The colour of the sky when the sun is about to slumber off!

The Iranian saffron kissed rice pudding

The monks’ adornment

The reddish brilliance found on the Omur Island

The slight pink and red colour washed canvas

Is what they call the colour ‘Gerua’

And Shah Rukh Khan, in his upcoming venture Dilwale, has splashed Gerua all over the Hindi/Urdu music listeners. A soulful voice by Arijit Singh and Antara is lent to the very dapper velvet blazered Shah Rukh Khan and sensual sari clad Kajol. The heavily ‘photo-shopped’ video has a feel of rawness, finesse and burning desire to it. Encompassing waterfalls, valleys, broken icebergs, calm reflective waters, a broken plane and an isolated wooden boat - all have been used as props for this extremely addictive song. Balancing on hillocks, boats and planes is certainly a long shot by the director, yet he knew everything goes with this couple. Whilst Kajol looks extremely beautiful and timeless in her smoky eye make-up, SRK has some kind of a plastic/melamine look to him - yet combined together, they make one of the most charming and full of chemistry couple.

Starting from ‘Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Mein’, to ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ to ‘Suraj Hua Madham’ to ‘Sajda’, this couple has appeared on-screen and given us memorable songs and ‘Gerua’, ladies and gentlemen, has done it again. I will not be surprised if Gerua becomes the new black in women’s fashion industry with men roaming around in velvet jackets and blue reflective aviators sans the taut plastic look.

The audio alone, however, is a treat to hear, starting off with bagpipes and flutes. The song is screaming with tones of wholesome love, belongingness, madness and earnestness. Gerua is often thought of as a colour worn by devotees, saints and sages who leave the worldly life in search and attainment of what they worship and love.

And as the chorus suggests

‘Rung dey tu mohey, Gerua’

Colour me in the colour gerua, fundamentally meaning the colour of love, of being lost in love, of devoting oneself to love and shying and shunning away from all worldly commitments. The Sufi touch and change in language is where the song reaches its peak and hits the chords (pun intended).

While grocery shopping and listening to the song at the same time and as obsessed as I am with the song, the first thing even closest to being red-ochre or orange that caught my eye, were actually big, ripe oranges. Which I immediately picked up to make some caramelised oranges, tart and sweet at the same time, with a dollop of some shiny white yogurt and orange peel. With oranges in full swing, this is a simple dessert that can easily be used for breakfast too.

Caramalised Oranges with Yoghurt

Ingredients (Serves 1)

2 Oranges (Peeled and cut across)

½ cup Sugar

½ cup Water

½ tsp. Cinnamon Powder

2 tbsp. Yoghurt

Method

Grate off some orange peel and set aside.

Next peel the orange, taking off the white pith as well. Then slice neatly across, getting rid of any seeds that come in the way. When all done, set aside.

In a small frying pan, on low heat, tip in the sugar, half of the water and sprinkle some cinnamon. Do not swirl around the sugar and let it melt slowly while it also dissolves in the water. After about 5 to 7 minutes you will have an amber-coloured sugar syrup, before it starts to smoke and turn into a deeper caramel colour. Take off heat, hold the pan and tip in the remaining water. Be careful, the water will spout and spit.

In case some caramel crystals form, put the sugar pan back on heat and let the bits dissolve. Once you have a runny syrup, pour it over the sliced oranges, let it cool slightly, top with yoghurt (you can use whipped cream also, for some more indulgence) and orange peel and dig in.