Sunday was a great day. We started the day with lovely parsi breakfast, akuri with bread followed by fried chicken sausage, English breakfast tea and finally scones and cream. That does not end there. We had dal paratha with yoghurt and coriander chutney for lunch. All thanks to J. And then the icing on the cake-watching English Vinglish. Well no, not the movie but it is the French man (actor Mehdi Nebbou) I am talking about. Suddenly that good-looking man (ohhhhhhhhhhhJ) , his attraction towards the main protagonist, a married Indian woman and her trying best not to get attracted brought back a lively discussion that we used to have so often: women’s boundary and pressure of being sati savitris. The movie is handled very well until this love angle comes in and then suddenly, I do not know why the director feels the need to restrain the flow- fall little in love but never cross the boundary, give dialogue like “I do not need love I need respect” and of course the perennial funda on importance of family. Well maybe I should not blame her. The film needed to be mass accepted without stirring too much commotion.
Would the film be differently accepted had the married women left the house or had a sexual relationship with the French man, crossed her boundary? Although lot of people say that we have matured as audience, I am not sure whom are they talking about: the urban multiplex viewer, or the intellectuals who only goes for film festivals or rest of janta? Why do I say so? I work with women who have experienced violence (domestic or other form) and most form of violence revolves around women’ role and expected boundary. 90% women I work with fails to come out of the relationship breaking the boundary and end up reconciling, most of them does not recognize violence until they have been almost killed, emotional and psychological violence are yet to be even established as violence ( in the movie sridevi is cleary violated emotionally by husband and children). And these women I work with come from families who are multiplex viewer, or the intellectuals who only goes for film festivals or rest of janta.
Was the protagonist’s not knowing English the only reason for her to be belittled all the time? What about other hidden method: laddo making not as important as office going husband’s job, not knowing English equal to not having confidence, little importance of women’s household work, father vs mother ( men vs women). The typical conformation that we all accept every day- leave your tea and serve other, who gets the newspaper first thing in the morning and all this which should have changed with English learning does not really change. So what was the point of learning English? So learn English or not, our fate is really sealed- be in the boundary! Either you do it yourself or we will make you do it. And if nothing works we will bring in children and family value in good measure. Can we think about a movie where the man is ridiculed for not knowing English? Well there are serials which shows unsuccessful husband but then there the wife is a bitch who is working and villainous. At the end, we do not like women beyond the boundary after all.
Well my mind is very convoluted now. Best I get back to it at a later time. For now, let us bake the cake!
I baked it for R to celebrate his homecoming. I usually like being alone and take the time as an occasion to celebrate myself. However, this time, it was difficult without R. with a horrible work and house hunting got the best of me. I could not wait for R to get back home. Hence the cake: he loves dark chocolate cake and is an easy substitute for black forest.
Ingredients for the Cake
2-Eggs
170gm-Flour
100gm- Light muscovado Sugar (or brown sugar or plain sugar)
100gm- Light vegetable spread (I used flora pro cholesterol)
100 gm- dark Coco Powder
1-teaspoon baking powder
1-teaspoon granulated coffee
75ml buttermilk
¼-teaspoon salt
Ingredients for the Ganache
200gm-dark chocolate
200ml double cream
2-teaspoon castor sugar (optional)
Ingredients for whipped cream filling
600ml-Fresh double cream
Method for the cake:
1. Pre heat the oven to 170c
2. Lightly butter loose bottom (spring form cake tin) and dust it with little flour. Line the tin with baking paper
3. Shift flour, baking powder,coco powder and salt together and keep aside
4. Place the vegetable spread (or the butter or oil), sugar in a bowl and beat with a electric mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg one at a time
5. Fold in the flour, baking powder coco powder and salt mixture in the egg, butter and sugar mixture.
6. Add butter milk
7. Fold carefully not to disturb the air bubble in the cake mixture
8. Shift the mixture in the prepared cake tin
9. Bake for 40-50 mins until firm and springy. Insert a screwier in the middle of the cake. It comes out clean, that means cake is done. The timing might vary depending on oven used
10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack
11. Once cold, cut the cake horizontally into two separate rounds and spread them on two different places
Method for whipping cream:
12. Whipping Cream: Pour the cream in to bowl, add bit of powdered white sugar (optional but very little sweetness in cream tastes wonderful) and whip either by hand using a balloon whisk or hand mixture. Whisk them until they form a soft peak (Lift the mixer and if the little peaks gently curves that is soft peaks)
13. Place the last layer of the cake on a cake base or wherever you want to have the cake on. Spread the cake discs with whipped cream.
14. Top the first layer of cake with another layer of the cake.
15. Keep it in refrigerator to cool it for while. Put the cream in fridge as well in the fridge
16. Mean while prepare to make chocolate caraque for decoration and Ganache for covering the cake
Method for chocolate caraque:
1. Melt the chocolate and spread it in a thin layer on a cold clean and plain surface like a plastic chopping board.
2. Leave it to cool until the chocolate is set but not brittle
3. Push a clean scrapper or a thick knife across the surface of the chocolate holding it about 30 degree so that chocolate starts to roll in loose curls. Transfers the caraque to a baking sheet and chill in the fridge before you use it
Method for Chocolate Ganache
1. Put the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan until beginning to bubble around the edges ( but not boiling)
2. Pour over the chocolate
3. Leave to stand, stirring frequently until the chocolate has melted and the Ganache is smooth and glossy.
4. It can be used as soon it is cool enough to hold its shape
Finally:
5. Use the Ganache to cover the cake.
6. Decorate with chocolate caraque
7. Add some pink rose petals or eatable rose petal on the cake
8. Enjoy
Very well described recipe. But, before that, I liked ur review on English Vinglish. I felt the director treated the love angle well. The gap in Sridevi's life was about respect and not of love (or even sexual need), which she gracefully achieved without creating any undue scene or doing histrionics.
Coming back to the cake, i think u forgot to mention about mixing the coco powder in flour-baking powder-salt mix.
Will try to bake this some day and post it in ur FB page. – Santanu
Thank you so much Santunu! I corrected the mistake and added the coco powder bit.. thanks for mentioning it.
regarding the movie, my issue is always with the difference between love and respect.. is there any? can we love someone without respect? or the other way around? ofcourse to mention that love should not be restricted to only in Peyar. was sridevi loved in the household? sometime our love to someone is so cruel but we fail to recongnise it.her husband find it difficult to talk to her but do not mind having sex with her.. what kind of love is that? i wish srivedi would accept that she has fallen in love with the good looking french man and yet decided to do what was expected of her to do.. be a sati savitri.. that would have made the plot more interesting… but she does not even accept the love…
Love love the recipe…I have a special occasion coming soon in August. Will bake this and send you photo…