1. Thursday, March 19, 2015,Volume 9, Issue 11 www.southasianfocus.com
Visit Canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25
IT’S TIME TO VOTE!
Choose your favourites for the 2015 RBC Top 25
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AND DRIVE!
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In SAF
This Week
Turn to pg 10
Lifestyle
Warm wishes
for Nowruz, Gudi Padwa
and Ugadi
p 22
Finance/Business
Guess how much
Royal Bank CEO
got paid this year!
p 08
Entertainment
Sonakshi
voted worst actress!
p 14
All eyes
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Pakistan
Turn to pg 19

2. WWW.SOUTHASIANFOCUS.COMTHURSDAY,MAR19,2015
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SAF - FACTS
The only South Asian
newspaper to have
Home Delivery
National/International
Vikram Vij
and Meeru
Dhalwala
launch Food
on Film
series at
TIFF
By Deepti Batra
Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala
were in Toronto on March 11,
2015 to inaugurate the Food on Film
Series at TIFF Lightbox. The Food on
Film series started with the screen-
ing of Ritesh Batra’s – The Lunchbox.
Matt Galloway, host of Metro Morn-
ings on CBC Radio 99.1 FM, hosted
the launch event.
The Lunchbox is a Bollywood
comic-drama that has won several
awards at film festivals across the
globe. The film reflects the life of ordi-
nary families in Mumbai and the role
of Dabbawalas in their lives.
TIFF chose Meeru Dhalwala and Vi-
kram Vij as the apt couple to launch
this Food on Film series for they re-
flect a strong bond as wife and hus-
band and also successful food en-
trepreneurs. Vikram and Meeru are
co-owners of the famous Vij’s restau-
rant and Rangoli in Vancouver, also
having written many cookbooks.
On this occasion, Vikram shared
about his nostalgic connection
with Dabbawalas while growing up
in Mumbai and travelling on bus-
tling local trains.“As teens we found
Dabbawalas a regular annoyance
while travelling on local trains. It was
so important for the Dabbawalas
to be at the right place at the right
time. In local trains, as a young kid,
I was bogged down many a times
by these Dabbawalas. It was only
later when we grew up did we realise
how important they are to maintain
harmony in the everyday lives of
families in Mumbai. The concept of
Dabbawalas is absolutely brilliant –
delivering home-cooked food to the
family members working in far-flung
offices,” he said. Chef Vij added on,
“This film talks about the intricacies
of life and how food is so very crucial
for winning a person’s heart. It shows
how a wife – Ila - played by Nimrat
Kaur skilfully prepares daily meals
for her husband with an attempt to
win his attention and love.The movie
shows a subtle yet understanding
relationship between Ila’s neighbour
– Aunty and her wisdom laden life’s
views and culinary expertise.” Vikram
recalls,“Growing up in India – neigh-
bours were so important – weren’t
they?” Vikram continues share to
lengths about the details of ordinary
life in a Mumbai household as vividly
depicted in this work of the art movie
– The LunchBox.
Further, Meeru Dhalwala shared
the trends in the restaurant industry
with a growing interest in home-style
food being served in restaurants and
appreciated much more.
And the key to a successful per-
sonal and business relationship with
your partner? Vikram and Meeru en-
sure that they cook meals for their
daughters Nanaki and Shanik - with
love and passion. “We make sure to
create memories for our daughters
to remember us cooking for them,”
said Meeru.
The Food on Film series will show-
case six movies with themes of gas-
tronomy and culture.
For more information visit: http://
tiff.net/winter2015-series/food-on-film
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Pic courtesy:TIFF
SAF - FACTS
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3. YOUR WEEKLY HOROSCOPE
Sept. 23 to Oct. 22 Oct. 23 to Nov.21
March 21 to April 19 April 20 to May 20
Nov. 22 to Dec. 21 Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
May 21 to June 20 June 21 to July 22
Jan. 20 to Feb. 18 Feb. 19 to March 20
July 23 to August 22 August 23 to Sept. 22
Disappointed about something that
didn't go your way? Cheer up. Look at
the reasons it happened, and you could
find a valuable lesson about what to do
(or not do!) the next time.
It's a good time to do some reassessing
of plans and goals -- even how you
considered redoing your bathroom. The
point is to be open to change if change
can improve things.
Take some time to learn who is the right
person (or persons) to approach and
discuss your ideas with for your new
project. Also, reserve time to prepare for
an upcoming family event.
Dealing with a demanding situation, as
you recently did, could drain much of
your own emotional reserves. Take time
to relax and indulge yourself in some
well-earned pampering.
The regal Lion might feel that she or he
is above emotional displays. But
showing your feelings can be liberating
for you, and reassuring for someone who
has been waiting for you to do so.
An emotionally needy person might
make more demands than you can cope
with. Best to ask for some breathing
space NOW, before resentment sets in
and makes communication difficult.
An unexpected spate of mixed signals
could cause serious schedule setbacks.
Best to focus on straightening every-
thing out as soon as possible and get
everyone back on track.
Be aware that someone in the workplace
could try to use a disagreement with a
colleague against you. If so, be prepared
to offer your side of the story with the
facts to back you up.
An unexpected challenge to a previous
decision can be unsettling. But your
reservoir of self-confidence -- plus your
loyal supporters -- should help carry the
day for you. Good luck.
While the idea of making some sort of
major move in the near future continues
to interest you, don't overlook a new
possibility that could be emerging closer
to home.
Be careful not to base an upcoming
decision on gossip or anything you
might hear if it can't meet provable
standards. That's true regardless of
whom the source might be.
You might still need to do some solid
reassessing early in the week before you
can close that sensitive situation. A new
job-related opportunity could present
itself later in the week.
BORN THIS WEEK: You are extraordinarily sensitive to people's feelings, and
you're always ready to offer comfort if necessary.
(c)2013KingFeaturesSyndicate,Inc.
Owned and operated by Easy Links Financial Inc.
WWW.SOUTHASIANFOCUS.COMTHURSDAY,MAR19,201522
Lifestyle
Festivals and food have a
very strong connection in
agrarian South Asian culture.
Gudi Padwa in Maharash-
tra or Ugadi in Telgu culture
is celebrated to mark Hindu
New Year. In Northern parts of
India it is the first day of Chai-
tra Navaratri. The ninth day is
celebrated as Rama Navmi
by all Hindus across the world.
Thus, these are diverse names
with diverse traditions to mark
the spring festival across the
length and breadth of South
Asia.
Here is a simple recipe to
celebrate Gudi Padwa Ma-
harashtrian style with Pooran
Poli also known as Bobbatlu in
Telegu. It is a sweet flat bread,
stuffed with a cooked mixture
of lentil and jiggery and shal-
low fried in ghee. Also, peo-
ple in Gujarat celebrate with
Shreekhand, which is eaten
chilled, but keeping the cur-
rent temperatures still in single
digits we thought of sharing a
warmer recipe.
RECIPE:
Ingredients
For Pooli mixture
1 cup whole wheat flour or
Multigrain flour
A pinch of salt
Water to make soft dough
For Pooran mixture
1 cup split Bengal gram
(boiled)
1 cup Jaggery, powder
2 Green cardamom, crushed
1 cup Ghee or clarified butter
Ghee as required to shallow
fry pooran poli.
1. For Poli dough: Knead soft
dough of flour and salt with
water. Set aside.
2. In sauté pan heat ghee,
add crushed cardamom
and boiled split Bengal
gram. Cook for one minute.
3. Add jaggery powder to
this. Continuously stir and
cook till the entire jaggery
melts with ghee and forms
a smooth consistency.
Cook till the mixture of lentil
and jaggery starts leaving
the sides of the pan. Re
move from heat and let it
cool.
4. Divide the poli dough in
equal portions. Roll out a
flat circular disc.
5. Place a spoonful of Pooran
mixture and fold in the
edges to cover the mixture.
6. Gently roll- it out again in
a disc shape. For begin-
ners,the mixture may peep
out from the covering layer
of poli dough. But that is
okay.
7. Heat a griddle, on medium
high and shallow fry with
ghee on both the sides till
golden.
8. Serve it hot as it is or with
your favourite sweet and
sour chutney.
• I would not recommend
substituting jaggery and
ghee as this is a traditional
South Asian recipe.
• You may use, grated dates
and sesame seeds in
Pooran mixture to give is a
warmer healthy touch,
keeping in mind the weath-
er temperatures we have
here in Canada.
(NC) Are you ready to dis-
cover new flavours this spring?
A tangy, drinkable yogurt
called kefir contains nearly
double the probiotic content
of regular yogurt and has 12
different bacterial cultures. It’s
also an excellent source of
calcium, protein and vitamins.
“Known for its health ben-
efits, kefir is a great base for all
kinds of recipes like dips and
smoothies and is also deli-
cious on its own,” says Samara
Foisy, a registered dietitian at
Loblaw Companies Limited.
“Kefir is a growing trend, so
don’t be surprised when you
see it popping up more and
more at your local grocery
store.”
Here are some fresh facts
to help you learn more about
this superfood:
• The name kefir comes
from the Turkish word “keif” –
meaning “good feeling” – and
speaks to the sense of well-
being experienced after drink-
ing it.
• Originating over 2,000
years ago in the Caucasus
Mountains where many peo-
ple live well over 100 years, ke-
fir has been associated with a
long list of health benefits.
• Kefir is a great source of
probiotics.Try, for example, the
drinkable PC Kefir in mango
coconut flavour. It’s made with
12 different bacterial cultures
and two billion active probi-
otic cultures.
• Kefir is cultured for 12
hours, whereas most yogurts
are cultured anywhere from
two to eight hours. It’s that ex-
tra time that gives kefir its high
probiotic activity count and
delicious taste.
Gudi Padwa celebrations with
Pooran Poli
By Deepti Batra
There’s a new probiotic in
town