Food Review: BOMBAY BLUE @ FORT

The Entrance to Bombay Blue @ Fort

I have been to Bombay Blue at Phoenix Mills umpteen times, with my experience deteriorating each time. But I can never forget my first couple of visits. Thus, I decided to give the Fort branch a try this time. The visit was most definitely worth the effort. It was my husband Venkat, daughter Vinitha, son Vignesh and I who went there for dinner.

Plus point 1: We asked for a couple of beers, an orange sunshine soda (my favourite) and a peach iced tea. All perfectly turned out – not too sweet, chilled just right.

Plus point 2: The veg lasagna that Vinitha and I asked for was delicious.

Plus point 3: The garlic cheese toast was too delicious for words and was hot and fresh. The potato wedges that turned up with them were oh so yummy!

Plus point 4: Venkat and Vignesh ordered a hearty meat sizzler. They relished it till the last bite.

Plus point 5: Father and son wanted a little more and that’s when they asked for a non-veg sandwich. It came with a serving of potato wedges. Both were yummy or so the men said. Vinitha and I are pure vegetarians.

Flop show 1: We asked for a mixed platter for starters. Not a very smart choice. Some items were good and the others were just okay.

All in all, a lovely experience. We paid the bill of Rs. 1300 and odd with a sigh of satisfaction before getting out of the place.

Awaiting customers

Veg Lasagna

Non-veg Sandwich

Cheese  Chilli Toast

Venkat & Vignesh tucking into their sizzler

Vinitha guzzling down my orange soda

Yummy Veg Lasagna

Hearty Meat Sizzler

End of a lovely dinner

Food Review: ONLY PARATHAS @ KHAR (W)

Only good thing about the place

My friend Anu and her husband Shekhar had come down from Ahmedabad for just a day and we decided to go out for dinner. It was unfortunate that I offered to take them to Only Parathas at Khar.

We reached the place at about 7.30 pm and it was fairly empty. We got a table to ourselves and got down to talking.

Plus point 1: The tomato soup Anu and I ordered was quite good. And Shekhar was happy with the sweet corn soup that he had asked for.

Plus point 2: As none of us were very hungry, we ordered one peas paratha between us and decided to share. The paratha was good, nothing exceptional.

Flop show 1: The two gravies accompanying the paratha were both dark brown/ black in colour. They also tasted not very different from one another. What was the idea, it made me wonder. The accompanying raita was also just okay.

Flop show 2: It was nearing the end of summer and I am crazy about mangoes. And it appeared that so was Shekhar. We both ordered a mango mocktail each and really looked forward to it. Horror of horrors! They served us a terrible drink made out of sweetened canned mango and charged a bomb for the same. I was too upset to even finish the drink. I have never tasted anything so artificial and so sweet. Yuck!

Flop show 3: Anu was very unhappy with the dry fruit milk shake that she had asked for. She found it so thick that drinking through the straw required acrobatic skills.

Flop show 4: The bill for the abovementioned stuff came to a bit over Rs. 900. I agree with fine dine and all that. But it was a sheer waste of good money.

Spirituality: THE POWER OF DEEKSHA

Srimurti Deeksha

What is Deeksha?

Touch Deeksha

Deeksha is a transfer of Divine Energy. Anyone who has been trained by a Guru can give Deeksha to oneself and to others. I have received initiation from Amma Bhagavan’s disciples at Oneness University. One can even give Deeksha to pets, the electronic gadgets in one’s home, the environment and just about anything one can think of giving energy to. The Deeksha giver hones into the energy of the Divine or God or Universe as one believes and transfers it to the person who is receiving it. It takes but a few minutes – 3 minutes at the most – to transfer energy to the person who needs it. 

Why give Deeksha?

December 21, 2012 is around the corner and that's the date when the world will move into the Golden Age. Amma and Bhagavan - the avatars of enlightenment - have gifted humanity with this phenomenon to help spread enlightenment among everyone. The idea is to make 70,000 people enlightened by December 2012, by which the whole of the earth's population approximating 7 billion will automatically ascend into 5D. Refer 100th monkey effect to understand this.

Types of Deeksha

Smarana Deeksha

Deeksha can be given through Thought or Smarana Deeksha. The person or object needing to be energised will be thought of and powerful positive intentions are sent to them.

Nayana Deeksha or Deeksha given by looking at someone. The power is drawn from the Divine and given to the person who needs healing and love through the eyes.

Touch Deeksha is by placing the palms of one’s hands together on the receiver’s head and praying for the Divine to heal through touch.

Paduka Deeksha is to place Amma Bhagavan’s padukas on the receiver’s head and pray for healing and love.

Deeksha from the Srimurti of Amma Bhagavan is something anyone can give himself. Just touch the Srimurti with both hands and keep your hands on your head for 3 minutes. A tremendous transformation happens when you do this.

What happens to the person who receives Deeksha?

Paduka Deeksha

Any number of things can happen to the person receiving Deeksha. It can happen instantly or it may take a while depends on the state of the person receiving it. It has nothing to do with whether the person is what society would term ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

1.    Health problems the receiver is ailing from get sorted out miraculously or they find the right treatment for the same.
2.    If the person is having financial problems, they will get sorted out.
3.    If he or she is having a problem is relationship – say with the spouse, parents or children – it will get sorted out.
4.    If the person is desiring for something – such as a job, a own house or a car – they will get what they are seeking or at least find a way to go about it in a simple fashion.
5.    One might find great peace and joy flowing through one after taking Deeksha.
6.    Many miracles have happened and have continued to happen on receiving Deeksha.

What happens physically is that the Deeksha changes the quality of water present in one’s physical body. Water takes up 80% of one’s body. This transformation in the water transforms all the cells in one person’s body. After Deeksha, the receiver literally becomes a new person.

Nayana Deeksha

How does it affect the person who gives Deeksha?

A frequently asked question is whether the person giving Deeksha is adversely affected by doing so often.

Not at all! It’s quite the reverse in fact. The more one gives Deeksha to others, the more the giver benefits.

Sharing: INDIAN IDOL 5 - GRAND FINALE

I know I am a couple of days late, but I feel the need to write about this one. Four seasons of Indian Idol have gone by without my feeling much of an interest in them. I am not much of a TV person. But this time, I have been following the show rather sporadically over the past couple of months. The judges of the show were Annu Malek, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant.

Annu was okay with so much of hosting experience behind him. Sunidhi was cute and very supportive of all the eager youngsters. It was Salim who slowly grows on one. In the beginning, he appeared very quiet but his feedback to the contestants were always very encouraging and clear cut.

The Grand Finale was on August 15, 2010 and began at 8 pm. There were some scintillating performances by the three finalists Bhoomi, Rakesh and Sreeram. I love music especially the Bollywood kind. Rakesh was way better than usual while Bhoomi had definitely done better. Sreeram, of course, was the best. There was a performance by Sunidhi Chauhan. Not very good. I have seen way better from her. Sameer Khan also had a chance to sing and he was good. Shivam was called on stage when the RJ from Radio Mirchi came out to announce the winner who got an RJ contract with the company. Bhoomi was thrilled to get the award.

Shankar and Sreeram rocked the stage with their soul-stirring songs. I really enjoyed this part of the show the best. Sreeram being chosen winner was very much what I had expected and he truly deserves the prize and praise.

It was nice to see Amitabh Bachchan helping Sreeram with his 'thank you' speech when he was choked for words.

Sharing: HAPPY B'DAY BURRP.COM

Well, August 15 has become a very important day in my life for more than one reason.


The first is that it is the Independence Day of my country of birth - INDIA.

Secondly, it is the birthday of AMMA of Oneness University and is also called the Day of Love.

There is a third reason why today is one of celebration. It is the birthday of http://www.burrp.com/. The website came into being on August 15, 2006 and is celebrating its fifth birthday after a successful completion of four years. burrp! makes its presence felt in eight cities, namely - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

This lifestyle website brings you information about all businesses in major cities of India - restaurants, nightclubs, theatres, art galleries, films, spas, salons, shopping malls and more. And it is also a huge database for events happening in all these cities. You name it and it is there on burrp!

And what if it is not there? That's extremely simple - add it yourself right here. But of course, this is linked to Mumbai city. You are welcome to add your info to the city of your choice.

burrp! is also very much of Face Book - your favourite social networking site - with over 12,000 fans. Become a member. Today is the right day for it, folks, it being burrp! birthday and all that.

Recipe: ALOO / VEGETABLE KURMA

Vegetable Kurma ready to eat!

This recipe is from the region of Tamil Nadu and taught me by my sister Jayashree. It’s not very difficult to make and tastes yummy with rotis, puris or jeera rice.

It may be made with just potatoes or a combination of potato and other vegetables such as peas, beans, carrots and cauliflower.

Ingredients:

Boiled Potatoes – ½ kg (peeled and cut into cubes)
Shelled peas – 50 gm
Beans – 50 gm (stringed and chopped)
Carrots – 100 gm (peeled and cut small)
Cauliflower – 250 gm (cut into flowerets)
Onions – 2 (medium – chopped fine)
Tomato – 1 (small – chopped fine)
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste


Masala for gravy:

Scraped Coconut – 1 cup
Green chillies – 4 (you may increase number if you like spicy food)
Garlic – 5-6 cloves (peeled)
Ginger – ½ inch piece
Poppy seeds (खस खस ) (கசகசா) – ½ tsp

Fennel seeds (सोंफ) (சோம்பு) – ½ tsp

Star Anise – ½ a piece

Cardamom (इलाइची) (ஏலக்காய்) –1

Clove (लवंग) (கிராம்பு) – 3

Cinnamon (दालचीनी) (லவங்கப்பட்டை) – 1 very small piece

Cumin Seeds (जीरा) (ஜீரகம்) – ½ tsp

Pepper (काली मिरी ) (மிளகு) – 5-6

Boiling Gravy

Method:

1.    Boil the peas, beans, carrots and cauliflower in salt water for a few minutes and drain the water.
2.    Take a saucepan and heat the oil in it. Add chopped onions and stir till golden in colour. Add the tomato pieces and cook for a couple of minutes.
3.    Add all the masala ingredients in the mixer and grind to a fine paste. Now add this paste to the pan. Add a cup or two of water to make a thick gravy. Add salt.
4.    Allow it to boil for about 7-8 minutes before adding the cubed potatoes and the other vegetables in the pan. Add salt and mix well.
5.    Stir gently till the vegetables soak in the gravy well. Switch of the stove after 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. The kurma is ready.
6.    Serve hot with roti or rice as you please.

Film Review: AISHA

Cast: Abhay Deol, Sonam Kapoor, Ira Dubey, Amrita Puri, Cyrus Sahukar, M.K. Raina
Director: Rajshree Ojha

The Story: Aisha (Sonam Kapoor) is the younger daughter of Kapoor (M.K. Raina). The rich socialite living in Delhi has a lot of time on her hands. Her elder sister is married and expecting her first baby. Aisha runs around with the jet set of Delhi and passes her time spending her father’s money, socialising, gardening and doing social work. Arjun (Abhay Deol) is her sister’s brother-in-law and the family has known him since donkey’s years. Arjun is a tease and can have Aisha in a roaring temper in mere seconds every time they meet. One of Aisha’s pass times is to match make. She is confident that she is always right and just refuses to listen to everyone. It takes a couple of catastrophes and a good telling off from her friends before Aisha comes to her senses.

My Perception: The adaptation of Jane Austen’s EMMA is quite stylish and the casting just perfect. But while sitting in the theatre, I began to wonder what I was watching. The film began at Point A and ended at Point Zee, in one smooth run. There were no ups and downs, no twists to the tale, just nothing that will impress the viewer and justify paying 220 bucks for a ticket.

It is a romance without a villain. Fair enough! But where is the chemistry between the hero and heroine? Abhay Deol’s role is too brief for something to happen between the two. Even the climactic scene that is supposed to grip you, fails to do so. Arjun just gets on a ladder, goes to Aisha and declares his love. No build up, just nothing. Disappointing!

While Sonam Kapoor has given a good performance, there is not much of a range for her to cover.

Ira Dubey as Aisha’s friend Pinky and Amrita Puri as Shefali whose parents are looking for a suitable groom for her are the ones who save the film and ensure that you don’t run out of the theatre. Shefali’s dialogue delivery and facial expressions are extremely realistic. Ira Dubey in the role of Pinky who tags along with Aisha and later falls for Randhir (Cyrus Sahukar) has done a commendable job of her role. Kudos to the two of them!

Verdict: Kind of disappointing after the impressive promos and trailers.

** Shaky

*Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super

Film Review: Thillalangadi: Kicko… Kick

Cast: Jeyam Ravi, Tamanaah, Shaam, Prabhu, Suhasini, Vadivelu
Director: Raja

The Story: Krishna (Jeyam Ravi) is brilliant in studies as well as in sports. The only child of his parents (Prabhu and Suhasini), Krishna is always looking for adventure. He wants a kick out of everything. He takes up jobs and performs brilliantly only to quit them in a month or two as there is no challenge left in them. Nisha (Tamanaah) gets attracted to him only to realise that she does not like his attitude towards life. She is keen that the man in her life should have a steady career and a more serious outlook towards life. Krishna refuses to change himself for her sake even as he loves her. Nisha gets engaged to ACP Krishna Kumar (Shaam). KK is more interested in catching a thief who is eluding him than in getting married. The rest of the film is all about whether KK catches the thief and who Nisha gets married to.

My Perception: The film is looooong, running into a bit more than three hours. There is not much of a story there to support the length.

While Jeyam Ravi has performed his part well, there is nothing special about it. He is the hero and he has done his job well. One tends to expect a lot more after seeing Santosh Subramaniam, but may be that’s not very fair as his role as Krishna does not demand much of the actor.

Tamanaah looks beautiful, dresses well most of the time and acts alright too.

I know that a Tamil flick needs to have fight sequences and songs, but not definitely to this extreme. There are just too many songs and each one sounds like the other. Not much of a variation with both the hero and heroine dancing the same steps over and over again. Can be quite wearing on the audience! The lengthy fight sequences were equally bad and there are a couple of car chases thrown in as well.

The story could have been told neatly in two hours or less. The director should understand that the audience are changing and adapt himself to the times. One just loses patience sitting through all the gymnastics that deviate from the storyline and makes one lose a grip on what is actually happening.

Vadivelu’s act is not much different from usual. It raises a few laughs but nothing you want to talk about later.

The worst was the opening shot. Maybe that should have told us something about the film. The camera focuses for a good five minutes on Tamanaah doing yoga – on just her bust and her butt. From that one you can guess the quality of film that you are watching. Thank God, it was not as bad I believed it could turn out to be.

Verdict: Think twice before you go to the theatre to watch this one. If you are okay with spending money and tolerating all the excesses, then it can be watched once. Better yet to wait for the DVD when you can forward all those endless songs, fights and chases!

Rating: ** Shaky

*Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super