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Mushrooms à la Vidya
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Vidya Malavade, model-turned actress, is looking resplendent in a pink tank top. However, the confidence has more to do with her recent success as captain of the all girls hockey team in Chak De! India. Leading me into her bright and airy kitchen Vidya says she's going to rustle up mushrooms à la Vidya, with a certain twinkle in her eye. On quizzing her she states, "It's my own concoction so I like to name it after myself. It's light on the stomach and I thoroughly enjoy rustling up snappy dishes," says the dishy lady in question. She begins by heating some olive oil in a pan and then garlic cloves and sautés till golden brown. Next she adds sliced onions and repeats the process. Why did she decide to essay the character of Vidya Sharma in Chak De! India a completely non-glam persona and so different from the usual Bollowood masala films, I quiz. "The challenge of portraying a strong character attracted me towards the role. Also, the fact that I was never involved with sports made it even more challenging and instead of getting cold feet I thought - hey, why not give it a shot," she recalls nonchalantly. After tossing in the tomatoes and turning them around for a while she adds the mushrooms and tosses them around till all the water evaporates. She continues "Vidya Sharma is a girl-next-door. She, however, is willing to go to great lengths to realise her passion, which is hockey even though her family isn't supportive of the fact. Without being a rebel she has to portray a strong and resilient character and that was most challenging for me." Turning to her cooking, once all the water is evaporated, she adds salt and pepper to taste (alternatively one can use a Maggie cube instead of salt, she informs). Intensive physical training and subtle acting were the two ingredients she was required to dole out in copious amounts! So were these her hobbies? "Well, I'm a trained Kathak dancer who does the tap dance and some very sensuous Latin American moves," she says laughingly adding "I am a yoga instructor too." Whoa! That's a lot of hidden talent under her hat. Next she takes two slices of Britannia bread and toasts them in an oven. Then puts the mushroom mixture from the pan onto the toast slices, topping with grated cheese and grills till the cheese melts. She informs me that we're going to see a lot more of her in the coming months in terms of Sanjay Gadhvi's Kidnap where she stars opposite Sanjay Dutt and in Junction where we'll see her opposite Abhay Deol, besides an exciting underwater ad film which she had "loads of fun shooting for". Tucking into the crisp mushrooms on toast, oops, Mushrooms à la Vidya, I get a distinctive minty flavour and the mushrooms are an absolute melt-in-your mouth. It makes for a sumptuous snack but definitely not a meal – as petite Vidya would have you believe! Recipe for Mushroom à la Vidya (Serves 1) Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 7 finely chopped cloves of garlic 3 sliced onions 2 sliced tomatoes Small packet of button or shitake mushrooms Few chopped mint leaves Grated Parmesan cheese or Amul Cheese Method: 1. Heat olive oil in a pan 2. Add garlic and sauté till golden brown 3. Add sliced onions and sauté till golden brown 4. Add only one sliced tomato and sauté and then add mushrooms and sauté till all the water evaporates 5. Add salt and pepper according to taste or use a Maggie cube instead of salt 6.Shut the gas off and put mint on top of the mushrooms mixture and cover it 7. Serve with roti or take 2 slices of bread and add this mixture on the top 8.Add grated cheese and 1 sliced tomato and grill till the cheese melts. 9. Serve hot.
DNAIndia
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