‘My heart goes out for those who lost their loved ones to Covid-19’

Agra-born actor Sonia Balani, who was seen in ‘Baazaar’ and ‘Tum Bin 2’ along with TV shows like ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hai’ and ‘Tu Mera Hero’, believes in polishing one’s craft as rest follows.

“It’s important to continue polishing oneself as an actor because we are in such a profession where at the end of the day it’s only our craft that matters. To become a name in the industry one should know his or her work well,” said Sonia

The young actor adds, “I have been doing acting workshops, dance classes and martial arts training to upgrade myself. There are many who work on appearance as well as on public relations more but for me being good in your craft is super important and rest can follow.”

Sonia returned to her home town after cases started increased and the lockdown was imposed in Mumbai.

“All the

Swati Chaturvedi

Fshoots were stopped and whatever little was happening that too went on hold. As UP too was in the process of announcing the lockdown, I reached Agra by road. Now I am all relaxed as I am in my home. But having said that, my heart goes out for the daily wagers who are struggling to make ends meet and also for those who lost their loved ones to this fierce pandemic,” she said. Talking about how TV happened Sonia said, “I remembered I auditioned for some dance show in Delhi and that made me realise that acting was my calling.”

On her upcoming projects, Sonia shared, “This year, I have two web releases. First will be ‘Bhopal to Vegas’ where I will be seen playing a role of very smart girl who has good head on her shoulders and it’s a story of three young friends. It will stream this month. Then my second OTT release for this year too is all complete only a bit of montage is left. Also, a few projects went on hold due to Covid

crisis.” rom heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn to juicy peaches and crispy cucumber slices, summers are all about hearty and flavourful salads. “Salads in summers are absolutely great and easy to make. It ensures hydration in the body, which is detoxifying,” says chef Nishant Chaubey.

Sharing a tip to make the perfect salad, chef Manish Sharma says, “Ideally, summer salads should be light, refreshing, fruity and healthy. Soak leafy greens in chilled water first, for some time, and rinse to remove water. This will make them crunchy.” Chef Varun Inamdar suggests washing raw veggies and fruits thoroughly before eating, cutting, blanching or cooking them. “A quick blanch is always advisable while tossing up a vegetarian salad,” he says.

A quick scroll through the web for popular salad preparations, and you come across the basic iceberg lettuce salads, mouth-watering sesame cucumber salad, flavourful tomato panzanella that uses sourdough bread instead of greens. Acknowledging its wide variety, Inamdar feels that salads are a large canvas if one knows their craft well. “So many ingredients can be added in. In fact, most immunity building ingredients can be rustled up into a dressing – turmeric, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick...the list can go on,” he adds.

Sharma believes a good dressing always compliments the ingredients and helps in getting the best flavour out of them. He says, “A typical dressing will have three parts of oil and one part vinegar. For a fruity dressing, you can also use fresh orange or lemon juice.”

Also, it’s important for the dressing to be fresh. “Make sure that the leaves or grains are tossed with dressing at the last minute. This would ensure freshness and crispiness,” suggests Chaubey.

SOURCED Sonia Balani

PHOTO: ISTOCK A bright bowl of crunchy salad makes for a filling summer meal