RECIPE / A.C.E. February 18, 2019 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13 Daniel J. van Ackere/America’s Test Kitchen via AP Zhang Yimou’s One Second dropped from Berlin film festival This vegetable curry has bold flavors to keep everyone happy By America’s Test Kitchen V egetable curries are a great hearty choice for a vegetarian meal. Filled with bold flavors and a good variety of vegetables, they can be healthy, satisfying, and delicious — as long as the vegetables are well cooked and the flavors are balanced. To nail the bold flavor, we turned to a few pantry-friendly items like curry powder, garam masala, garlic, and tomato paste while fresh ginger and a serrano chile pumped up the flavor even more. A combination of sweet potatoes, canned diced tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, and chickpeas guaranteed everyone would walk away from the table satiated. We started by cooking the sweet potatoes since they would take the longest to become tender, followed by the eggplant and green beans. We also found that 20 minutes of simmering eliminated any tinny taste in the tomatoes and allowed the chickpeas to turn from crumbly to creamy. Finishing the dish with a generous handful of cilantro and a dollop of Greek yogurt helped add brightness and brought our flavors into balance. You can adjust the spice level of this dish by either including less of the serrano chile or adding its seeds. America’s Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press. More recipes, cooking tips, and ingredient and product reviews are available at . Indian-Style Vegetable Curry Servings: 6 Start to finish: 45 minutes 1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes 3 tablespoons canola oil 4 teaspoons curry powder 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala 2 onions, chopped fine 12 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces Salt and pepper 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste 1 pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths 2 cups water 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro 2/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt Pulse tomatoes with their juice in food processor until nearly smooth, with some 1/4-inch pieces visible, about three pulses. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add curry powder and garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add onions, sweet potatoes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned and sweet potatoes are golden brown at edges, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, chile, ginger, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add eggplant and green beans and cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables are coated with spices, about two minutes. Gradually stir in water, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in tomatoes and chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon salt and season with pepper to taste. Serve with yogurt. Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories (83 calories from fat); 9 g fat (1 g saturated, 0 g trans fats); 2 mg cholesterol; 344 mg sodium; 37 g carbohydrate; 10 g fiber; 13 g sugar; 9 g protein. Celebrate the Year of the Pig! February 5, 2019 to January 24, 2020 BEIJING (AP) — The latest film from famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been dropped from the Berlin Inter- national Film Festival for what the festival described as technical reasons. A notice on the official Weibo microblogging service account for the movie One Second apologized but gave no details other than to say it was not possible to show the film at Berlin. The festival said the film was pulled because of “technical difficulties encountered during post-production.” It said the movie would be replaced at its scheduled showings with Zhang’s action epic Hero, which premiered in 2002 at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China’s legislature in the heart of Beijing. Possibly China’s best-known filmmaker, Zhang has oscillated between big-budget extravaganzas favored by the ruling Communist Party and edgier fare touching on sensitive political and social topics. His well-known releases include Shadow, House of Flying Daggers, and Raise the Red Lantern. One Second is set amid the chaos and violence unleashed by Mao Zedong during the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, a period rarely discussed in history books or portrayed on film. It’s slated for release in China next year. The party is hyper-sensitive to all direct FILM DROPPED. Chinese director Zhang Yimou holds his award for Best Director at the 55th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan, in this November 17, 2018 file photo. The latest film from Zhang, One Sec- ond, has been dropped from the Berlin International Film Festival for “technical reasons.” (AP Photo/Billy Dai, File) or implied criticism and its control over the arts includes deciding what films are released based on largely secret criteria. Regulators routinely order what can and can’t be shown, with special scrutiny for content pertaining to sex, criminal activity, social dislocation, and perceived questioning of the authority or reputation of the party. Another Chinese film had also been pulled from Berlin for similar reasons. Better Days, which portrays alienated youth, was “withdrawn for censorship reasons,” trade magazine Variety reported, citing unidentified sources. Historic candidacy of princess upends tradition in Thailand Continued from page 4 it makes it very difficult for the military and royalists to contest, protest, or seek to overturn the result.” Ubolratana was not present when her name was registered with the Election Commission by the Thai Raksa Chart Party. Its leader, Preechapol Pongpanit, said its executive committee “agrees that Princess Ubolratana, who is intelligent and capable, is the most appropriate name.” She made no known public appearances. “From my point of view, I think she understands Thai politics. She under- stands democracy,” he told reporters. Because Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, the king and his immediate circle are not supposed to involve themselves directly in politics. Parliament has had members who were distant relatives of the monarch. Ubolratana falls into a gray area, as she is commonly called and treated as a princess, but her highest royal titles were taken away when she married an American more than four decades ago. Just hours after she was registered, another political party supporting Prayuth filed an objection with the Election Commission, arguing that the action broke rules banning the use of the royal institution as part of a political campaign. Ubolratana, 67, is the first-born of four children of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, with the current king the second-born. She was virtually disowned by her father in 1972 when she married an American who was a fellow student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They settled in the United States where she and her husband, Peter Jensen, had three children. Only after a divorce did she move back permanently to Thailand in 2001. Since then she has thrown herself into charity work, especially her “To Be No. 1” foundation to fight youth drug abuse. She also frequently promotes Thai tourism and movies at international forums. In general, like most of the royal family, she publicly kept herself aloof from Thailand’s recent political turmoil. For most of Bhumibol’s reign from 1946 to his death in 2016, the revered and humble monarch was a stabilizing force in Thai politics. But the election of the telecommunications tycoon Thaksin in 2001 was transformative for Thailand. His populist policies delivered unmatchable electoral majorities, but he was resented by the traditional ruling class, including royalists and the military. Violent street protests and two military coups have marked the years since. Thaksin went in exile in 2008 to avoid serving jail time on a corruption conviction he insists was politically motivated. His well-funded political machine returned his allies to power twice, and his maneuvering is seen as the key element in arranging for Ubolratana’s selection by a Thaksin-affiliated party. Most observers of Thai politics agree that Thaksin aggressively pursued good relations with Ubolratana’s brother, current King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and friendship with the princess herself. These links were formed as royalists and others loyal to Bhumibol accused Thaksin of showing disrespect for the throne, and even of harboring secret republican tendencies. Thai Raksa Chart Party chief Preechapol brushed aside questions about Thaksin. “I don’t think that Khun (Mr.) Thaksin will be involved about this,” he said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about a third person.” When King Maha Vajiralongkorn ascended to the throne, conventional wisdom saw him as tightening his grip on power by allying himself closely with the military. The surprise entry of his sister Ubolratana into politics — assumed to be with the king’s approval — raises questions about whether the long-lasting partnership of the palace with the army is in jeopardy. “Assuming that this is proceeding with the blessing of the King, this suggests that the Crown is trying to chart its own course through Thailand’s turbulent political waters, placing some distance between itself and the military,” Hicken said. He acknowledged, however, that it is too soon to tell what end result the king has in mind. Associated Press writer Kaweewit Kaewjinda contributed to this report.