The good, the bad and the delicious

[ileliberte]

The Good:
This video, Ghanan ghanan from the movie Lagaan. A shining example of Indian movie song and dance with beautiful music, lovely lyrics, nice dancing, an actual Indian setting and a sequence that fits perfectly into the narrative. Handy subtitles included.

The Bad (really bad):
This story about a couple who went through in vitro fertilization, then abandoned the twins when they found out they were girls. And have the temerity to ask when they could start trying for a boy. The couple is of Indian descent,(ETA: Apparently not of Indian descent, just in India to get the in vitro procedure done since it would be illegal in Britain because of the woman's age. Consider this now a rant at those British who are so immensely unenlightened as well then :/) which is sadly unsurprising. It's always been a huge problem in families with lower income, areas with lower literacy rates but it's not like the upper echelons of society have done much better either. Obviously, decency does not depend on literacy or social status. I hope this couple is shunned by everyone they know here and in India given how easily they'll probably be identified by their age, and are made to pay for child support after they're made to find a loving family for the twins. Bastards.

The Delicious:
Since this post seems to be rather India-centric anyway, I'll round it off with Indian style egg rolls. It's nothing at all like Chinese eggrolls, and once you see the recipe, you can imagine my surprise at the first eggroll I bought from a Chinese food cart. This is easy and fast and can have as many variations as strikes your fancy, and the main ingredients are flour tortillas, eggs and tomato ketchup, along with whatever you want as the filling.

For one egg roll:
1 flour tortilla
1 egg
A small amount of oil (vegetable, canola, almost anything will do)
Ketchup
Salt and pepper

Filling variations:
Cooked shredded chicken + chopped cucumber + chopped tomatoes + chopped onions + a small section of lime/lemon to squeeze over it all
or
Shredded Mozzarella cheese + chopped green peppers + dash of hot sauce
or
Cheese + chopped onions + cooked black beans...
ok, you see where I'm going with this? Pretty much most stuff works. My favorite is the first combination, the easiest to make is the second combination, and everything is great.

Beat the egg like you would for an omelet, with some salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and pour the egg into it.

Make it spread in a circle about the same diameter as the tortilla, and while it's still runny, place the tortilla carefully over it so that the tortilla now covers the layer of egg. Don't cook the egg too much before you add the tortilla.

Press down gently all over the back of the tortilla, so that the egg sticks to it. Let it cook for a little while on medium heat until you can lift up the edges. Now, flip it over and let the non-egg side of the tortilla get heated up. You can turn off the heat now, the residual heat will make sure the tortilla crisps up slightly. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't crisp up too much.

Once it's done, lay it egg side up and smear it with tomato ketchup. I use a lot, but it all depends on how much you want. Place all your ingredients in a column about a inch or so from one side, and then roll it up so that the filling is in the middle. Crimp and tuck in the lower edge of the roll so nothing can fall out, and finish as fast as you can :)

In India, the tortillas are replaced by parathas, still flour, but thicker and cooked in much more oil, and a lovely mix of flaky and soft. I use tortillas since they're cheaper and easier to find and work with. Filling there can also include mutton kababs/chicken kababs. If you're putting in spicier stuff as filling, make sure to saute the onions a bit so it goes better with the taste.

Comments

[22by7.livejournal.com]

the lagaan song is one of my all-time favourites. it's so gorgeous. and every year i find myself playing it in july when i'm waiting for the rains.

the bad: that is so unbelievably disgusting. people like that do not deserve to raise children.

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Yum! The egg rolls sound delicious. I shall have to try and make some.

[muccamukk]

I think "Mitava" (?) was my favourite song from Lagaan, but they were all wonderful.

Thank you for the recipe. I'm going to try it for lunch.

[lazar-grrl.livejournal.com]

I once read that there were fewer girls born to upper-class couples than lower-class ones because the wealthier parents could afford more tests to determine sex. Instead of abandoning the girls, they simply abort them before they're born. I hope those two can never have any more children. As someone who will never be able to have children, I would happily adopt their little girls.

Parathas are very similar to naan, right? I only have a recipe for naan, and have used it enough that I can make it well.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I've listened to that song dozens of times, but never knew what it was about. Granted I'm a little overemotional in general lately, but still -- knowing what they're singing about, dude, that song makes me cry! (In a good way! But still. :P)

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

The tortilla rolls don't appeal to me, but I made your chickpea recipe last night for dinner and it was delicious! We had it over rice since I don't have way to get naan.

I'd be happy to trade my teenage son for the twin girls. I can't think of a worse punishment for those people than to give them my sulky teen. :o)

[disktop.livejournal.com]

The bad: The couple are actually British. They went to India for the fertilisation and had the kids in England and abondoned them. The reason they went to India was because she's too old to have the IVF procedure in britain legally.