Movie review: Jab Tak Hai Jaan (Hindi)

Before I delve into the movie review, here's wishing everyone a sparkling Diwali. May the festival of lights brighten up your lives with happiness and prosperity.

We had a nice and quiet Diwali this year. We wanted to stay at home to celebrate our first Diwali in our new home. I had a friend come over for dinner. The day whizzed by with a visit to the temple, conveying wishes to family and friends, beautifying the house, performing prayers, lighting diyas (lamps), making jalebis and other festive dishes, engaging in pleasant conversation and enjoying a hearty meal.

Now for the movie review...

Jab Tak Hai Jaan (JTHJ in short), released this month is a Hindi movie and the last directorial venture of the legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra starring Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in lead roles. 

I couldn't think of a better way to end the Diwali celebrations than watching a love story with a Yash Chopra stamp on it. In my opinion, anyone who can make a movie like Dil Toh Pagal Hai is a passionate filmmaker. And Yash Chopra can be considered a visionary filmmaker with the ability to interpret love in a way that could resonate with audiences of any generation. The man behind Dil Toh Pagal Hai - a movie I fell hopelessly in love with, a movie that I can never get tired of watching, a movie that was iconic in so many ways and most importantly, a movie that revolutionized Indian love stories. So, I feel like I am justified in having sky-high expectations from his last directorial venture.

Recipe of the month: Rava Vangi Bhath

Vangi bhath is a South-Indian breakfast/lunch dish that I am extremely fond of. It is a hearty vegetarian (can also be made vegan), one-pot, delicious and wholesome dish.

Basically, it consists of rice or semolina (also known as rava) cooked with eggplant/brinjal and flavored with a powdered spice mixture known as vangi bhath masala. Although it is made more often using rice, I like the rava version much better. I love eggplants so I tend to be a fan of any dish that uses this versatile vegetable. My mum makes delicious rava vangi bhath and she knows how much I like it so she makes it a point to make it for me whenever I'm around. During the avarekai season (avarekai is also known as surti papdi lilva; scientific name: hyacinth beans; similar to field beans), women especially in my home state of Karnataka have a tendency to add avarekai to almost every dish and rava vangi bhath containing avarekai is something that I pine for. It doesn't get any better than that for me. Unfortunately avarekai is not available all year round so green peas is used as a substitute. 

This dish features as a staple on our weekend breakfast menu. I learnt how to make it to appease my own palate but I'm glad that my hubby loves it too.

I observed my mom while making rava vangi bhath and over the years, I've developed my own method of making it. The first couple of times, I used to notice the rava forming lumps which would actually cause me to gag while eating because it is kinda disgusting. After I figured out how to overcome that problem, there was no turning back. I am very particular about the type of rava I use (either to make vangi bhath or regular upma) so even though there are a variety of acceptable quality brands available in Singapore, I get my rava only from India. After every holiday in India, I come back to Singapore with a bag filled with a few packets of what I consider, the best quality rava (yes I am that finicky).

If you have never tried this recipe before, I hope you will be inspired to do so now. If you love eggplants, you are definitely a candidate for this dish and in case you are not a fan, you can still try it out to see if it turns you into one 😊

Baker's Corner- Cinnamon Rolls

When I was on an extended holiday in the US back in 2007, one of my favorite haunts was Cinnabon. Whenever I would pass by their chain of kiosks, the heavenly smells of cinnamon and butter emanating from their baked goods would take on the form of a powerful lasso to rope me in (quite like how is depicted in cartoons). And their cinnamon rolls are absolutely to die for. I always associate cinnamon rolls with the wonderful time I spent in the US. 

I am obsessed with cinnamon and that is a serious statement. Ever since I began baking apple pies as a teenager, this aromatic spice has won over my palette and heart. I never miss an opportunity to add cinnamon in my cooking either as a tempered spice in savory rice dishes/curries, as a flavoring agent in oatmeal and pancakes, in desserts like rice pudding, fruit pies, sweets, baked goods and also in drinks like coffee, milkshakes, hot chocolate and masala chai. For me, the exotic sweet, earthy and warm taste of cinnamon is reason enough to catapult it to the top spot of my favourite spices.

I have always wanted to bake cinnamon rolls at home. Since I already had success with baking buns, I thought I would try my hand at baking these yummy delights. I poured through the internet and found many many many recipes (enough to make my head spin). I came across recipes that boasted a short-cut version without yeast but I didn't think those would be very good. I feel that if you compromise on the recipe ingredients and time, then you compromise on the taste too and I was not willing to take that gamble on my cinnamon roll debut. 

I settled on a separate recipe for the rolls and the glaze and adapted them to suit my preference. I won't lie to you - these rolls do take some time to make but the results are worth the wait. I started making them at about 10 am and was done by about 12:30 pm. But the good thing is that the procedure for these rolls does not require your constant attention (because a large chunk of the time is devoted to the dough rising). As I prepped for these cinnamon rolls, I also made breakfast, loaded the dishwasher, tidied up the kitchen, did a load of laundry, caught an episode of How I Met Your Mother and had a quick chat with my mum on the phone.

Note that I have updated the photos in this post because the original photos were ghastly

These cinnamon rolls are tender and feathery, the filling gooey and the icing sweet and smooth. Serve it for breakfast or along with coffee as an evening snack. 

I hope you try this recipe folks.