Recipe: GREEN THAI CURRY WITH VEGGIES

Green Thai Curry with Veggies (no artificial colour added)

I have fallen in love with the taste of Green Thai Curry over the past few years. A couple of weeks ago, Viggy got the recipe from a friend and that’s when I made the dish at home for the first time. It had turned out well but it was not the best. Later, when I spoke to my sister Lakshmi, she explained to me that I should use thick coconut milk and should not boil it for very long. So, the second time I made Thai Curry on the eve of Vini’s birthday, it turned out just perfect.



INGREDIENTS







French Beans – 100 gm (Stringed and cut into 1” pieces)

Carrots – 150 gm (Peeled and cut into 1” pieces)

Broccoli – 150 gm (Cut into 1” pieces)

Red Pepper – 1 (Cut into medium-sized pieces)

Yellow Pepper – 1 (Cut into medium-sized pieces)

Zucchini – 1 (small) (Cut into medium-sized pieces)

Paneer – 100 gm (Cut into 1” pieces)

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Coconut Milk – 3 cups (of thick consistency)



Masala



Readymade Green Thai Curry Paste – 50 gm

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Ginger – 2” piece



METHOD



1. Extract thick coconut milk as mentioned in the note below and keep aside.

2. Grind the three items under ‘Masala’ with a couple of spoons of water. This should be a smooth paste.

3. Take half the masala and marinate the paneer pieces in it and keep aside for 10 minutes.

4. Boil water in a vessel. Add salt and beans to it. Cook for 3-4 minutes before adding the carrots. Cook for 1 minute and switch off gas. Add the zucchini, mix with a ladle and immediately drain the water completely.

5. Heat the oil in a saucepan and shallow fry the marinated paneer. Turn it for a couple of minutes before adding the red and yellow peppers. Add the other half of the masala.

6. Toss for 2-3 minutes before adding the boiled veggies – beans, carrots, broccoli & zucchini.

7. Mix well and add a bit of salt. The readymade Thai Curry paste already has salt in it. So do not add too much.

8. Switch off gas after 2 minutes.

9. You can add the coconut milk and cook on a medium flame for just 2-3 minutes or till the mixture begins to simmer just before serving.



Green Thai Curry with Veggies tastes absolutely delicious with Steamed Rice. Believe me, it was finger-licking good!





Note: Coconut milk is readily available in cans. You can use this. I preferred to make fresh coconut milk at home. For 3 cups of coconut milk, I ground 2 grated coconuts with 3 cups of water and strained the milk. DO NOT add water a second time round to extract thin milk. This is not suitable for making Thai Curry. The leftover coconut can be stored in the freezer and used for garnish in South Indian Curries or for making gravies for Kootu. 








Before adding the coconut milk! Doesn't it look yummy?

Recipe: VEG MANCHURIAN GRAVY

Hakka Noodles with Veg Manchurian Gravy

Venkat saw an ad in the paper. Knorr has come up with Manchurian Gravy. The picture was very attractive and he was keen that I try it at home. Only after I got the packets did I realise that Knorr provides the gravy while the Manchurians need to be prepared from scratch. I have never made this before and the recipe on the packet was a great help.





The dough for making Manchurian Balls

INGREDIENTS



For Manchurian Balls



Grated Carrots – 1 cup

Grated Cabbage – 1 cup

Maida – ¼ cup

Corn-flour – ¼ cup

Salt to taste

Oil for frying





The Manchurian is ready to go into the gravy

(I have deviated a bit from the recipe on the packet as I don't advocate maida much. Corn-flour is a great substitute but I was not confident enough to use that fully.)



For Gravy



Knorr Chinese Manchurian – 1 packet

Spring Onions – 1 bunch (chopped along with the greens)

Capsicum – 2 (chopped)

Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 flat tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 2 tsp

Water – 500 ml





The Gravy

METHOD



1. Mix the grated carrots, grated cabbage, corn-flour and maida in a bowl along with salt. This can be kneaded into thick dough (to the consistency of roti dough). There is no need to add water.

2. Make small balls the size of lemons. Deep fry these and keep aside.

3. Take a saucepan and heat 2 tsp oil in it. Keep the flame on medium to high.

4. Once hot, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry.

5. Add the spring onions and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

6. Then add the capsicum and do the same.

7. Take a bowl and mix the contents of the packet of Knorr Chinese Manchurian to half a litre water.

8. Add this mixture to the saucepan and stir well. The flame can be reduced to low at this point.

9. Cook for 2-3 minutes. You may need to add a bit of salt while the Knorr mixture already has some in it.

10. Now add the fried Manchurian balls to this gravy and cook for a minute before switching off the gas.





Thank you Knorr!

Serve the Veg Manchurian Gravy hot with Hakka Noodles or Fried Rice. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you Knorr for making this so easy! Otherwise, preparing the gravy could be a tedious job.

Sharing: A NOVEL EXPERIENCE WITH COCKATIELS

My neighbour Ganesh has a miniature aquarium at his house. Recently, he has also become the proud owner of a pair of rare cockatiels. The adorable pair of birds is extremely people-friendly. My husband brought them home for a few minutes along with their cage.



I don’t think Simba liked the birds much. Of course, that could have been because they were out of his reach. He prowled around the cage for a while and finally settled down below, keeping a vary eye on them.





I was saving my earring from the naughty little cockatiel

Venkat told me that the birds were quite harmless and one could hold them on the arm or shoulder. I was not keen to try this in Simba’s presence. We locked him up in the other room and Venkat let one of the cockatiels on my wrist.



Heavens! It was such a joyous experience as the little one walked slowly up my arm and sat on my shoulder. Soon, she was nipping at my earring. Believe me, it did not hurt at all. She was only interested in my gold earring and not my ear. Such a sweetheart!





When I whistled to him, he tweeted back

Again, at night, we went down to Ganesh’s house and met the birds once again. It was sheer fun as they walked from my right wrist all the way to my shoulder and then my nape. When Venkat tried to grab the bird, she hid behind my head and refused to come out. Then when he took his hand away, she walked down the other shoulder down to my left arm.



It was a mind-blowing experience!

Book Review: THE OATH OF THE VAYUPUTRAS by Amish

The Oath of the Vayuputras is the third and last book of The Shiva Trilogy series by Amish Tripathi.



Flipkart says:



The Oath of the Vayuputras is the final book of The Shiva Trilogy. In the earlier books of the trilogy, Shiva finds out that the Nagas are not his enemies and joins hands with them to reach the root of all evil. This book will have answers to ‘the Neelkanth’s’ questions about his fate, the choices he made previously and karma.



Further, in the concluding book of the trilogy, Shiva reaches Panchavati, the capital of the Nagas, where he will come face-to-face with his greatest enemy. Will he win the battle over his wicked enemies, who are out to destroy him and his legacy?



The Oath of the Vayuputras will also reveal the reason of Shiva’s close friend Brahaspati’s disappearance and reappearance at the end of the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. The relationship between Daksha - the king of Meluha and the mysterious temple priests will also be exposed in this last part of the trilogy. Shiva seeks help from the Vayuputras in the quest to conquer all evil.



The great warrior will encounter the real intentions of some characters he deemed to be close to him. Some new characters will add that extra vitality to the entire plot, especially Shiva’s greatest enemy whose name sends shivers down the spines of many great warriors.



An interesting journey of a warrior who is turned into a God by his followers because of his deeds and war against the evil, this book is sure to have its readers’ full attention. A good read which will make one reflect on their actions, this book like the two earlier books of the trilogy focuses on philosophy, religion and the never ending battle between the good and the evil.



MY PERCEPTION



I had bought the book about 45 days ago. I started reading it almost immediately. To begin with, it took me a while to recall the characters – apart from Shiva and his family, of course – and get my teeth into the book.



It was mighty slow going as the story turned out to be quite lethargic. I had not quite expected this considering that I almost rushed through reading The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas .



The first two books were too interesting and absorbing for words. I had to read the first few chapters of The Oath of the Vayuputras over a few weeks. Then the magic unfolded suddenly. The story got back on track and became appealing once again.



From that point on, the book moved fast and despite the blood and gore of war, I was hooked to the book till the end. Congratulations Amish ! You have made history. Truly amazing work - The Shiva Trilogy!



The Lament of the Blue Lord is the chapter that truly touched my heart. I love you Shiva!

Sharing: 450,000 VISITS ON FLAMING SUN

I am super-thrilled to mention here that my blog Flaming Sun saw 450,000 visits today. It is a historical moment for me.



I must thank my readers and my family members for all the encouragement that I have received from all of you.



Thank you! Love you all! 

Travel: RETURN TRIP FROM BENGALURU

The bus I travelled in on my return journey

My bus was leaving Bangalore at 7.30 pm. I left the guesthouse by rickshaw at 5.30 pm as it was a long distance to the bus stop and the evening traffic is quite immense in Bangalore or so I was told. It was not too bad compared to Mumbai traffic, of course.



The Neeta Volvo came bang on time at 7.30 and we left a few minutes later. It was an uneventful journey while we stopped for dinner on the way.



It was raining crazily even before we reached Pune. It was a joy seeing all the waterfalls from within the cosy confines of the bus.



I watched a number of films during the trip – Aashiqui 2; Shootout at Wadala, Special 26, Himmatwala and a video CD of Aamir Khan songs – both ways. It was good fun and a novel experience.



There were at least three stops in Pune and it was pouring cats and dogs. Some people got in and others got out. I was busy on a phone call and later my book as the bus had been standing for about 15 minutes. I did wonder why it took so long for the bus to leave as we were not anywhere near a restaurant and we were already running late. I heard the driver, caretaker and a couple of other guys talking in the background.



A couple of minutes later, the caretaker walked towards the back of the bus and was shocked to see me sitting there. He asked me what I was doing there. In turn, I was startled and asked him why. That’s when he explained that the bus had broken down and all the passengers had been shifted to another bus and the second bus had left a few minutes ago.





This was at a stop just before Pune

I was quite cool about it as it was obvious that there was no use getting worked up. I asked the man whether they planned to leave me right there in Pune. He insisted that they would find accommodation for me in another bus that was due in 15 minutes and said that Neeta Volvo had a reputation to keep and they would never strand their passengers.



Another Volvo (not Neeta) came within 2 minutes and one of the guys carried my bag and ensured that I was seated comfortably and told the driver to drop me off at Sion. I was quite impressed by their service.



I reached Mumbai within three hours and was dropped right outside my lane and I was quite thrilled to reach home within two minutes in the pouring rain.



What a trip!

Travel: A TRIP TO POTTERY TOWN, BENGALURU

Vini's work of art

I got back to our guesthouse after visiting the Iskcon Temple and Vini and I had breakfast. Then after getting the directions from my sister Lakshmi’s friend Uma, we took a rickshaw to Pottery Town.





Display of license on autorickshaws in Bengaluru

One thing I have to admire about the rickshaws in Bengaluru - all of them have an identity card of the owner/driver with his photo, information and license details for people to take a note of, in case of trouble. While the autos themselves are the most uncomfortable, this is a great thing for the public and will also make the autowallah think twice before swindling someone.





Pots on display in Pottery Town

We reached Pottery Town after a half-hour ride. I believe there used to be 25 pottery families in the area a couple of decades back. Now, there were four of them, struggling to maintain their business, by the looks of it. The area appeared like a small township by itself with a municipal school in the centre. It was obviously in a very poor section of Bangalore. There was a building stacked with pots on the balcony. There were a number of pots spread out to dry in the sun on the roadside.





Every nook and corner of the building was stacked with pots in different shapes and sizes



We walked for a distance hoping to see more pottery outlets. There weren’t any. There was a small church that was built over a gutter. The spire was tall and looked very nice. I could not help but take a few pictures.






The church in Pottery Town

The pottery families were predominantly Tamils who have been in the business for three generations. We went inside one such house making pots and Vini and I got a chance to take the pottery wheel. Govardhan was the young man in charge of this wheel. He told us that we could pay anything we wanted to and let us have a hand at the electric wheel. He was even ready to guide us when we asked.





Pots drying in the sunlight on the roadside

Believe me, it was fun working with clay. It was our first experience and the two of us had a royal time shaping the wet and silky soft clay to our hearts’ content. Govardhan was quite happy when we paid him 200 rupees for the use of his electric wheel.





A view of Pottery Town from inside Govardhan's home

After trying out various shapes, I ended up making a small bowl that was quite symmetrical. Vini spent a longer time and with Govardhan’s help managed to make a very cute pot with a miniature one stuck to the side.





Govardhan learned to make pots at Age 5 from his Grandfather

Sadly, we could not bring the pot along with us as it was too wet. We carried it all the way to the guesthouse but were too scared to bring it back with us to Mumbai. But I have to say that it was too cute.





That's what I made. It was fun! 

It was way past lunchtime when we managed to get a rickshaw and we got to eat the most horrible lunch at some restaurant on our way back to the guesthouse. We did not linger for long as we had our return tickets booked for the same evening.