Railroad Crossing Ghost

A strange legend surrounds a railroad crossing just south of San Antonio, Texas. The intersection of roadway and railroad track, so the story goes, was the site of a tragic accident in which several school-aged children were killed - but their ghosts linger at the spot and will push idled cars across the tracks, even though the path is uphill.

The story may be just the stuff of urban legend, but the accounts were intriguing enough that I wrote an article about the phenomenon, "The Haunted Railroad Crossing." The article included a photograph submitted by Andy and Debi Chesney. Their daughter and some of her friends had recently been to the crossing to test the legend, and she took some photographs. Inexplicably, a strange, transparent figure turned up in one of the photos. "They had no idea that it was in the picture until the next day when I printed out the picture and showed them," said the Chesneys. "It was really freaky. It appears to be a little girl carrying a teddy bear."

Other readers who have viewed the photo think it shows a little girl with a dog sitting at her feet. What do you think?

Freddy Jackson - True Stories

This intriguing photo, taken in 1919, was first published in 1975 by Sir Victor Goddard, a retired R.A.F. officer. The photo is a group portrait of Goddard's squadron, which had served in World War I at the HMS Daedalus training facility. An extra ghostly face appears in the photo. In back of the airman positioned on the top row, fourth from the left, can clearly be seen the face of another man. It is said to be the face of Freddy Jackson, an air mechanic who had been accidentally killed by an airplane propeller two days earlier. His funeral had taken place on the day this photograph was snapped. Members of the squadron easily recognized the face as Jackson's. It has been suggested that Jackson, unaware of his death, decided to show up for the group photo.

Interesting side note: In 1935, Sir Victor Goddard, now a Wing Commander, had another brush with the unexplained. While on a flight from Edinburgh, Scotland to his home base in Andover, England, he encountered a strange storm that seemed to transport him through time into the future.

Real-life Scarily True Ghost Stories

Costliest song ever made in bollywood-"malang malang" from dhoom 3

Experience the most spectacular song promo of Malang from the most awaited film, DHOOM:3.

Song: Malang
Singer: Siddharth Mahadevan & Shilpa Rao
Music: Pritam
Lyrics: Sameer Anjaan

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Starring Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif & Uday Chopra.

DHOOM:3 Film releases on 20th December 2013.

Produced by Aditya Chopra, DHOOM:3 is written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, who had also written DHOOM & DHOOM:2. Apart from Aamir Khan, who plays the anti-hero in the film, and Katrina Kaif, both Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will continue in their now iconic roles of Jai Dixit and Ali.

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Dhoom Machale Dhoom - Song - DHOOM:3 - Aamir Khan | Abhishek Bachchan | Katrina Kaif | Uday Chopra

Presenting the sensational and most anticipated song of the year DHOOM MACHALE DHOOM from the most awaited film of 2013 - DHOOM:3. 

Song: Dhoom Machale Dhoom
Singer: Aditi Singh Sharma
Music: Pritam
Lyrics: Sameer Anjaan

Thira Review

The movie deals with the familiar theme of human trafficking featuring Rohini (Shobhana) & Naveen (Dhyaan Sreenivasan)




Script & Direction - The storyline is extremely simple just like the other two films from Vineeth Sreenivasan. Eventhough the film have slight resemblance of Trade & Taken (preferably Trade), Vineeth has came up with his creativity as a writer and a director. Now we have seen how the same subject was poorly handled by Major Ravi when he commercialized the subject in his "Karmayodha". Now as far as the scripting is concerned, its not impressive. The main issue is the way incidents are developed and how it reaches the endpoint. You feel like the film lacked the "thrilling mood" on a consistent basis. Vineeth mostly concentrates on typical connecting from one person to another based on their words. You do feel the it was lackluster as far as scripting is concerned and since its credited to Rakesh Mantodi, I believe he displayed the signs of a novice writer. Its evident that Rakesh has done detailed research on this issue by coming up with various angles of this issue and how the victims are treated in such conditions etc etc etc. But if you see it in the angle of a screenplay, I wouldn't say it was good. Since the makers are planning a trilogy, I am not sure how the whole picture comes out since the other two films are yet to be made/released.

But Vineeth the director has to be applauded for a taking quite a "hatke" subject when you consider his previous outings. While his first two films were extremely, filmy, this was provided a realistic treatment. The mood was monotonous and the focus was sharp on the subject. But I can't understand why did he opt for those shaky frames was tedious to watch especially during chase and fight scenes. But during the experience, its quite evident that Vineeth knows how to keep his audience engaged. During many occasions we feel Vineeth is about to lose grip or simply lost his grip. He then comes up with a scene or a one-liner that rejuvenates the audience and bring them back to the film. But if I have to point out the highlight, it will be the manner at which Vineeth handled the last 15 minutes of the movie. If he failed, the film would have been an utter failure. He handled the emotional quotient smartly and that did help the film a lot to end up on an interesting note as the first of the trilogy.

Cast & Performance - It was Shobhana's show and if I am not wrong, this is the first Malayalam film she dubbed with her voice. The veteran actress displayed her brilliance and often lifted the movie on her shoulders like a leading actor with those one-liners. But Dhyaan lacked screen presence and was simply average with his performance. He just looked too small in scenes featuring Shobhana. Deepak Parambol was fine in his role. Then rest of the cast comprises of unknown faces where some looked wooden and some were decent.

Songs & Original Score - Shaan Rahman scored this department. I felt the songs might affect the flow of the movie but the tunes and the manner the songs were placed in bits and pieces added to the overall narration. Be it "Thazhvaaram..." (which was featured during the hunt) or "Thaazhe Nee Tharame..." (during the climax), the songs never stood apart from the film. The background score was equally terrific.

Technical Expertise - Jomon T John's work wasn't impressive. I can't understand why they had to use those shaky shots in most realistic movies. It was hard to watch in my opinion. But during the climax, he did a great job with various color tones during the night scenes. Ranjan Abraham was quite competent with his cuts and the art direction shown their prowess in the climax scenes.

Bottomline - This is the best effort from Vineeth Sreenivasan (without any doubt). But still it isn't a great effort mainly because of the weak script which didn't elevate at various points. As mentioned before, Vineeth's presentation and Shobhana's acting along with last 15 minutes played a vital role ending this film on a fine note.

6.5/10

Answer the Question Contest Question 1

Answer the Question Contest Begins here

comment your answer

Q1) What World War II operation was code named `Dynamo` ?

Mazhayethum Mumbe

Mazhayethum Mumbe- The 2 faces of love

Mazhayethum Munpe is a 1995 Malayalam film directed by Kamal and written by Sreenivasan. Mammootty as Nandakumar Varma, Shobhana as Uma Maheswari, Annie as Shruthi, Sreenivasan as Rahman were casted for the lead roles. Kamal’s movie had always been one that touches our soul. Most of his movies have a simple but elegant narrative style. We ll never feel anything as artificialk. This movie had two beautiful faces of love. One would be that “Love teaches us to sacrifice” and the other one where “Love forces us to conquer”. Felt this concept was perfectly executed by the cast & crew, leaving the audience a lasting impact.

Mammootty as Nanda Kumar really performed that estranged state very well. He is best known for execution of sentiments, when his eyes get drenched on screen we can sense the same pain as the character is going through. I loved the way he played the role of a college professor, and how he was welcomed by Annie and gang. I really loved the tussle between Annie’s gang and him, the pranks they play on him for his strict and serious attitude to them. His concern for Shobhana was so touching. Shobhana as Uma was so touching, I have no words for her portrayal. We all admire her for her dance, the charm and graceful ambiance she creates with her appearance. Scene in the movie where Annie questions her regarding whether she can satisfy Nandan n all, I still remember how she walks and cries and her father’s reaction. Annie as Shruthi was the best performer in this movie. Being adamant and possessive for Nandan was so good, she could leave that impact on us. The way she gets shattered when she finds the warmth in Uma n Nandan’s relationship, the way she strives to conquer her love at any cost, may be some would have found it cruel, but that was the success of her execution.

The film mainly focused on the relationships and bonds it’s influence, affection, care, the warmth, bondage between people and its importance. The soundtracks were the best part of the movie. It added more strength to the characters and their relationship. Hats off to the lyricist late gireeth puthenchery for the beautiful lyrics. Late Raveendran Master composed 3 out of the six songs, while famed advertisement jingle composer R. Anandh composed the rest. “yenthinu ver oru sooryodayam nee enn pon usha sandhya alle” heavenly soul soothing song. The magical voice of Yesudas and Chithra also played a part in making it an evergreen song. Another beautiful song was “aathmavin pusthaka thaalil” . Janaki sung the song “ennittum nee paadilalo maanathe raapadi” were Annie tries to capture her place in Nandan heart. Janaki’s sweet, small childlike innocence made this song more cute.

The film fetched Sreenivasan the Best Screenplay award at the Kerala State Film Awards 1995. It also won the Kerala State Film Awards for the Best film for Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Quality. Kamal won the best director ‘Ramu Kariat award’ of 1995.

MAN OF STEEL (2013)

MAN OF STEEL (2013) :: A good reboot film from Zack Synder, confirming the presence of #Batman, #Lex_Luthor, #Aquaman etc

Last year we all witnessed #Marvel epic film #The_Avengers confirming the screen presence of all leading superheros that comes under marvel production which was a grand success in box office too. But for a perfect base they introduced all superhero in an individual film separately. So by following the way by their main rival #DC_Comics for the build up of#Justice_League, they introduced first reboot film of Superman. As this is a reboot film the story is about the origin of superman and his existence and survival with people of earth etc.

When the film is released saw that many critics are ripping the film as lack of story and comedy, too action etc. Then what you expect from a Zack Synder movie. Another realistic #Dark_Knight?? His trademark is Top action and CGI. I think his film 300 is less treated by critics. But for his fans it must be a visual treat. Same happens in this film too. Many of people misunderstand that this film has the touch of #Nolan but its not. Other than Screenplay and production there is no role for nolan. Otherwise its as a purely Zack Synder film. The Action sequence were amazing especially the final fight between #Superman and #Zod. But its amazing that these critics find any issue in the final fight of Avengers like#Blackwidow using a single gun against aliens  #Henry_Cavill done a brilliant job of being Superman/Clark. His acting in emotions and action is good. Followed by #Amy_Adams (Lois Lane), #Michael_Shannon(General Zod), #Russel_Crowe (Jor El) done their role well.

As this film is full of #Easter_Eggs indicating the presence of Batman by showing the logo of #Wayne_Enterprises in the satellite, showing#Keep_Calm_And_Call_Batman poster on the final fight. Another easter egg about Lex Luthor is by showing a truck throwing to superman having a logo of #Lexcorp and #Lexcorp building. By talking about Aquaman by showing 2 whales when superman fell to ocean unconscious. Another spoiler is that when Clark finds a spaceship in glacier showing two pods, one of them is empty must be #Supergirl cameo 

7.5/10

The Conjuring

Superb in its Class and Scary in Parts…..

The unanimous positive reviews and excellent talks from ma friends, led me to watch this flick… Eventhough, I am not particular about horror films, I watched this for the same reason…
And, I must say that Conjuring impressed me in a good level…lil bit scarring too…

Coming to the film….
The Peron family move into a new house and are immediately terrorised by some kind of evil spirit……they experience paranormal disturbances in their new home. Ed and Lorraine, a married couple, who are specialized in paranormal investigation are called by Mrs.Perron to get rid of that evil spirit. I heard that this film was based on a true story from the diaries of noted paranormal researchers,Ed and Lorraine

Director James Wann, who made the famous SAW series, has done a decent job, and was able to make the viewers involve into the movie completely…

Unlike usual horror, films, Conjuring didn’t had a linear way of story telling.There wasn’t any lag or unwanted scenes in any part the movie. There weren’t any unwanted characters too.
A slowly started Conjuring, when caught its pace was really interesting and thrilling..

Conjuring, which can be categorised into the list of horror investigation films, tops high both in content and horror…

Even though, the basic theme was an usual one, the disturbances caused by ghosts, their history, etc seem to be novel from usual horror flicks….

Those clapping sounds and scary bgm, really scares the viewer in a good level…..
Even though Conjuring wasn't completely scary, some scenes really frightens us…. Those unexpected scary scenes were really wonderful….

In addition to these paranormal elements, there were flavours of mother’s love, which really offers a great feel, especially in the climax. The climax is an evident proof to the fact that, Mother’s Love is the thing, which matters more than the Godly elements….

Performance wise….
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, really excelled as Lorraine and Ed Warren. They made a good couple on screen.
Both rendered top class performances, there was some kinda charm, when they were seen on screen….their on-screen chemistry too worked out well.

Lili Taylor too rendered appreciable performance as Carolyn Perron, especially in climax. Ron Livingston was okay as Rodger Perron.
The rest of the cast including those children were good in their roles…

Music was of top class.
Joseph Bishara’s scores kept the movie engaging. The bgm in those horror scenes were really terrific…

Excellent Cinematography by John R. Leonett adds extra flavours to the film… Every frame was pictured very well. Those dark scenes were also captured in a good manner…

Solid script by Chad and Charey Hayes was engaging and had non linear way of story telling. Dialogues too were interesting….

Except for some formulaic scenes and usual plot of a haunted house, The Conjuring makes up to be a perfect horror film…

Every time I watch a horror film, a doubt arises in my mind….the same doubt arised when I watched this film too…. ” Why do people sleep in different rooms, even after getting threats from ghosts? ”

With restricted characters and a well written script, James Wann brings before us an engaging horror investigation…..
THE CONJURING.

My Rating: 4/5
Watch it at Night Time..
Enjoy the conjuring…..

Mumbai Police

Mumbai Police tells the story of a murder investigation carried out by the ACP of Kochi, Antony Moses , played by Prithviraj Sukumaran .
The movie starts with a scene which reminded me of the crash in Talaash – The Answer Lies Within and the following scenes to be highly inspired from The Bourne Identity where the lead is struggling to find out who he really is/was .
Antony has been portrayed as a no fear guy who puts his job second to none .
The movie also tells about Antony’s deep friendship between Farhaan & Aryan , played by Rahman & Jayasurya in the order .
Due to Aryan’s blunt nature , they get into a lot of trouble and as they get their way out of all these , its their friendship that was getting stronger .
Aryan gets shot dead during a felicitation and Antony has been put into charge of this murder investigation by Farhaan , The Commissioner of Police .
Antony had all the answers just before he met with an accident after which he doesn’t even remember who he really was . So as he digs out his past , he gets the answers to all his questions where the movie ends .
So the way in which the story has been told is really impressive , especially the second half of the movie which had all the ingredients for a high paced thriller . Pritviraj , Rahman , Jayasurya and all others have done their roles very well . Pritviraj , Direction Narration , screenplay & bgm being the main positives . Special Mentions : Riyas Khan for his brilliant cameo and the oath scene by Kunjan . Mass redefined
The most important ingredient for a suspense thriller is the climax itself . It is the only thing which will keep you at the edge of your chairs , same in the case of Mumbai Police . The climax was very bold and the first of its kind in Malayalam , may be maybe not .Anyway brilliant experimentation by Bobby Sanjay , Rosshan Anddrews & Pritviraj in the climax . But I don’t think the majority of the common malayalee audience could accept it .

Verdict : The movie was bold indeed , but many would not digest this experimental climax . You may find the movie good , may be not . I was heavily impressed by the movie till climax and was let down by the same to some extend . But i guarantee you its so unpredictable and a shocker . Go & do Watch this brave attempt by Roshhan Anddrews & Pritvi team , you may find it surprisingly fresh . I repeat Its a shocker !

Aarambam

Its a rarity in movies that style meets substance. Vishnuvardhan’s Ajith flick Aarambam is one such movie where style and substance meet and make the film an entertaining watch. Having said that, the substance/content/story is nothing fresh or new but the treatment and presentation stands out for the execution of the plot. Credit for that goes to the script with very few dragging scenes. I would term the movie as a predictable action thriller that stands out for the style quotient.

And for that style factor, no better man than Ajith or Thala as he is popularly called and he is the right man for the role tailor made for him. The first half keeps us guessing as to what the character of Ajith is and the acts he commit make the viewers thinking but the latter half reveals the true story and by midway through the second half, we get a feel of where the film is heading.

I am not going to reveal anything on the plot now and become a party spoiler. You can watch it and know it by yourself the suspense and drama that unfolds.

director Vishnuvardhan did something that few other directors wouldn’t dare to in such kinda movies. He didn’t bring Santhanam to this movie as comic relief and assigned that responsibility on Aarya & Tapasee. This is kinda risk mainly because such people are expected in commercial masala entertainers. Second one if Ajith & Nayanthara aren’t portrayed as lovers. But as far as scripting is concerned, there wasn’t a moment which can be termed as innovative. But surely he had Ajith in the lead role because only a charismatic actor like Ajith can pull that role off. For example the “elevator” scene in the hospital was vintage Ajith with Yuvan’s terrific theme music. So the script is meant for projecting Ajith n Ajith only. But Vishnu did come up with some stylish frames which was kinda missing from Ajith’s previous hit “Mankatha”. Those frames did provide the fans to cheer. I found the college scenes of Arya pretty boring and avoidable. It affected the length of the movie somehow.This movie provides loads of moments which questions logic at many places (which is tough to reveal) and I believe it was an extremely feeble effort from the makers by expecting the audience to forgive such stupid flaws because its a commercial entertainer. It was quite weird to see many Tamilians in Mumbai..If thats so, why can’t they simply used Chennai as the backdrop???

This is Ajith Movie….Eventhough signs of ageing n potbelly is visible…the bassy voice n each moment he wears the glare simply cover those flaws. Aarya had to simply play the second fiddle n I am not sure what made him agree to this role considering his stature in the industry. This is my first Nayanthara cine experience after her comeback and she was looking hot n confident. Tapasee was loud n irritating with her “baby” talks. Rana Daggubatti looked cool in the cameo while Mahesh Manjrekar looked extremely comfortable in Tamil. Kishore, Athul Kulkarni,Suman Ranganathan etc etc did their job well while Akshara Gowda got surprisingly a good role.

Yuvran’s background score was one of the major lifeline of this movie eventhough the theme music did reminded me of the first trailer music of Casanovva. Songs are placed like any commercial entertainer starting with a dappankuthu song for the hero (Adadada Arrambame…) followed by a romantic song for the second pair (En Fuse Pochu…) followed by some fast numbers.Om Prakash frames just added to the style quotient of the movie while I wish Sreekar could have chopped down those college scenes as whole. the action choreography especially the boat chase and the commando attack were simply terrific

On the performance side, its the mass appeal and style of Ajith that stands out but Arya, Nayanthara and Tapassee have supported the main protagonist very well. Mahesh Manjrekar, Atul Kulkarni, Rana Dagubatti, Kishore and Suman Ranganathan forms rest of the supporting casts and they are fine in their respective roles.

The negatives I would say is the length which could have been trimmed a bit and also the climax was for me an average one. But that cannot take any credit away from the film.

The making style I would say is done in an enterprising way by Vishnuvardhan and this has been largely helped by the script and Ajith’s screen presence. Songs, background score and editing have played their part to help the film to a large extent.

If you are a Thala fan, Aarambam is a must watch and for others the movie won’t disappoint you.

My rating is 3.5 / 5

Krrish 3

First of all a big salute for Rakesh Roshan for showing courage for taking these kinda superhero movie with high budget even Hollywood films have much popularity in India. By watching the trailer we all under estimate that VFX works etc. But when it comes in film things changed by viewing stunning visual effects that can match Hollywood movies. But before watching this movie make sure that we are not watching a James Cameron film or Nolan film. When the movie starts feel like a kid movie by showing usual super hero activity like saving child from buildings and gave some advice, stopping robbery etc. But later after interval the film regain its pace and did ok till end of the movie.

By telling the story its nothing new. Same super hero movie as good vs bad etc and story is too predictable. When the film starts they giving a brief introduction how the journey starts from Rohit to Krrish by none other than Big B. About the casting Hrithik performance is good as Rohit as well as Krrish. The entry of Hrithik is simple but with shirt less  But what a body man a well toned one  But Other than Hrithik performance Vivek Oberoi performance is brilliant. Priyanka has nothing to do but surprisingly Kangana managed to do well. Songs are worst even when it comes to screen. Also the films drags in many place especially the combo of father-son etc. By talking about the stunt sequence which is just ok. The VFX works etc are good by considering this budget. Also few scenes are directly copied from The Amazing Spiderman etc. Camera & Special effects were good and feels realistic. By telling about the mutants the abilities are exact carbon copy that took from #X_Men series. So Overall #Krrish_3 is a watchable flick. But Make sure to erase all Hollywood film memories before watching this film and give a consideration that we are watching a Bollywood film 

3/5

Geethaanjali

Geethaanjali Malayalam Movie Theatrical Trailer HD: Mohanlal, Priyadarshan

Geethaanjali Malayalam Movie Theatrical Trailer HD: Mohanlal, Priyadarsan

Geethanjali Upcoming Malayalam Movie directed by Priyadarshan, Starring Mohanlal, Innocent, Madhu, Sidhique and Ganesh

Chicken & Egg cutlet

Ingredients
Chicken-1 kilo
Bread- for each cutlet 2 piece of bread
Milk-Should be thick(1 cup)
Hard boiled eggs – 5 nos
Potatoes(medium) – 2 nos
Onion(big) – 1 no
(finely chopped)
Green chillies – 6 – 8 nos
Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Ginger – A small piece
Pepper – 1/2 tsp
Salt – As reqd
Curry leaves – A few
Egg(beaten) – 1 no
Bread crumbs – 1 cup
Oil for frying

Preparation Method

1)Cook potatoes well and drain the water.

2)Cut the eggs for 15min.cook chicken just as cutlet mix.

3)Heat oil in a pan.

4)Saute onion, green chilies, garlic, ginger and curry leaves, till brown.

5)Mash the potatoes and add to the pan along with salt and pepper.

6)Saute for 2 minutes and remove from heat.

Take a bread piece which is dipped in milk, squeeze well, and then add chicken mix, on top add the egg fully and then cover this egg with the chicken mix and also with one more bread.It will look like a ball now

7)Dip the cutlet in the beaten egg and roll it on the bread crumbs.

10)Deep fry in oil.

11)Garnish with onions and mint leaves.

:- Refrigerate the cutlets for 1 day before frying. The cutlets won`t break.

Carrot halwa

Ingredients:

Carrot-3 large grated finely
Milk- ½ litre
Ghee – 4 tbsp
Cashews/Almonds/ Raisans/Piste-3 tbsp chopped(I used cashew&kismis)
Sugar- ½ cup / 100 gms(or to taste)
Cardamom / Yelakai-4
Saffron or Orange food coloring-a pinch(i didn't use)

Method:

Heat half of the ghee in a kadai..Fry some cashew pieces in this till golden and remove it..

Now Add in grated carrot and fry for 5 mins..

Pour in milk and bring that to boil..

Simmer the flame and cover it with a lid..Let this cook for 20-30 mins until the carrot is cooked through and milk is evaporated.

Now add in sugar and mix well..Throw in the cardamom too..

Now add in a pinch of saffron yellow color and mix well(if u r using)

Let this cook until the halwa gets thickened..It will take around 10-15 mins..

Now add in remaining ghee and mix well..

Add in the nuts and mix well..Cook this until the halwa leaves the sides of the pan..

Switch off the flame and serve hot..

(I didnt use the color so it didn’t come orange)

Gulab Jamun

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup maida
1 cup milk powder
1 tbsp melted butter
½ tsp baking soda
Milk as required
Refined Oil for deep frying (DO NOT use coconut oil)

FOR SUGAR SYRUP:
1 ½ cup water
1 cup sugar
½ tsp rose essence

METHOD OF PREPARATION:
1. Sift maida, milk powder and baking soda.
2. Add in the butter and LITTLE BY LITTLE milk to make it into a smooth dough, so that when you make ½ inch diameter balls it should not form cracks. If you find cracks while making the tiny balls add in LITTLE more milk and knead gently. Make sure in the final product there are no cracks.
3. Mix water and sugar in a pan and keep it on medium heat. Once the sugar dissolves completely, off the flame. Add rose essence.
4. Deep fry the balls in oil on a very low heat until it becomes golden brown. Take out and directly put them into the warm syrup. Keep it covered. Allow it to stand overnight for best results … enjoy your delicious and mouth watering jamuns with your loved ones … have a great day !!!!!

Vanila Cake in idli pot

Ingredients
300gm-maida
300gm-sugar
300gm-butter
6-8 drops-vanilla essence
1 tsp-baking powder
4 eggs
1 pinch Cardamom Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt



Method:
Add baking powder to flour and mix well.Take a bowl add egg and beat well, to this add sugar then beat, then add flour to this beat well;add vanilla essence and cardamom powder. Pour the batter in the greased pan. Don’t fully fill the container. Filled ¼ of idli pot with fine sand. Make sure that cake pan doesn't touch the bottom of the pot directly since that may cause the bottom of the cake to cook more rapidly. So I used a pan with holes, it distributes heat more evenly. Cover with the lid. Before starting to bake the cake, need to pre-heat the pot so cook the pot on high heat for 2 mins. Now put the cake batter in without touching the sides of pot. Bake on medium heat for first 5 mts. Lower down the heat to low to medium and cook for 45 to 50 mts. Take a tooth pick insert in the middle of the cake, if it comes out clear that means cake is done. – If the mixture is still sticky, then bake it for another 10mts; Check it again and turn off the stove. Allow the cake to cool down.

Crab Curry

Ingredients
Crab- 3/4 kg
Onions sliced -4 medium sized ones
Green chillies slit -2
Tomato chopped -2 medium sized
Ginger finely chopped- one inch piece
Garlic finely chopped – 4 to 5 cloves
Coriander powder – 2 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 4 tsp.( u can increase or decrease according to ur liking)
Turmeric powder- 3/4 tsp
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Vinegar.-,approximately 2 to 3 tsp
Curry leaves -,a handful
Salt to taste
Coconut oil

Method
Grind chili powder,coriander powder, turmeric powder, fennel seeds in vinegar

In oil sauté onion ,garlic ,ginger , green chilies and curry leaves…
Now add the ground paste..
Once it is fried add tomatoes ..
Fry till oil clears…
Now add crab… Coat the masala over the crab properly…
Add sufficient water , salt and cook over small flame..
Cook till the water evaporates and the gravy is little thick..

Ayala Mulakittathu

Ayala – 6 no’s cut each into 2 pieces
Tomato– 2 Medium chopped
Onion-2 Medium Size chopped
Ginger– 3 tsp finely chopped
Garlic– 6 Finely chopped
Green Chilly– 3 no’s
Tamarind– Gooseberry size soaked in 2 cups water Or Kudampuli(cokum) 3 pieces
Kashmiri Chili Powder (Remove seeds inside, dried in sunlight and powdered if possible) – 3 tbsp
Turmeric Powder-1/2 tsp
Corriander Powder- 2 Tbsp
Salt –For Taste
Curry Leaves – 1 handful
Fenugreek Powder– 1/4 tsp
Coconut Oil– 2 tbsp.


1: Soak Tamarind/Cocum in 2 cup of water and keep it aside, also clen the fish and cut in to 2 pieces each.
2: Make a thick paste of chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder in little water mix well and keep it aside.
3: Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a clay pot /Heavy Bottomed Vessel add ginger chopped, garlic chopped green chilli chopped and sauté till row smell gone.
3: Add powders paste to it and again sauté 2 minutes and pour tamarind extracted pulp with water/ Cokum.
4. Add chopped Onion and Tomato add enough water and cook on High flame ,till its done (it will take time, 20 minuts minimum). Check water level if needed add more.
5: Add fish pieces and cook for another 20 minutes.( , take care when mixing curry using spoon .otherwise fish pieces will break.)
6: Add 1 Tbsp coconut oil curry leaves and little fenugreek powder and cover with a lid for 2 minuts.
Hot and Spicy Ayala Curry Ready!!!!!

Ariyunda ( Rice ladoo )

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup
Coconut grated – 1 1/2 cup
Jaggery – 3/4 cup (powdered)
Cardamom – 4 (powdered )

Preparation:

Wash the rice and drain the water completely.
Dry roast them stirring all the time so that the grains are browned in a uniform way.It will take 10-12 min on medium flame.
Remove the rice and let it cool.
In a mixer, grind the rice into powder .Neither ground rice is too coarse nor too powdery.
In a bowl add ground rice,coconut, Jagger ,cardamom and mix well with your hand.
Make balls with mixture and keep it in a air tight container.

Puttu n Nadan Tharavu Curry- Spicy Duck Curry – Kerala Style

Ingredients

1. Duck – 1 kg, cleaned and cut into medium-sized pieces and drained to remove excess water (do not remove the skin)
2. Onion – 2 medium, thinly sliced
Ginger –garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Green chilies – 5 , slit
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
3. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilly powder – 1.5 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1.5 tbsp
Fenugreek powder – 1 pinch (optional)
Garam masala powder – 1 tbsp
4. Tomato – 2 small, sliced
5. Coconut milk – 1 cup, medium-thick
6. Salt – To taste
7. Coconut oil – 2 – 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Dried red chilies – 2, broken
Thenga kothu / sliced coconut – 1/4 cup
8. Whole spices – cloves – 4 – 5 , cardamom – 1, cinnamon stick – 1 inch, vazhanayila / bay leaves – 1 – 2, slightly crushed whole pepper corns – 1/2 tsp
9. Hot water – 1/2 cup
Vinegar – 1 tsp

Method

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan / cheena chatti at medium heat. Splutter mustard seeds and fry dried red chilies and thenga kothu until golden colored. Add the whole spices and saute until fragrant or for a few seconds.

2. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, curry leaves and thinly sliced onion. When the onion turns light golden, add the spice powders numbered 3. Mix well and saute until the raw smell of spices is gone, about 30 seconds or so.

3. Add 1/2 cup hot water, 1 tsp vinegar, sliced tomato pieces, few curry leaves, enough salt and the duck pieces. Mix well. Bring to a boil and bring down the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the duck is half-done, stirring once or twice in between. Open and cook for 5 minutes at high heat until the gravy almost dries up, stirring in between so that it won’t stick to the bottom.

4. Add 1 cup coconut milk. Mix well. The curry would be light brown or orangish in color now. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking for another 10 – 15 minutes, until the curry changes to a brown color and oil starts floating on top. (The coconut milk should get cooked and release coconut oil). Switch off. Serve this super-delicious nadan tharavu curry with porotta, appam, chapathis, puttu, pathiri, rice etc.

Pineapple Kesari

Ingredients:
Rava/ Semolina – 1 cup ( I used Sooji rava)
Sugar – 1/2 cup (add or reduce according to your taste)
Pineapple pieces- 3/4 cup ( you can use a small can of crushed pineapple)
Water – 2 1/2 cup
Ghee – 3 – 4 tablespoon
Cardomom powder – 1 teaspoon (Elaichi)
Cashews & raisins – roasted in ghee ( 1 tbsp each)

Method of preparation:
A) Mix the pineapple pieces in water and boil. Crush the pineapple a little, a quick whisk in the mixie jar would do. Add the sugar too. Leave it to simmer for a few minutes.
 In a frying pan, add a spoon of ghee and gently roast the rava. Do this for around 2 minutes in low flame. Now add the boiling water, sugar & pineapple mix and stir well. Simmer and cook, may be for around 5 mins. Stir occasionally and make sure there are no lumps. (Make sure you add the water when it is boiling).
C) When almost done, add the cardamom powder and ghee, stir well. When the mixture is thick and leaves the side of the pan, turn off the stove. Add the roasted nuts & raisins, mix it / save some for garnishing.
D) You can serve the Kesari warm or transfer to a slightly greased tray and serve sliced when cool.

Why I am a Mammotty fan ?

It was an evening I was just walking back to my home from my school. Saw a poster..’The Truth’ Kovalam Manuvil ennu muthal…I was thinking this was that Mammotty’s movie right.ohh that might have flopped.Shaji Kailas might have gone for a sudden making because he tasted success with his Aram Thampuran..The thoughts went so on and on…The thoughts of a child in some 5 or 6…Then that child reached his home and days passed by. The privilege of movie was Doordarshan Sunday 4 Pm movie other than that movie was not even in picture no local cinema hall to go and his age never allowed him to go…So that guy made a hobby to learn cinema through the posters and paper advertisements. Again time went on…Going back to past ….One fine day his mother took him to Pappayude swantham appoos even though that was not his first movie in the theater…the guy just went into the theater have a lot of candy’s with him. His only thought was to see something on the screen…the story was about the love between a father and a son…At the climax the guy wanted to believe that the son’s of the hero never died but just had all the diseases cured…The guy was crying…but happy about the movie experience. But knowingly or unknowingly something got injected into him…He never known that. But he wanted to see that hero’s movie again and again…Finally he came to know the hero’s name …It was Mammotty…For the guy cinema was Mammotty….And thus start the story of a young child turning into a hard core fan and then into a movie lover…Ok I am not here to tell my story…But about a man who just guided one guy into the world of cinema…world of magical silver screen wonders… Mammotty…

Mammotty, the name which no one needs any introduction…But how he came into my cinema world or how I became his fan…An young child never used to analyse any hand or leg or eye movings of any character…For him a movie was nothing but something which really he gets into…Mammotty was so promising here.. Any Mammotty movie he watched was taking him to another world.. He felt like he have seen this character somewhere..the guy felt that the character is walking along with him..talking to him..taking his stories atleast in some parts of the movie…That was the success of the actor called Mammotty…Let it be any role …He always made sure that the audience travelled along with him…rather watching the character with a wonder.. thats why we cry when we see Mammotty cries on the screen because we used to feel that character a lot within out hearts…The methodologies of acting he followed was scanned many times by many cinemagoers…but eventually ended up with nowhere other than rating him as the best in the ways he follow…He was so tremendous in the acting portfolio he has chosen..his paths never crossed with his counterpart Mohanlal that is its called as a crime to consider Mohanlal in Mammotty’s character or the vice versa…The preparation Mammotty does for any character is phenomenal. Let it be any character.. Only a true observer can do that.. Only a man with a must win attitude can do that.. He was tried to excel himself…His physique ..his body language ..his styles everything shows that… He is not an actor who changes things once in a while but he is an actor who challenges the changing times and shows to the world that nothing can beat him…He strongly takes cinema as medium to excel…I think wonders in this world was done by those type of people who just challenges themselves… Mammotty was and is of that sort…When people used to call him as next prem nazir he just excelled what Nazir sir has done to his age…Phenomenally Mammotty..

The character etching of Mammotty was perfect in all means.. He take care of every nook and corner of his acting…Subtle emotions. ..Perfect movements…Mammotty was always excelling himself…When media projected Mohanlal as his opponent or say competitor I felt that he himself might have told that my opponent is no one but me and that is attitude that made him to the level what he is .. If I talk about his characters. I am sure a hell a lot articles are going to be needed for that and I am not capable of such an analysis…But the effort he put forward for each cinema..each character is commendable…If you see the character Ambedkar..you can see the cheeks of Ambedkar bulged..During the shoots Mammotty rejected of a make up set up to make cheeks like that..What he did was just pulled cotton sponge into his mouth put a silver wire to caught hold them on the cheeks.. And the weird part is every time he utters he dialogue this silver wire will rub against the tooth gum and cheek and blood will flow..Look at the dedication.. People used to see Mammotty with a cooling glass .. or as a man who always wears cooling glass but he is the man who goes to any extend to make characters perfect…Yeah age has put a toll on him .. I accept that…But I am sure this man will defy that too…Characters are yet to come..From Prem Nazir of Malayalam he will out grow the Bachan of India…Defying time and ages…

Mammotty always got criticized that his was not natural..but those criticizers can tell anything of that.. I would tell them to refer the scenes… Ambedkar reacting when he heard Gandhi passed away…Pazashiraja fighting his final battle with British army…When Ahmed Haji shows his sexual desire ….When Mannadiar just tells hydrar that he is not get spared.. How many are there… lot n lot.. Mammotty is an actor in which you can find a mix of so called natural and method acting…

PHILIPS AND THE MONKEYPEN REVIEW

An absolutely beautiful film for children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends and teachers and everyone else. Rojin Joseph & Shanil Mohammed, the two young boys have made a wonderful film which hooks you emotionally and delivers a lot of goodness without going preachy at all, inspired by the kind of scripting/making that Rajkumar Hirani does in his films. The star of the film, Sanoop Santhosh as the ever enthusiastic naughty brat Ryan Philips is a scene-stealer. The child is just mindblowing. Along with a brilliant pack of friends led by a cute young boy named Jugru in the movie. Vijay Babu makes us hate his character and then feel for him and sympathize with him as he undergoes a gradual transformation (through some beautifully captured moments). A clear sign that he has matured into a fabulous actor. Mukesh, Joy Mathew, Remya Nambeeshan and Innocent (cleverly cast in a special character) were all really good. But again, the man of the movie is Jayasurya. Taking up a role which is relatively shorter in screen space, Jayettan communicates the entire theme of the movie through some very subtle reactions and close ups which says a lot without saying anything, in the beautiful climax scene. That scene alone is enough for an actor like him to do full justice to the movie. Rahul Subrahmanian Unni makes a very confident debut as music director. The songs and background score were perfectly in sync with the movie, engaging us emotionally wherever required. Neil Dcunha’s lovely frames also add to the beauty. This is a movie which is indeed a must watch for people of all age groups and a refreshing change from all those ‘nanma’ based movies which go on into full on preaching mode. Take your kids, take your parents, or even better, take your teachers and enjoy this lovely, charming movie along with them. Its extremely difficult to get your audience emotionally connected to your movie and Rojin & Shanil have pulled that off in style. Congratulations and kudos to Vijay Babu & Sandra Thomas for producing this lovely little movie and encouraging some fantastic young talent. Indeed one of the best movies of the year. Hope it turns out to be a huge success!!

verdict: 4.5/5 A must-watch for every parent, every child. Strongly recommended!!!

Ajith in Veeram - Teaser

Veeram (வீரம்) is an upcoming Tamil action comedy film directed by Siva and produced by Vijaya Productions.