Holi with the Bachchans

I was a reporter at NDTV, almost a decade ago when the Bachchan family had a huge Holi party. I was the only journalist to be invited to this prestigious gathering. I was elated. I hail from Assam with no illustrious filmy connections, and for me to make it this far, felt tremendous.

But like most irritating, spineless and mean bosses, I too boasted of one. Sonal Joshi, my head, insisted on me covering the Bachchan party with a live coverage once I had applied for leave to attend the party. There was no way I would attend the party if I had to go inside, check out the activities and report it on camera.

I was hurt and furious. Jaya Bachchan had also invited my parents over once she knew they were visiting me. So at 9 am, I was in my designated area outside Prateeksha, the Bachchan home where the party was being organised, giving

my reports. At 1pm, my parents came by. I took them inside the hallowed gates. I introduced them to Mr Bachchan, Mrs Bachchan and Abhishek. I politely told them that I could not attend the party as my ethics would not allow me to do so.

The gracious family took my parents inside and told me not to worry, they would be well looked after. And that once I finished my reporting, I could join the party. 

By 3pm, my boss realised that I was not going to report on any activity that was happening inside and told me to pack up. I hurried inside Prateeksha, where immediately the father and son duo, took me to a tub of coloured water and drenched me with loud, boisterous shouts of Happy Holi. For me, my time under the sun had started.

All the noted names were there. I ate such a wide variety of catered food that boasted of multiple cuisines from Indian to Mexican, to street food to gourmet food.. 

Perhaps for the first time, food took a back seat as my father and mother took me in their arms, proud of their daughter, for sticking by her principles and yet coming a winner. 

My Birthday Special

42 is the new age 24. I feel young, have a good career,  I finally have money in my wallet and in my bank, and I have a lovely man who loves me as much as I do... just some things that we want, and if it comes true, it's a Blessed feeling. 

So my birthday started with the pineapple cake cutting ceremony organised by my 3 year old, Zehn. And ended with

this strawberry cake cutting ceremony, a gift sent by my childhood friend, Meenu Chadha and celebrated with my NDTV  friends.

The dinner party was at my house. The menu is always a given as my hubby baby is a gourmet cook and pork has to be on the table. The rest is just an obligation to fill an empty dining table.

Bobby has a strange attitude. He will only cook for me or people he likes. The Sultan of Brunei may pay him a 100,000 guineas, but it will not make an iota of  difference to good ole Bobby.

My NDTV friends are hugely special.. Vrushali is an author and Yasmin is a rich Bawi socialite. The fourth one is Suvi, who is an author of the famous kiddie series,The Purple

Turtle, who relocated to Kolkata after marriage. These three wonderful people pushed me into writing this food blog for 6 months. Little did I realise that I had spent 18 years as a cricket and film reporter, when my real love lay in writing about food.

                                                        

Anyways, the bill of fare on my table is this roasted pork marinated for 8 hours with the usual condiments of vinegar, ginger, garlic, soya sauce and this ONE bright red chilli, the spiciest chilli in the world. And put away in an oven to cook for 4 hours. Its such a pleasure to feed people who love their food and I raise a toast to my wonderful guests. 

The creme de la resistance was this humble banana, slightly fried in butter, sugar which was caramelised with a dash of Jack Daniels. The dessert demanded seconds, but the pork had occupied the better and most part of the stomach. My methi malai chicken, was given, but a cursory disdainful glance.

Last year, I did not know I could write a blog. Today, I have almost a 1000 people who have read my 10 blogs till date. Each "like" that you all have pressed, each comment that you all have made, has encouraged me to find something so happy and fruitful inside me, that I can only say a very humble thank you for giving me your time and attention. Happy Birthday to me, and many many thanks to all of u, especially, Vrush, Yas and Suvi.

Flavours of Golconda in Mumbai

If you are a foodie and people know about it, then Facebook is the best place where restaurantuers lure you with their latest delicacies. I fell prey to these blow ups of food when The Golconda Bowl sent them to me… The mutton dishes like this one,  Gosht Shikhampoori ka kabab, Patthar ka Gosht...fired my imagination and taste buds like nothing else could.

I began looking for a bali ka bakra to take me out to eat the various bakre ka dishes. A former colleague and very close friend, Rashmi was celebrating her birthday and so she pulled the short straw very gallantly and extravagantly I must add and took us out…and not just me, but another close couple, newly weds, Amruta and Mandar. Must say, the couples were terribly colour co-ordinated… 

So this is what you must try out and most certainly avoid in this restaurant… the mutton shorba is MUST. Its thick, spicy redolent with spices of the Nizam’s kitchen and a sure appetite booster for all the goodies to come. Patthar ka Gosht is a dish where the boneless mutton cube is leavened out to a thin slice, marinated with various spices like ginger, garlic, onions, garam masala and cooked over coals… Its got this divine barbeque burnt aroma tingling the palette with its spices. Pl go for seconds…

Conversation, jal jeera, mutton made a rich combination. We had taken the non veg unlimited platter… Is’nt there something so lovely about the word, “unlimited”… No need to worry about extra plates or food running short…the appetite is generously spread across appetizers to the main course and then dessert. And raising the stakes was the veg starter called Kut Mirchi...tangy, spicy and fried... gastronomically demanding extra attention amidst all the meat dishes. 

One dish that intrigued me was Bhindi Gosht. How could this vegetable be had with mutton. I was right. The twain did not meet. But then there was the biryani and the lovely boiled egg that I greedily took before the others could get a glimpse of.

The desserts were varied, but the Double Ka Meetha is a must. Fried bread with some milk and malai, was a great way to end the evening. And now I am planning to have my birthday with my girlie friends this week. Whoever wants to join, pl come...15^th lunch at The Golconda Bowl…

Celebrating Rashmi's birthday at The Golconda Bowl

The Tale of Red Chillies

Today we bid adieu to one of the finest producers of Indian cinema.. head honcho of Red Chillies and right hand man of Shah Rukh Khan, Bobby Chawla.

A prayer service was organised by his sister, the ever so elegant and dignified Juhi Chawla. Unlike other prayer services that I have attended in Mumbai, this one was to celebrate the absolutely colourful life of Bobby. From colleagues like Haroon and Vivek, to his music teacher, Prashant Sir refreshed our memories of the effervescent Bobby...and finally, SRK took the mike. 

Departing from his favourite black attire, Shah was in white kurta pyjama. An emotional man, the actor gave his speech in a choked voice drenched with emotion, choked with unshed tears... and ended singing the beautiful song , O rahi hee. O rahi hee..

While everyone narrated stories about Bobby's philosophy of being a maha kanjoos production man, my relationship had to do with food.. what else????

I was working with Red Chillies where Bobby was the CEO. Now, this company owned by SRK used to serve lunch on the house apart from the sinfully delicious Maggi made by the head cook, Ramji. The lunch was wholesome,  dal, sabzi, roti, chawal, dahi, papad, pickle... Fridays, we were served chicken and rajma.

The various workers at Red Chillies would groan and moan after lunch. Ramji was the biggest asset of this hugely famous production house. Every year when SRK's cook used to head to the gaon for his annual chutti, Ramji would be transferred to Mannat.

That was a serious grouse with everyone and facing the brunt of our hunger and frustration was the ever smiling, Bobby. Every year how this man controlled the starving lot at Red Chillies for 2 months, was his biggest achievement. 

Today I say farewell to my friend who shared my table at Red Chillies over some awesome home cooked food...

The 1 Day Gauhati Food Fest

Pls note that this is not a figment of my imagination...

When you are in Gauhati for a day, and the food options are galore. Follow this diet. You will get all the carbs, proteins and veggie nutrients...one dreams about.                                                                                                           

Land in Gauhati by the morning flight. Then stop at Maligaon, and have the piping hot samosas. They are fried every morning till 11.30. As you bite into it, be careful, as you will be welcomed by a curl of steam. The potato filling has the peel and it is liberally added with peas and peanuts . One will not be sufficient, but resist the temptation as you can feed the sweet craving with goja. It is exquisite in its combination with a singara, that's what a samosa is called in Assam.

Lunch has to be fish curry and rice. Go towards the town and halt at a place called Silpukhri, hop over to Paradise Restaurant and have steamed rice with aari fish kalia and small puthi ya bhangun fish fry... end it with the hilsa fish in mustard sauce. 

 

By now, you will not be full, but stuffed to your gills. Pun intended. Hunt for a bed pronto. While the stomach works, the body needs to rest and prepare for the next onslaught.

Luci and bhaji is the tea that you should be looking to eat. Call up your local friends, make sure you are invited and give them enough notice for this food to be prepared. Luci is the puri, but made with maida. The bhaji is made with the button sized potatoes and garnished with boiled eggs, cut in the centre.

 The art of eating luci is not to count how many you are eating. Go with the flow. And make sure you have it with the local chilli, Jack fruit or olive pickle. The spice of the pickle with the simply cooked bhaji and luci, makes this tea extremely satisfying. 

 

Now you go for a walk by the Brahmaputra, near a place called Kachari Bazar.. it is a bazar, where you get the best of the local produce. The green of the vegetables guarantees their freshness and it whets up your appetite                  in no time. 

                                                      Dinner... the best time to hit a restaurant is 8.30.. look for any Chinese joint... the egg fried rice and hakka noodles is something that needs to be tasted to be believed. The noodles are extra fine, the veggies are crunchy and the flavour of the east can be delectable to the most discerning tongue. 

Go for the chilli pork and any chicken dish that catches your fancy. Eat a lot, as Chinese food digests very fast... 

The day is complete, 10,000 calories later. This day long dining is not for the faint hearted. I did it.

Bon Appétit 

I plan diet, God delivers Kolkata rolls

After some sinful eating over the last week, thanks to a very hectic shooting schedule, it was time to give my body some detox food.

This is a recipe that I have used every time I want to stop my binging. Turai is this green veggie, cut into half inch half moon size, which is added to a kadhai that has 3 drops of olive oil and half a sliced onion. Once the water dries, add salt, pepper and a few granules of sugar with a cup of slim milk. If u want to enhance the taste, add some butter.

At 8 pm, I decided to have a bowl of that delicious veggie, half an hour after I downed a Patiala glass of chaas. Dinner was light and satisfying. I was reading a book, totally engrossed in it, when my hubby declared, I am hungry. 3 hours had passed since I had supped.

Like a giant reptile waking up from a slumber, hunger pangs invaded my body. It coiled around my gut, gripping me in its fever. I drank some water to assuage it. The hunger was insulted, it rebelled with a vengeance. 

Half an hour later, we were scouting for a place to serve something, anything... We zeroed in on Hangla's, a popular road side eatery in Andheri. I ordered the famous Kolkata roll... a double egg roll and a chicken cutlet.

The cutlet failed to pass muster as,the roll was just divine. Crisp on the out, soft inside..with some thinly sliced onions and a slight dash of

vinegar. But the sucker punch was the green chilli, super finely cut, that graced each mouthful giving it that vital kick that gets the juices flowing. 

The reptile within was satiated. But then guilt pangs waged a huge battle against contentment. In this ugly scuffle, I felt like I had to chose between a lover and a spouse... not happening. I shut my mental shop, switched off the ever irritating conscience...and burped ... heavenly... We may diet, and diet, but God in his Sweet Heaven just creates these wondrous moments where life is beautiful. Amen to that.

Some Dishes are just...Fugly

There is food to abate hunger and there is food for the soul. If its the soul, I prefer men. Pleasing to the eye, some amount of musculature and of course, oodles of charm. And if they come in doubles doses something akin to cappuccino laced with chocolate, I say, serve it on a platter, honey.

In my world, the soul was flying in the company of Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan. Akshay has the most perfect lips, actually sinful on a man. And Salman with his boyish charm and lovely smile, I decided to make good my trip to Nirvana. I was shooting the title track for Kabir Sadanand's film, Fugly and these two gorgeous men were dancing for this specially created promotional music video.

Having worked in the entertainment business for 18 years and interviewed these hunks countless number of times, I decided to have a ball. Akki, as he is called, greeted me warmly with a hug.. And then came the bummer.. He started caressing my stomach and asked if I was doing something about it.. The fitness freak did not notice the gorgeous girl with the lovely eyes, smiling face, blah blah and the works...all he saw was my nice, big round tummy.. How depressing was this..

But I decided that perhaps the ride with Salman would definitely be more eventful... Another warm hug and warmer smile later, he asked, "How is Zehn ?" Very sweetly I replied that my 3 year old goes to school and loves dhinka chika.. So much so that she says dhinka chika after every nursery rhyme.. The next question was, "so how is your diet coming along ?"

 

I am a smart woman. I realised that yahan pe mera dal nahin gal ne wali hai.. So I slunk out of the set, headed for the lunch catered by Bakshi caterers and feasted on Rajma chawal.

The bottom line is...If the men are only interested in my stomach, might as well give them a great big show. What say ???