Bollywood Tunes on Youtube

When I cook, it generally serves as an escape from my everyday life even though it is totally a mundane task.  This is especially true of Indian food because it usually takes me back to my childhood or to a dish I loved while on vacation in India.  This is also why I cook foods from other cuisines of places I have never visited – to dream a little about Morocco and what it feels like to visit a spice market as I put together a chicken tagine.  Now, I realize this sort of escapism may not come easily to everyone – especially if you feel a bit anxious or stressed in kitchen.  And this post is about one simple way to fix that – music.

Your cooking needs a soundtrack if you want it to be more fun and transporting.  But, Shveta, you say, I don’t have a library of Bollywood tunes to propel me through every Indian cooking experience.  Excellent point and I actually have a solution.  Youtube has launched this fabulous feature where when you search for a song, it will find it for you and also offer a mix channel on the right hand side under “up next” that pulls other songs like your searched tune.  It is usually the second option (like below) in the “up next” list.

Select the mix option and get ready to have a Bollywood dance party in your kitchen – or wherever really.  It almost feels like the video version of Pandora.  This feature has totally changed my life.  I can actually discover new Indian hits while I cook.  And then buy them on itunes – yup, they are there.  Here are a handful of our favorite jams in case you are inspired to check this out for yourself.  It helps to search by song name and film title to get the result you are looking for quickly.  Even if you are not cooking Indian food, Bollywood is just great fun.

1.  India Waale from the film Happy New Year – my kid’s current favorite song; very catchy and happy

2. Sooraj Dooba Hain from the film Roy – my current favorite song

3. Bang, Bang from the film Bang Bang – this one sounds very cool and modern and you should absolutely watch the video, not just listen.  Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif make for very good eye candy.

For all you Bay area locals, I am now covering food for Eventbrite’s brand new blog called Rally.  I just covered a fabulous new place in Burlingame called Rasa that specializes in….wait for it……South Indian seafood.  I know, hard to find.  Rasa is also super vegetarian friendly and a large part of their menu is gluten free.  I am still dreaming about the idli chaat they serve. For the whole article, go to Rally.

I’ll be back next week with a recipe from my mom’s visit earlier this month that uses a very unusual ingredient which plays a big part in bubble tea.  Any guesses?  Leave them in the comments below!