On Yoga and Desserts

I. Bikram Yoga

At last I can now sit at a dinner table and inspire a moment of intrigue:

Anybody (pref girl): Wow, your job as a lawyer sounds cool, firefighting battles across the globe. How do you relax and keep yourself fit?

Me: Yes, but please don't forget that it is lonely being a leading international lawyer and author of path breaking articles on C18 English legal procedure in the court of common pleas. That aside I like to relax through Bikram Yoga. It really helps me realign my chakras.

....


I completed my first Bikram yoga class (or hot yoga as some call it because it takes place in a heated room). It was nearly like all the stereotypes I had in my mind before entering the class. Almost everyone was lithe, beautiful, including the oldies who all looked like they survived on seeds and had never had ice cream in the hundred years they had lived. The elegance of their contortions were there for all to see since all the men took the 90 minute class without a t-shirt and almost-there shorts (women had sports bras). I knew this was the usual way but I hardly wanted to stun them with the full glory of my body. The instructor, who shouted at me throughout the class every time any pose was out of kilter, at one point said "Tariq [she had memorised the names of the newbys) the temperature is very hot so feel free to take your shirt off; don't be shy, all the other men have; and after all we are all friends". Momentarily- just momentarily- I had visions that this was the cue for a mass orgy that I had imagined such things could be (when I was 10).

Overall the class was great, despite the feeling that I was way out of my depth. I shall return. I want to be like them.


II. Sweet Mooli

This rather neatly brings me to some mooli business. Recently, we were asked for some suggestions on what desserts mooli's could serve. I saw somewhere that the classic indian sweets were suggested. I am not sure that mooli's necessarily has to have indian sweets. The beauty of the mooli's brand is that it is beyond classic categories/labels - it is indian going on japanese, italian, mongolian or anything its founders love. So with that in mind here are two suggestions, inspired by paris but with a mooli twist.


(a) Choco Mooli- a warm chapatti filled with the nutella spread. This apes the nutella crepe, but may even be tastier, because the dryer almost salty chappati (I think) may be even more complimentary with the nutella. I think this could be a hit.

(b) Semi- Frozen macaroons- Not only are they so tasty but they are an aesthetic dream-perfectly shaped little round desserts in bright colours. The twist is to have them semi-frozen so they retain the usual taste with coconut tones, but also give the sensation of ice cream without the mess. I tasted this recently at a dinner party, where the host had forgotten to defrost the deserts for the time recommended. The host's mistake was a hit with the guests.