Saturday, July 6, 2013

Searching for Sugar Man - a review

I first heard of this movie, more fittingly a documentary on an afternoon talk show. I was working from home and during lunch saw a few minutes of the Jeff Probst show which was perhaps a repeat because the documentary they were discussing had won an Oscar for 2012. This was about a man who was more famous than Elvis Presley or the Rolling Stones but in South Africa.

A "zero" in America but a "hero" in South Africa was how one of the promotional material put it. During the apartheid years his song and lyrics gave an outlet for the disconnected anti establishment youth of white South Africa. His songs become an underground hit suppressed by the apartheid regime of the time.


Image Courtesy: Amazon
It wasn't the politics that made me want to watch the movie but the mystery surrounding the lead singer. He was supposed to have immolated himself in front of fans or according to some shot himself in the head when he was performing. I am a succor for the murder mystery genre and that was initially what got me wanting to watch the documentary.

As luck would have it the movie was showing on the transatlantic flight we were on. It is a heart warming documentary about a musician who is still unknown in his birth country but was a legend in South Africa.

The songs I can't not talk about them. This is a documentary about a musician after all. They are haunting and melodious. I am looking into buying the CD that is how catchy they are.

If you are looing to watch this movie it is on DVD. I even found it on Red Box our rental place of the moment. If you are planning to watch the documentary do not search the internet for information and read about before watching it. The magic will be gone!

Has anybody watched this documentary? Share how you felt about it after watching the documentary.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Zucchini Recipes - Rounded up for the Summer

Zucchini is a vegetable that I had a hard time relating to. They are unlike any vegetable I knew and hardly lend themselves to Indian cooking or so I thought. The first thing I tried them were in a sambhar but did not like the mushy end result destroying its own taste and also the sambhar's. These are very similar to ridge gourd and can be easily substituted for it the only difference being the thicker outer skin of the ridge gourd which keeps it from falling apart.

Anyway I slowly got uesd to the tasty qualities of Zucchini and its ability to fit in nicely with Indian recipes. They are indeed very versatile and lend themselves nicely in Pastas, Salads, Vegetable Roasts for use in American fare, Raitas and several kinds of chutneys in India fare.

For those of you growing Zucchini and if you are blessed with plenty and those finding fresh locally grown here are some recipe ideas to put those fresh vegetables to good use.

I hope these recipes encourage you to use this fantastic vegetable and not run away from those who give you an overdose of this vegetable

    Breakfast

  1. If you are tired of the sweet pancakes this is something that might be of interest. If you have some cottage cheese or even paneer, crumble or grate them into the same batter for even tastier fare.
    Savory pancakes - Zucchini and Spinach Savory Pancakes with Harissa







  2. Power Breakfast! Zucchini and Spinach Dosai






  3. Salads

    Once roasted they can be easily tossed into salads and the slightly sweet taste from the roasting makes it a great addition to any salad.


  4. Snow Peas and Zucchini Salad with Pineapple







  5. Bell Pepper and Zucchini Raita









  6. Easy Zucchini Stir Fry









  7. Zucchini Puttanesca where the Zucchini is the Pasta!








  8. Entrees


  9. Eggplant, Zucchini and Broccoli Lasagna









  10. Provencal Tian









  11. Fusilli with Zucchini and Onion (sans the red or white sauce)








  12. Chutneys


  13. Zucchini Chutney (thuvayal)
    This chutney is perfect mixed with rice.









  14. Zucchini chutney (watery)
    This chutney goes well with idlis or dosais.