Bay area veggie - Rajjot

K now has a big reprieve from my anti-California/pro-midwest tirade. The reason? My new job, or more specifically, the location of my new workplace. I am now just a mile away from "little India" in Sunnyvale and this translates into some really cool vegetarian lunch choices (and no more subway!! yaay!!!)

One of the best places in the bay area to get vegetarian food, especially if you like home style cooking is Rajjot. Located at the intersection of El camino and Wolfe road in Sunnyvale, it is hard to miss. Don't let the lack of decor or mismatched furniture put you off. The food is seriously good, at extemely reasonable rates (a piping hot desi lunch for about 6 bucks!). I've tasted almost all the vegetarian dishes in the menu (except the sweets), so here are some of my favorites dishes:

1) Samosa with channa - The potato stuffing in the samosas is perfectly seasoned, and you get more channa than you can finish in one sitting

2) Rajma/Dal makhani/Yellow dhal and rotis - This is one of my lunch staples. For $2.50, you get a generous serving of rajma or dal (or any other veggie side dish). The rotis are piping hot, and served with mixed vegetable pickle and sliced onions (very dhaba-ish)

3) Saag - There is no paneer, but the saag by itself is creamy and flavorful

4) Malai kofta - Sure, it is sinful with waaay too much cream. But, with the flavor of ghee and a sweetish tinge, just a tablespoon sized serving is good enough to spice up your meal

5) Gobi/Masala/Paneer/Aloo paratha - These massive parathas paired with raita and pickle are filling and satisfying

Unless you are eating by yourself, Rajjot is not really a sit-down kinda restaurant to take your family to. But, it is the perfect place for takeout. During lunch, anytime after 12:15 pm, the place could get crowded, so do try to get there earlier. You can phone in your order, and don't let the rather gruff staff turn you off. They have tons of customers, and i guess, they believe in giving customers an authentic indian experience in more ways than one!

Movie Review - Kuselan

Whats up with malayalam movies? Well, atleast the ones they remake into Thamizh superhits? Their first two and a half hours plod along, at a pace that would give snails major superiority complex. Then bam! The final thirty minutes of the movie end up being absolutely incredible. Cases in point? Kathalukku mariyathai, Chandramukhi, and now, Kuselan.

It would be a blessing for the audience if the moviemakers would spare us the ordeal of the first 2.5 hours and just cut to the chase. But then, nobody on this planet can get away with a forty five minute movie. So, we are forced to endure an interminable number of puerile Vadivelu jokes, haphazardly thrown together montages of Thamizh cinema, and all the mandatory shots about a poor but peaceful family holding hands and prancing along the shores of a lake where dolphins leap out every now and then (yes, really, dolphins!!!! In Thamizhnadu!). And then we get to see Nayanthara, a lot of her in fact. The pleasantly plump fresh faced actress of Chandramukhi has now morphed into this entirely different person thanks to seriously thinned eyebrows, rebonded hair, and God knows what combination of diet and liposuction. The innocence is all gone, and she frankly seems rather angry that her nutritionist took her lunch away.

The still chubby and natural Meena is a welcome contrast, with her trademark wide-eyed charm and a subdued, gentle performance. Pasupathi shines with his sincere portrayal. G.V Prakash's musical score does not rise above the ordinary. Cinematographer Aravind Krishnan does a superb job, especially with his extreme closeups of Rajni's face; every single emotion is captured, while the Superstar's age is miraculously masked.

After patiently waiting out all the barber jokes and other "comedy", us loyal fans are finally rewarded with a truly brilliant performance by Rajnikanth. Sorry, calling it a performance is inaccurate. The Superstar does not act. He simply plays himself. It is as though he listened to all our complaints post Sivaji - the boss. Sure, even in this movie, he romances a young heroine, and appears in a number of super hero get-ups, but these are just for the movie shoot around which the entire film's plot revolves. He good naturedly spoofs himself, and appears to genuinely enjoy doing it.

In every scene, he makes the audience hang on to each word he utters. There is a lot to be said about the movie's climax, but then, that would be unfair to the reader who has not watched the movie yet. Rajni moves the audience with a never seen before display of real emotion. I can only say this - if you are the Superstar's fan already, you will worship him after watching Kuselan. Even if you are not a believer yet, you will be converted. In Kuselan, Rajni's soul shines through. And how!!!