Teen Patti | Aapplemint

Penne Arrabiata & Blackcurrant Iced Tea … the games continue

Feb 042010

Are you the kind who always orders the same food when you go out to eat? Or you like to try different stuff on the menu. I was thinking of this one friend I have who always ordered the same dish. And its been a long long time since I met my buddy. These days everyone is so tied up in their busy lives, they hardly get a chance to spend time with people they care about. Strangely enough we get the time to log on to various networks and add each other, but still not find the time to call or write to catch up. Instead waste more time by adding irrelevant people who you meet for two seconds, remember the name, get home n search that person up and add them. I mean is there some kinda race out there, who’s got more people on the contacts list ? Who’s the most networked or who’s more famous? Jeez ! Sometimes I really miss those good old days when we were not so advanced and overexposed to technology. When there was no twitter nor facebook, n we didn’t spend so much time online, but rather in the real world doing real things. When there were no mobile phones and we used those old fashioned rotary dial telephones where you stuck your finger in the dial and waited till eternity for it to rotate back to its position, and let the call get through .. lol. Can’t imagine doing that right now can you .. lol. Well you have to admit all those times were beautiful and did have that charm to it. Well now I’m far away from what I had begun with … always the same order And at this particular time being far away from home, I miss my buddy, and wish we could hang out together, just like before n go out for lunch, and so this Penne Arrabiata and Blackcurrant Iced Tea, the regular order to reminiscence those good times.

Penne Arrabiata

Serves 2

1/2 white onion finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 large red chilli – de-seeded
1 can of tomatoes – (I prefer using tinned tomatoes )
Two handfuls of penne, or as must as you need
1/2 cup white wine
Parmigiano Reggiano – as much as you like
10 black olives, pitted and sliced
Handful of parsley

In a pot, boil the water and start to boil the penne. In another heavy based pan, pour some olive oil and fry the onion for a minute. Add the garlic and chilli, and fry till just about fragrant. Splash in the wine and let it burn off, and add the entire tin of tomatoes (cut in a large dice). Toss around and let everything come together n cook for 4-5 mins. Strain the penne and add it to the tomatoes, add the olives and parsley and toss some more. Plate up and garnish with Parmesan.

Blackcurrant Iced Tea

Serves 2

I tried making this 1st with a cup of dried blackcurrants n sugar equally with 2 cups of water to extract a syrup, but the colour didn’t turn out so nice. The taste however was very strong and tasted like the real deal, but it didn’t look pretty n this is not what they serve at the restaurants. They use ready made syrup, which I find too sweet and no real goodness in it. So I made this with blackcurrant preserve instead. Colour + the real deal in it.

1/2 tin of blackcurrant preserve (with the blackcurrant bits in it)
2 teabags Assam tea -they are they are stronger than Yellow Label Lipton (basically use a strong tea)
1 large lemon
ICE
Sugar – optional (if you like it sweeter – I think the preserve is sweet enough for me)

Take the blackcurrant preserve and a 250 ml of cold water. Blitz it in a blender and pass it through a sieve. In another cup place the two teabags and pour boiling water over it and let it sit for a few minutes. Let it cool or simply pour over ice. Mix this with the blackcurrant syrup and keep adding cold water till you think its right enough for you. Slice the lemon and squeeze the juice of half the lemon in and use the rest as a garnish.

And as for game we played last week … thank you everyone for sending in your answers. The guy who likes Gelato most is

Madhvan – the guy right below

And the winner is … tatada tatada … drumroll ….

Sara of Sara Ms. Adventures in Italy !! Congratulations ! (pls mail me your address Sara)

This weeks question is … What is the highest game you can have in Teen Patti aka Flush ?

Send in your answers and win kewl prizes … and if you haven’t already visited the Teen Patti website, let me tell you that you are missing out on something. I’ve never seen anything like it. Click on the thumbnails and icons to and move your arrow key all over the page to see different clips from the movie … the site is wicked !

Teen Patti, Gelato and a Prize To Be Won

All, Dessert, Miscellaneous 28 Responses »

Jan 282010

” WITH MONEY COMES THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER AND A TWIST IN RELATIONSHIPS “

What do you get when you see the worlds greatest actors come together in a film ?

A BLOCKBUSTER !

Set in India and England, and staring two of the greatest living legends of our times – czar of the Indian film industry Amitabh Bacchan, and Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley – Teen Patti is an emotionally riveting and razor sharp thriller about greed, deception, and giant feats of imagination.

Why are we talking films instead of food this post … Cuz besides the fact it is one of the most fascinating new films to emerge from Asia – and nothing short of a mainstream Hollywood flick, my best friend in this whole wide would is makin it I am a movie buff, as most of us are, and I wouldn’t just be talking about a film unless it was really worth its salt. This one here has already got the entire nation talking and waiting in anticipation for the release … which by the way is not far away – 26th February 2010.

The plot of this film revolves around two great mathematicians, Venkat (Amitabh Bacchan) and Perci (Ben Kingsley), who met at a high rolling casino in London. Venkat tells Perci about n equation that could not change the dialogue on mathematics forever, but one that has already left an indelible impression of guilt – for many painful reasons – on Venkat’s life. As it turns out, the reclusive genius Venkat has cracked a theory that could redefine the principles of probability and randomness. However, as with all the exceptional knowledge, his equation has its upside – as well as its dark underbelly. Aware that he is on the precipice of an extraordinary discovery, one that could find applications across various sciences, Venkat is encouraged to test his theory in the real world by professor Shantanu, an ambitious colleague of Venkat. Although Venkat has no interest in the money that could come from practicing his equation to crack Teen Patti (game card- better known as Flush) he eventually succumbs to Shantanu’s charismatic persuasion. Soon, with the help of a few students, each complicated and a singular fate of their own, they explore the addas ( underground gambling dens) of wild Mumbai. But what starts out as an experiment between a charismatic young professor and an older eccentric older one soon descends into a game neither of them can control. When their lives sink into maddening chaos, the greed and desperation that had fueled them on can no longer save them. Perci understands that Venkat’s theory in essence, questions the idea of what is random – and what is fated. All in all this movie is a must watch and will be coming soon to theaters near you, hoping to reach ever part of the world.

Now one of the characters in this film loves gelato while role paying as Indraneel Il Bello (in Itallian Indraneel the beautiful). He owns gelaterias and talks of it with extreme passion and seduces the woman he lusts with gelato. He says,” Its gelato not ice cream” and I couldn’t agree more ! Gelato is not ice cream ! Gelato as compared to Ice creams has less fat, more air, is churned at a lower speed and for a longer time, making it lighter, creamier, softer which also makes it melt real fast !

And the game – that’s easy. Just guess which character from the all the pictures above is the one who loves Gelato. Tell me the picture number or alternately, in the movie poster no 2, tell me which character you think it is starting from right. The winner will get a beautiful gift from the makers of Teen Patti.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 egg yolk

Put 1 1?4 cups of the milk, cream, and vanilla bean into a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until bubbles appear around the edge of the saucepan and mixture is about to boil. Meanwhile, put remaining 1 cup milk, sugar, and cornstarch into a small bowl and stir until well combined. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Return saucepan to heat and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly, 8–10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Put egg yolk into a medium bowl and whisk until slightly thickened. Pour 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolk, whisking constantly, then gradually add mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Set aside to let cool, stirring often, then cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight. Remove and discard vanilla bean. As for the churning, it depends on how hot or cold the temperature of your city is. Its 35C here, and so i churned it for the first time for 25 mins and returned it to the freezer for 30 mins and then churned it again for another 15, bringing it to the perfect consistency. I’d reckon for cooler places 20 mins or so should be ok. So don’t forget to send in your answers, I’ll be playing Teen Patti games and there will be loads of prizes to be won in every post till the movie releases and look out for Teen Patti facebook games and applications as well or join in the Teen Patti – Movie group to stay updated with the latest news. Ciao … XOXO