Life 'n' Such

Okay, I admit, I had completely forgotten how I used to wait for a new issue of Readers Digest to come out as a teen. Special magical times! Hmm.

Thanks a million dear Timsi (okay, Timsi is my darling nephews’ darling little wife). She got me a RD, how nice of her. Brought back old memories.

Sorry, I know what you all must be thinking: ‘Alright, come to the point girl/woman’. (I prefer girl, still see myself as a teen)

So, you know I was browsing interesting posts on another interesting blog (like moi), and came across, an interesting link, which got me to my dear RD’s website, now why didn’t I think of that earlier.

Okay, its never too late.

So here you go:
http://welcome.readersdigest.com/digital-editions/13things.htm?trkid=OBRN007

Its about secrets your waiter wont tell you, or would want to tell you.

Trust me, read it, next time you visit a restaurant you will be very very careful.

No Comments | In: Food, Interesting stuff | | #

My mother would give me a bowl of roasted unsalted peanuts with jaggery (called ‘gud or gool’ in India) to eat as a snack since the time I could chew nuts.

She would say peanuts are poor man’s almonds.

Little did I know that I was getting a high protein snack with iron. (Peanuts has protein, and jaggery, I think, has iron).

So, if you or your little ones, are craving a snack at an odd hour of the day, then this is a very good option.

To health and happiness!

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian | | #

I am craving a burrito from Chipotle, one of the things I miss from the US. You know how I love Mexican food, and this is the quickest fast-food meal out there. It has rice, kidney beans, chicken, salsas, sour cream, cheese, and whatever you desire my darling!

But, today while speaking with Yasir on iphone apps, he said, that he had gone out to Chipotle to grab a burrito, and while waiting in line, he pulled up the app for counting calories to check how many a Chipotle burrito has.

And that’s how Yasir’s order changed from “One chicken burrito please” to “One chicken burrito bowl”.

Let me explain.

A burrito with everything they have behind the glass couter in it, has about 1800 calories, and the shocking part is that the tortilla (the ‘maida roti’) they use is 25% off the total calories. Oh, how I love the tortilla.
And hence the change in Yasir’s order. He ordered the burrito ‘sans’(sorry for showing off my French) the tortilla. Good job Yasir, so proud of you!

Okay we all now that all fast food has thousands of calories. Agreed.
But, we all can make small changes, save a couple hundred calories easily. And couple hundred calories say five times, it at least 1000 calories. Agreed?

Duh- yes!

Okay, 3 cheers for brilliant iphone apps, that open our eyes to a whole new world of better choices.

No Comments | In: Food, Interesting stuff | | #

Yes, Yes, please! Non-veg platter and mocktails on the side, aha!

Yasir is a big fan of mocktails, so every time we go to a fancy restaurant, he has to order one.

Mango-colada is such a refreshing take on the good ol’ Pinacolada. Punjab Grill by Jiggs Kalra, had this on their menu, and oh it was so good! Good Job guys!

And their presentation was terrific! In a fancy shaped blue glass, mango pulp drizzled down the inner sides of the glass, it looked good, and it tasted great! And who can resist the little umbrellas on the glass, very tropical.

The price for the size was right too. So go ahead, indulge once in a while, I wont tell.

Note: Here is the link to his site for the address for the restaurant: http://punjabgrill.in/

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Other | | #

Not a recipe for a non-veg platter, just a suggestion, next time you go a restaurant.

We while in Kashmir, rarely ate outside, mostly it was either at Gulf Royal or a couple restaurants in Srinagar Downtown.

But one thing we learned, always order the non-veg platter from the menu. We ate at Alka-Salka restaurant, and their platter was too good! I would rate it easily 4.5 stars! The chicken and meat so well marinated, not too hot and spicy, so it was good for the stomach too. And taste, excellent! All in all, I think the best platter for the best price.

Recently in Mumbai, we ate at Punjal Grill by Jiggs Kalra, its a beautiful restaurant near Juhu Circle. It had a wall with water flowing down it, lovely sight, but if you watch it too long, you might get a headache. The non -veg platter they had was pretty decent, the fish on it was very good, I and the husband agreed.

Finally, moral of the story, always go with the non-veg (or veg platter for Vegetarians) as it has most of the good things on the menu, and also, ask the portion size, if the platter is for 2 or 4 or 6 people. And after the platter, you barely have any place, so I would recommend ordering some good Dal (lentils) with rice, or just a simple paneer (Indian Cheese) curry with naan.

No Comments | In: Food, Interesting stuff | | #

Do you know what Caravan Serai means. Well it means Roadside Inn for travelers. You could still see a lot of these in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, etc. But mostly ruins, which I am sure are still a lovely sight.

We went to a restaurant last night, craving good ol’ fashioned non veg food. We decided on Caravan Serai, an Afghani styled joint. This is located on Link Road, Andheri w, in Mumbai, near the Infinity Mall.

My thoughts:
Taste: Alright, I could eat similar food almost every other place,
Cost: A bit pricey (per person about Rs. 750, i.e. in USD hmm about say $15-$18),
Ambiance: Good ambiance, nicely decorated cream walls, with unique things hanging on walls and ceiling, pretty cool, good mood lighting, inside and outside dining option, low seating, which was unique, I don’t know if taller people would like that.

We ordered a few things, but the best thing we liked was the masala papad. It was perfect!

Recipe for Masala Papad:

A udid dal papad fried in oil.
The topping: It was just plain finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro (corriander leaves) with a little salt, and red chilli powder.

That my friend, was the recipe, so easy huh? So get up make it, and eat it right away, so you know what I am drooling about. Its a good snack, appetizer, and oh I almost forgot, we ordered a tall glass of sweet lassi, which was so good with this Masala papad. Yumm!

They served the lassi beautifully. It was a tall glass, with few ice cubes, and the lassi was nice thick consistency, not completely smooth and whisked, but there were a few pieces of yogurt (dahi) in it, which a nice idea I liked. And the best part is the small stream of a rose syrup they had down the side of the glass, gave a light flavor and looked brilliant!

It was just divine!

So, quick take, if you have money to splurge, sure go ahead, enjoy at the Caravan Serai and definitely order the Masala papad.

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian, Interesting stuff, Kashmiri, Other | | #

Picture above is of a old house in older parts of Kashmir (or as the people say ‘Downtown’), all houses are somewhat like this, having intricate woodwork, outside and inside.

Kashmiri people, Kashmiri food, Kashmiri Pashmina shawls, Kashmiri Silk carpets, just few of the things about Kashmir that are so special, you need to experience it first hand to believe me!

Gently glide your hand over the silk carpets to experience the unique craftsmanship, the intricate designs on a Pashmina shawl, or the warmth it gives, the kebabs or the various chutneys you can enjoy at a wedding in Kashmir, every thing is so unique, and so detail oriented.

Even if you get invited to a tea party, the preparations that go into it, oh, reminds me of a scene from Kate and Leopold movie, where Leopold explains to Kate the importance of preparations and the menu for a guest.

Yes, even in the chaos I can smell the fragrant Kehva (the spice tea), I can hear the gurgling of the streams with cold water of the Himalayas, I can feel the softness of the pashmina and the silk carpet, I can appreciate the architecture of the fallen apart houses in the older cities of Kashmir.

Yes, I am in love.

It must be paradise.

2 Comments | In: About me, Interesting stuff, Photos | | #

I love this!

And I had no clue, this was that easy!

So without further ado, here we go.

(Now you get a clue, what I was doing in Kashmir, learning more Kashmiri recipes from MIL) Enjoy my dear friends.

Ingredients:

Eggplant (baingan), long and thin, about 3-4 inches long
tamarind, either dried or concentrated, and dissolved in water to create a thin consistency
our usual spice mix: red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder (all or any of these as per your availability
oil for frying and some for cooking
fried onions,

Method:

Wash the eggplants thoroughly, now to cut them holding the heads, only slit them twice lengthwise, not all the way through (I have taken pictures, dont you worry). Then, deep fry them in oil, till they are golden. After all are fried, put them in the tamarind water.

Now in another small pan, put some oil, add the fried onions, when it gets a bit hot, add the spice mix. Now when the spices are cooked, put this on the eggplant, give it a slight stir, and get the whole thing to a boil. Then simmer on slow heat for sometime, till the eggplants are very tender.

Done. I love to have this hot with steamed rice.

No Comments | In: Food, Kashmiri, Other, Recipes | | #

Today we are making doodhi ka halwa. I am learning how to make it from my MIL.

Ingredients:

2 large doodhis,
3-4 cups of sugar,
about 1 or 2 cups milk,
3-4 tbsp fresh cream (malai),
2 tbsp ghee
for garnishing: cashews cut in halves (sliced lengthwise)

Method:

I peeled, grated the doodhi (2 big ones), core removed because of the seeds.

Now put it in a large pot (non-stick preferably) and put about 3 cups sugar for 2 large doodhis. Put lots of malai, ghee, and milk.

I think the milk will curdle to form little balls.

Cook on high heat for sometime stirring constantly. Towards the end, when all the liquid has evaporated, it will start looking shiny, and the ghee will separate out. That’s when its done.

Stir in the cashews. Yummy! One of my favorites!

This can be relished hot or cool.

No Comments | In: Dessert, Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Other, Recipes | | #

We made chicken biryani last night using Bombay Biryani Masala of Shan. It is my favorite for making biryani.

I pretty much follow the recipe on the pack. And while making layers at the end of rice and the chicken masala, I add a couple more layers of yogurt mixed with some cinnamon powder and garam masala and another layer on top of that of fried onions.

What this does is that, you get moist clumps of fried onions in your every bite. Delicious!

2 Comments | In: Food, Indian, Kashmiri | | #