The Lean Veggie - Eggless cranberry apple spice cake

I borrowed a recipe from cooks.com, and then modified it to incorporate classic Thanksgiving flavors. The lack of eggs does not detract from the cake one bit. I refrigerated the cake for about 3 days after baking, and then warmed a couple of slices in the microwave for about 30 seconds before eating. Ofcourse, it also tasted great straight out of the oven. Warm, sweet, decadent, and spicy, this really is the taste of fall!

Ingredients -

Applesauce - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 cup

Cinamon - 2 sticks

Cloves - 2

Cardomom - 1 pod

Sweetened dried cranberries (Craisins brand) - 1/2 cup (can substitute with chopped raisins or other dry fruits)

Finely Crushed almonds - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cups

Soft butter - 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

1) Finely chop cranberries/raisins and mix with 1/4 cup flour till fully coated

2) Finely powder the cinnamon, cloves and cardomom seeds with 2 teaspoons of sugar

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4) In a big mixing bowl, add apple sauce, sugar, vanilla extract and spices

5) Add softened butter, and with a hand mixer, mix together till incorporated

6) Slowly add the crushed nuts, cranberry flour mixture, baking powder, and remaining flour and mix well. The cake batter will be fairly thick

7) Grease a cake pan, pour the cake batter, and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes, till a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean

8) When done, invert onto a plate and apply the frosting to the top and sides of the cake

Frosting

1) With a hand mixer, cream together 1/4 cup of butter, 1/4 cup milk and 1 cup powdered sugar

2) Mix in 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries (Craisins)

Sin city for thanksgiving...yaay!!!

I will not be updating this blog till monday. K and I decided that we could not face one more thanksgiving sitting quietly at home with nowhere to go, when the rest of the country is shut down and overdosing on family and turkey. So we picked the one place in the country that will be functioning no matter what......Las Vegas!!!! We are going with great expectations. I have promised K that my winnings will pay for all meals and idhara selavugal for the next 3 days. Wish me luck!

Movie Review - Saawariya

1) Which of the two leading characters in Saawariya is more mentally disturbed?
a) Ranbir Kapoor's Raj
b) Sonam Kapoor's Sakeena

2) Which of the following two is the stupidest thing Sonam's character does?
a) Falling in "love" with Salman (without having a clue about him) and waiting on a bridge with an umbrella every night for him
b) Spending every moment every night with Ranbir, cultivating a weird "dosti" (knowing fully well he is nuttier than a pecan pie), and needlessly falling into his arms every two seconds

3) Which of the following best describes Sanjay Leela Bhansali's (SLB's) state of mind as he was making the movie?
a) Crazy
b) Delusional

4) Clearly, SLB has major issues. Which of the following do you think needs more urgent attention?
a) Repressed dislike for star families,especially Kapoors, which made him reduce two promising star kids to mere caricatures
b) His secret swadeshi ambitions (which foreign studios would ever invest in India again after this?)
c) Some unknown issues with Rani Mukherjee....why else would any director do this to her?

5) Who is the most irritating character ever seen in Hindi cinema?
a) Amitabh Bachan in Jhoom barabar jhoom
b) Rani Mukherjee in Saawariya

6) Who has emerged as the biggest losers in the Saawariya debacle?
a) The producers
b) The audience
c) The world of cinema

7) Who/What do you feel more sorry for?
a) A dignified lady like Zohra Sehgal reduced to acting in movies like this
b) The color blue which will forever be associated with this disaster

8) Which city do you think the movie's sets are inspired by?
a) Venice
b) Pakeezah-land
c) Who cares...its a trip to hell for the audience!

9) How did Sonam Kapoor give such a fine performance?

a) Thanks to her dad's genes
b) As giving halwa to unsuspecting guys is something we all have a lot of experience in

10) What do you hope to never EVER see again?
a) Long haired heroines with backless blouses flirting with every lame guy they come across
b) Ranbir in a skimpy towel or a hat
c) Rani Mukherjee in another not-so-special appearance
d) Another Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie

11) If you are one of the few people (other than SLB and his mom) who watched the entire movie, which of the following two statements describes your condition better?
a) A part of you has died forever
b) You now need therapy for the rest of your life
c) Both of the above

Movie Review - Om Shanti Om

I took a long break from Sharukh Khan's movies. It happened shortly after Kabhie kushi kabhie gham. I was tired of his hamming, tired of over dressed heroines wearing chiffon saries and bra-style blouses, and sick of the Yash chopra chorus going "aaahhhhaaaaa" in the background. And then, I watched Chak de India, and I felt a renewed connection with Sharukh, almost as intense as one during his kkkkkkkiran days. Now, with Om Shanti Om, I am in love again. All hard feelings are forgotten. He really is too cool.

Om Shanti Om has a fairly conventional (atleast for Indian cinema) re-incarnation story. But after a long time, you get to watch a movie that is brave enough to laugh at Hindi cinema itself. Almost every scene is priceless - Kiron Kher's Mother India style dialogues (which are genuinely touching in the second half), and the Filmfare awards scenes (Akshay Kumar deserves a real Filmfare for his cameo) being the most notable. All the reviews complained about the second half being too slow, but to me, the dramatic, and unexpectedly spine-chilling climax more than made up for it.

King Khan is in his element - more importantly, the new Queen Khan is in her element. It takes a lot of guts to laugh at ourselves (because, even with plenty of material, we Indians rarely do that), and she still makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy at the end. However, the 31 star song comes across more like a gimmick, a welcome cigarette/popcorn break really. Shreyas is sincere and Arjun is good. Deepika makes a commendable debut, both in her past and present roles. Except for her slightly over-arched right eyebrow, she is genuinely endearing, pretty, surprisingly innocent, and captures our sympathies in her superstar-with-a-golden-heart role.

"When you truly desire something, the whole universe conspires to make your wishes come true, and if your wishes are not fulfilled, then the story is not yet over my friend!!!"

Rarely has hindi cinema conveyed such an exhilarating message. Making us laugh, making us cry, and making us believe that our wildest dreams can come true....Om Shanti Om is incredibly wonderful cinema. Spoof or no spoof, it really is Bollywood at its very best!

I finally said goodbye to Food network

I used to be a major addict of the Food Network (FN) channel. With FN, I could visit houses and restaurants all across the country. I could celebrate each month of the year, with something special from FN - sweets for Valentines day, Tailgating party ideas, summer barbeques and ofcourse, Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas cookies. But two things did it for me, and I had to say goodbye - Olive oil and scary people.

You know that the Olive oil cartel (if something like that even exists) has a fishy (or should we say oily) deal going on with the FN. Olive oil seems to have replaced water in most recipes. They no longer drizzle it over dishes. Each recipe calls for CUPS of oil. And ofcourse, it has to be Extra virgin. Sure, it may be good for you, but it does have calories (more than canola oils), is very expensive, and has a very strong flavor and heating temperatures totally unsuitable for different kinds of cooking.

And then the scary people. You could watch FN just for the kicks and giggles from watching these "chefs".

There is Rachael Ray. Anything I type here is purely redundant, as there are many Anti-Ray websites. My grouse? She knows exactly three recipes - a basic tomato+onion+garlic gravy, a burger/meatball, a grilled cheese sandwich that she endlessly recycles, and also totally insults the wonderful world of food, and earnest cooks who try to make healthy meals, and hard working chefs who really know how to cook.

And then there is scary Giada. She is reed thin, but every recipe of hers calls for 2 sticks of butter and 5 cups of cheese (and ofcourse, endless bottles of olive oil). And the low-cut-blouses on every single show? So much for women's liberation!

And then the scariest of them all - Sandra Lee. Someone, PLEASE take her to AA. Every episode has a cocktail recipe, with her tasting the drink the second she pours it into the glass (the food that she makes is mostly untouched). She looks at alcohol with great desire and longing, advocates a "tablescape" which would set you back atleast a 100 bucks each meal, and finally, wears clothes to match the dish she cooks!!!!

So its bye to FN, and a great big hi to Fine living TV

Movie Review - Lions for Lambs

Oscar fishing movie makers have come up with what-they-think-is a magic formula -

1) Have a few parallel story lines. Definitely a minimum of three. Interconnection between the story lines is strictly optional. Extra points if at least one of the stories is based in another continent.

2) Somehow, work a burning current social/political issue into the storyline. Good topics include –
a. Racial tensions
b. Wars (old or new, preferably currently waged wars)
c. Terrorism

3) Choose between one of three conclusions for the movie –
a. End each of the parallel story lines in complete despair and tragedy
b. Show the incredible triumph of the human spirit across religious/racial/cultural divides
c. Leave a bunch of questions completely unanswered.

So the writers of Lions for Lambs choose the tried and tested multiple story technique, base the movie on current wars, and just for a few kicks and shocks, also cast some scary aspersions on another country.

The writers’ efforts come across as insincere. The entire movie, despite its provocative red hot story and stellar star cast, ends up being strictly lukewarm. That is why the unsatisfactory, unfinished anti-climax comes as no big surprise. The actors try to infuse their lines with feeling, but, sitting in the audience, I just did not feel the passion and urgency, despite the movie delving into topics that I am immensely passionate about.

Conceptually, Lions for Lambs looks excellent on paper. It's plot is truly intelligent and thought provoking – The society pushes youngsters to care for their world and try to make a difference. The few that do, end up losing when they are used as pawns in complex geopolitical machinations. In the meantime, the powers that be – namely, politicians and so-called journalists continue along the twisted paths they make for themselves, forged by ego and plain personal ambition, all cloaked under a veil of patriotism.

Its not a bad movie. The performers- Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford – all succeed in getting your attention. But you walk away feeling disappointed. Like starving yourself all day in anticipation of a big thanksgiving feast, and ending up with only a serving of lukewarm watered down soup.

No, Lions for Lambs is not a bad movie. It is mediocre. Given the importance of it's plot, the wasted opportunity makes for lousy cinema. A total blue collar B.

The Lean Veggie - Easy oven fries

If you are craving for some good ol fashioned fries, but afraid of the calories and the time and effort, this is a really cool recipe. I used a massive russet potato, but you can substitute with a few smaller potatoes. Make sure the dhaniya jeera powder is super fresh. This recipe will go great with rotis and dhal as well.

Ingredients -

Potato - 1 huge russet potato, or 3 medium sized ones

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Spices - Salt, black pepper, red chilli powder, dhaniya-jeera powder (see recipe below)

Method -

1) Set the oven to 450 degrees

2) Peel the potato(es)

3) Cut into halves, and then cut the halves into four longitudinal sections, and then into thin slices. The thinner the slices, the faster and crispier the fries

4) Place the slices in a bowl. Mix in the oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tablespoon dhaniya jeera powder. Use your fingers - make sure the spices and oil are evenly distributed and coat every slice

5) Grease a baking sheet or a pizza pan with a little oil

6) Distribute the potato slices evenly in a single layer on the sheet

7) Bake in the oven till the slices are cooked through and begin to crisp. Make sure they do not burn. It will take atleast 20 minutes, but, as you are baking at a very high temperature, keep an eye on the oven and check every 5 minutes. Do not open the oven door too often as the heat will escape, but, turn the oven light on and take a peek every now and then.

Dhaniya jeera powder -

Dhania (coriander seeds) - 3 tablespoons

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 3 teaspoons

Heat a small non stick pan. Dry roast the seeds, constantly shaking/stirring the pan. The seeds turn black very quickly, so constantly keep them moving around the pan. When they turn a little brown, and you can smell the fragrance of the spices, immediately transfer the spices to a spice mill (coffee beans grinder) or very small blender jar (if you leave the seeds in the pan, they could still turn black due to the residual heat). Wait for about 5 minutes for the seeds to cool, and then grind to a very fine powder. Store immediately in an air tight jar. The blender jar has to be very small, otherwise, the seeds will not get powdered.

Note: Make very small quantities of this masala powder. It tastes wonderful when fresh, but can quickly lose all its flavor. You can buy dhaniya jeera powder in Indian or international grocery stores, but, the quantities are too much, and the flavor is lost very quickly.

Women and the niceness factor

Much has changed in this world. Women have made great strides in the workplace, in virtually every field. They are no longer considered an unnecessary addition to the workplace, and people no longer accuse women of having somehow denied a man somewhere his job. But does this mean its all roses for women? Definitely not.

Women had to fight the domesticity factor in the last century - they had to prove that their homes would not completely fall apart if they stepped outside for 8 hours a day. And so they did. And they did incredibly well. However, today, there is a bigger obstacle that women have to fight. This struggle will be harder than the battles our mothers faced. It is against the most invisible, insidious thing - PERCEPTION; the socially acceptable norm that women are supposed to conform to, they are expected to be nice, no matter what the situation.

In the corporate jungle, guess how far "niceness" takes you? I most certainly am not implying that people react positively only to authoritative behavior. However, in certain situations, women aspiring to be in leadership positions have to display strength. And guess what happens when a woman does that, stepping out of the nice box just a little? She is called a bitch. I truly do not get it . What is the equivalent such word for men in the dictionary? A-hole maybe? I have never met a single man that genuinely got upset when called that!

Research now consistently shows that women earn far less than men in the same job roles. Why? Because, we just cannot strike a hard bargain (and i am totally guilty of this). We think a million times before demanding things that rightfully belong to us. We try not to seem too ambitious. Obviously, there are exceptions to this - Indira Nooyi, Meg Whitman, Nancy Pelosi etc etc. But when you look away from these success stories, there are so many untold tales of brilliant, courageous women, who end up not reaching the pinnacles they deserved to.

Trust me, this problem is not due to chauvinistic men. This problem is also not due to domestic commitments. People do not openly preach niceness to women. And in many cases, women do not even realize something like this is going on. The compulsion to be "nice" has somehow been programmed into the female DNA. By "niceness", i am not referring to true goodness of the heart. I am talking about the way women hold back from saying certain things (usually critical), and from asking for certain things (usually monetary), because they somehow are afraid of not looking, what else, nice!

I'm not sure how, but society somehow ends up ingraining this attitude in women, right from the beginning. I saw a classic demonstration of this on TV. A researcher took 2 jugs of lemonade, and dumped a cup of salt into each jug. He served the lemonade first to a group of little boys (maybe between the ages of 6 and 8) in a room, and then to a group of little girls in a nearby room. The videotaped reactions were incredible. The boys, after one sip of the salty lemonade, refused to drink anymore. "Ewww", "gross" etc etc were the reactions. The girls? Many of them (while making faces behind the researchers back), ended up finishing their entire glasses, and also complimented the researcher. Later, he asked them if they found the lemonade salty. They hesitatingly replied "uh..a little!". When pressed further, they revealed that they did not want to hurt his feelings, and hence suffered through the salty drink.

Here are a few more examples -

1) A friend of mine got a job offer, and accepted it. One week into the new job, she got another incredible job that she had interviewed for earlier. Did she take the new offer (which would have suited her family better in many ways)? No. The reason? She did not think it would have been a nice thing to do. At least 3 men I know have jumped jobs right after joining a new one. Is it the nicest thing to do? Most certainly not. It is also very inconvenient for the employers you just dissed. But what if the new job involves no traveling and a better pay which then works out a lot better for your family? Why should you not choose that?

2) Two first ladies - one current, and one, a former first lady. Their approval ratings? The current first lady is highly regarded, and the former first lady has likability ratings of only 34% despite a high profile presidential campaign. The reason? The current first lady is considered "very nice", and the former? Not so much, because she dared piss a few people off, fighting for health care reforms that she believed in, and oh, she does not have a sugar sweet persona.

3) A bunch of presidential candidates - Each more ambitious than the other. The most vitriol is directed at the lone woman candidate. Why? Oh, because she is daring enough to show some personal ambition. And the reaction of the pundits? She is failing as she is not "likeable" enough.

4) Men in the workplace show passion ? They are considered ambitious go-getters. A woman in the workplace shows a little passion and ambition? Oh, shes a bitch

5) A cooking show host on the food network comes across as a little friendly and approachable. She then builds an entire career solely on her "niceness", which conveniently eclipses the fact that she cannot cook at all. "Hey i'm nice, so give me a medal!" seems to be her motto.

Gosh, we have such a long way to go. And we are not going to get anywhere simply with affirmative action or pro-women quotas and reservations. The change has to come from within us. I'm gonna start with me. Sure, I will keep being nice, but, I will also take care of myself, and push for the rewards I truly deserve. And the next time I see a woman kicking butt? Instead of thinking "what a bitch", I will most certainly think, "go for it sister!!!"

Bay Area Restaurant Review - Dosa Place in Santa Clara

I am totally spoiled for veggie food choices in the Bay area. I want to spread the word, so, you are going to read a lot of restaurant reviews from now on. And its ok if you dont live in the Bay area. Hopefully, this blog should come as a handy reference when you visit, or, you could get inspired and try some of the fantanstic dishes at home.

We went to the Dosa Place for dinner last night. The restaurant has just opened this week, and my husband and I truly enjoyed some good ol south indian hospitality. The appetizers - medhu vadai and potato bonda were pretty routine, but got us hungry enough for the main course - the dosas. The menu has the widest variety of dosas I have ever seen, including some really creative ones like California dosa, and Guacomole dosa (er.....i'm not sure if i'll ever end up ordering that). Traditional treats like Adai, pesarattu upma, and kal dosai are also available. With the chef's recommendations, K ordered Chettinad dosa and I ordered the California dosa. My dosa was pretty good - a lighter version of a masala dosa, but with the masala spread all over the dosa (instead of a lump in the middle), and with chopped almonds, a little cheese and lots of green peas.

K's Chettinad dosa was incredible. Again, the masala was distributed almost throughout the dosa, and rolled up in a rather unusual way. It had the trademark chettinad saunf masala taste, and it was absolutely lipsmacking. I usually do not praise restaurant food a lot, but this dosa was too good. I am the type that usually ends up requesting for a second cup of sambar, but we ended up leaving the sambar virtually untouched, as the dosas had to be enjoyed fully. The chutneys were pretty good - apart from the usual coconut chutney, they serve an unusual peanut chutney and really spicy red chilli chutney.

We finished the meal with some creamy mango lassi and chai. I cannot wait to go again. I may just give the guacamole dosa a try!

Two bad movies and two lousy messages

I know...every time I write about a movie, I end up bitching about it. I really cannot help it. Trashy masala adi-dhadi movies are one thing. But the really bad ones are the movies that try to convey a "strong social message" but instead end up preaching the entirely wrong things.

I watched two such movies this weekend.

Katradhu Thamizh...

So this is what Thamizh heroes try to do if they want to become the next Kamalhasan or Vikram. They act in a psycho role. Jeeva resorts to this, and his performance has been praised a lot. I thought he was a lot more sincere and touching in his clean shaven scenes though.

Jeeva loves Thamizh, but not for Thamizh's sake. Its only because his mentor/father figure was a Thamizh teacher. He gets pissed off in life later and becomes a psycho/serial killer, not because of his dismay at the state of Thamizh (which by the way seems to be alive and well), but only because he has "vayatherichal" at the other more-fortunate people of this age. He kills a happy couple, because he does not have a girlfriend (or rather, his soulmate hides in various remote corners in India). His character and ideals are portrayed in a very sympathetic way.

Isn't this the last thing that we need? To have totally impressionable audiences brainwashed into believing that its ok to hate people who do better in life than you and even kill them? Sure, there are vast social inequalities in India, fueled by outsourcing. But, are the techie and call center kids to be blamed for that? They have just had the good fortune of being at the right place at the right time. We all have to work together to make a better nation. Why blame the kids with all the disposable income? And Jeeva's character could have done so much with his Thamizh education ...he could have done research, he could have become a college professor, he could have written novels etc etc etc. Katradhu Thamizh is a pointless, cynical movie and the fact that it is well directed is pretty dangerous, because, the movie is actually convincing and watchable.

Laaga Chunari mein Daag

Soul sis has written a pretty good review of this movie. I watched it and was really shocked. I'm not a prude, but I thought the message in the movie was really scary
- that its perfectly fine to take up a demeaning and dangerous profession
- that the only career choice available for high school drop outs in this day and age is to sell oneself
- that its super easy to become an "escort". You just need a cool haircut, a few hours with a stylist and soon you have a swanky apartment in Mumbai, holidaying in Switzerland and hanging out with cool dudes in their stretch limos
- that a really understanding knight in shining armor will show up one day and everyone in your family will magically forget everything

I'm all for disadvantaged women getting a better life, but the message this movie conveys is dangerous and seriously effed up. Chameli and Chandini bar were so much more honest.

I'm going to watch Chak de India to give my brain the equivalent of a good rinse with water and disinfecting soap!