Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Hynotized

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Words fail me ,
I stand mesmerized ,
The sky is ablaze by what seems like countless fireflies
It’s isn’t sunset nor is the moon yet here
There’s a golden melted warmth that seems to flow
I took some pictures but they can never tell
The story that unfolded and upon us befell
It’s probably god at his very best
When we least expect it,
Such sights put troubled minds to rest
There’s a treat we cannot forget
If only we took time to see these sights
Set aside our tiny battles
And didn’t run after some hopeless prize
If only every day we could allow ourselves to be so hypnotized .

Sweet Solitude, Sweet Love

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O Solitude I seek thee,
As fresh rains want open fields and dancing children run home after light ,
For only you, thus, Intrigue me.
As I dive deep into thy Abyss,
Cold blue waters engulf me all around,
It’s only then that I see ALL else slip away,
And only your love surrounds ,
For that’s when you truly open up to me and I hear your sweet silent sound .
Strange as it may seem too you,
This appalling silence holds,
a thousand screams that befall,
On ears that listen and eyes that speak,
And yet they never seem to talk ,
Just walk past without a nod or smile ,
And all that’s left around in that abyss is Solitude and me .
So drowning dead and sinking to a watery grave is but obvious I need not implore ,
I wait eagerly for the cold embrace in the blue waters of my mind ,
It’s only when I am dying that I know I surely will find,
What we all wish to behold but never really find ,it’s always been there somewhere ,
Lost in the recesses of our mind ,
I fall asleep silently with death embracing that is so cold ,yet warm in Solitude’s embrace ,she , caresses my troubled soul,
Such is the love of solitude that I couldn’t resist, just had to seek n find ,
If this wasn’t true love ,my dear beloved
Please be so kind and pray tell me what is true love , that we have never found .

the last embrace

The above post was done by me last year  on a lovely group called Phrase Catchers on Facebook where I post from time to time , it was written when I was in a grey period for a while ,feeling lonely in this big city and missing my old life , the image posted above is from a very, very beautifully written blog and the post it is from is so touching it made me sad … very emotional blog (http://circuschildren.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html) ….thanks for letting me use the image here Ms.Circus Princess , I am sure your blog writing was catharsis in itself. I also like how she has written a polite but firm request for her friends to respect her privacy. Read her blog it takes you on a journey …

Oh India I miss your COLOURS SIGHTS SOUNDS and smells ..well almost all of them;)

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One of the things I miss most about my life in India is the COLOUR, the colours of daily clothing for example worn by women even in the most modern of cities as it collides with the Sauvé greys and blacks of the suits that walk around. I sorely miss wearing Indian clothes and my favourite glass bangles. Moreover the whole thing where we have colour as part of our home decor is also something I really miss. I have taken a vow that each time I visit India next I shall surely buy some key pieces for placing in my flat to give it a distinctive Indian flavour, the more vibrant colourful and hard to get the object the higher will be its place of importance in my heart and home .

There are these times I miss all that I did like the zillion times I would walk into FAB INDIA with A OR P or just saunter in by myself and ogle at the lovely fabrics and the salivate over the chunky jewellery I especially love their short kurtis (tunics) and silver earrings . I love FAB INDIA clothes and mix matching them with different pieces to wear.

Long back this close pal of mine, S, told me about this blog called Rang Decor , it’s a splash of very beautiful photographs of extremely well done up homes and also awesome places , the most recent post about Kutch and how art is literally everywhere sitting silently amongst very obvious harsh weather and stark poverty is quite a lovely post to SEE , read ,feel and think !

http://rangdecor.blogspot.com/

Such are the ways I amuse myself when I feel the “I miss INDIA” Nostalgia pangs coming along .This is followed by a session of listening to old Bollywood songs on you tube , browsing through photographs of close family and friends for the millionth time and then looking outside to see an almost empty street save for the occasional bus that zips past and some cars . How I miss the sights and sounds of Bombay and Pune. I progress to making a cup of hot tea for myself and start listening to some golden oldies from the Kishore Kumar era ! Sighhh Lifeee …..

Of movies and GREAT MOVIES

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Some movies have such an impact that they make you smile somewhere deep inside , they give us hope , that kind of hope that can stir up a twinkle in the eye of even the most deprived of souls …The Shawshank Redemption is one such movie.

I cannot fathom why I haven’t seen it for all these years …

It’s the kind of movie I would see with my Father , he loves watching war movies ,old westerns and the like .When he and my mother came to visit us last year we had a lovely few weeks together. He made a list of his all time favourite films all old English awesome one really …I would love to share that list will try and find the paper where he wrote it …

We would have an early dinner and then I would download the movie on my laptop using utorrent and my parents and me would crowd around my laptop and watch it only stop if I wanted a break in between I always do, movies make me hungry errr hungrier to be honest …am always hungry 😉 My mum doses off after the first 15 minutes and wakes up after a few more and asks why so and so did this and what is happening and then dose off blissfully again , though she’s one determined person I tell you , she wouldn’t quit halfway would sit through to the end with me and daddy.

Anyway, this ritual went on for about 15 days after which my Laptop crashed due to some bug and when it was done up again it was time for them to go , the weather had changed ,it was much colder than their old bones could handle so they would turn in earlier and stay home most day.

I do miss them, but I miss my dad the most when I see such movies. I almost imagined I was curled up next to him as I was seeing this movie. Will call him tomorrow and tell him about it, of course am sure he has seen it and will have some interesting movie facts to tell me, he always does.

The following lines are ingrained in my mind forever and ever – “Hope is a Good Thing,Maybe the BEST thing and Good Things NEVER Die” – Andy from The Shawshank Redemption.

It’s a movie that will stay with me for a long long time to come ,maybe some day I too shall sit down with my kids and share such moments ….hopefully 🙂

P.S: Baba’s List of Must watch movies , family favourites at ours and anytime watchs for a LIFETIME…

*Where Eagles Dare

*North By North West

*The Bridge on the River Kwai

*The Eagle has Landed

*The man who knew too much – who can forget Doris Day singing “Que Sera, Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)“

*Dial M for Murder

*Psycho

* Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid

*Mackenna’s Gold

*It Happened One Night

*The 39 Steps

* Godfather 1 &2 …. Oh Marlon Brando what he did no one ever has and no one ever can these movies and books are EPIC !

* The Day of the Jackal

*Casablanca

*Rear Window…Irony was I saw this when I was in bed nursing a broken leg 😉

*Frenzy

* One Flew over the cuckoo’s nest

Chocolates n memories ummmm

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Toblerone ….It’s not JUST another chocolate

To date this awesome pyramid shaped yummie remains the single most popular chocolate that all uncles’ aunts and doting parents get for the kids on the family from a holiday abroad.

I have very very fond memories of my dad returning from work abroad with a BEEEEEGGG bag crammed with chocolates amongst other goodies.

I am a chocolate lover and have always caved in, in the ace of temptation. Before I left Mumbai to come to London early last year , the Cadbury’s new introduction SILK was my all time fav guilty treat. I kept one stashed away in the fridge even when I stayed with my in laws for a while and my father in law and me gobbled it up turn by turn of course we had to ensure the wrapper stayed crumpled in the fridge lest the watch full eye of my sweet mil was to see how fast we were downing calories into our systems!

I found new chocolate heaven in LINDT chocolates over Christmas last year though, I must say for that few minutes when you pop a LINDT into your mouth it’s like sitting under a chocolate waterfall as the tongue is enveloped in a beautifully smooth taste and every taste bud is awake and singing out aloud in pure joy, the melting chocolate transports me into food nirvana EVERY single time J

Anyway back to the TOBLERONE, I was in the supermarket  a few days back, tired after a day’s work wanted to get a nibble to satiate the rumbling in my tummy till I got home, I wandered into the chocolate aisle and there it was sitting quietly amongst the others, I for a minute thought “why something  that’s gifted to me so often” .It’s then I realised that it’s actually been a really long time since any uncles or even my dad has got me one of these .

Seems a long time away in time that I was a kid or a youngster even…

So until some doting relative or parent gets me one of these I have decided to stock up on this goody for my sweet cravings and allow each bite to take me back to some happy growing up memory.

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry

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Akkhe Masoor or whole red lentils

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry – Recipe adaptation from Mother, Mother in Law and a close C.K.P friend – who loves to stir up some spicy CKP fare and generally succeeds at it 🙂

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry

Delicious, easy and quick recipe for using whole red lentils with skin on
Print Recipe
Servings: 4 portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 300 Grams MasoorDal (Red Lentil) with their brown covers intact and whole
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 3 cloves Garlic with skin on
  • 5-6 Curry leaves
  • 2-3 Green Chillies
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1.5 tbsp freshly grated soft white coconut
  • 1.5 tbsp Goda Masala
  • 2 tbsp Coriander Powder
  • 1.5 tbsp Ginger – Garlic Paste
  • 3 mediumsized Red onions, chopped fine
  • 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
  • 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • Jaggery to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 – 3 petals Garcinia Indica – wet, salt preserved
  • Fresh leaves of Coriander chopped fine for dressing
  • 2 tbsp Sunflower Oil

Equipment

  • 1 Pan with lid
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board
  • 1 Spatula

Method
 

  1. Soak the washed lentils in luke warm water for about 20 minutes. You can par-boil the lentils too, to save time. t
  2. Heat two large generous tablespoons of oil in a wok, no weight loss tip this, huh? Indeed!
  3. Add mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.
  4. To this hot oil, dd Asafoetida, crushed garlic cloves , let the skin remian attached.
  5. When the garlic is starting to brown add the curry leaves, green chillies, cumin and then the fresh grated coconut.
  6. Now stir in the Goda masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and coriander chilli paste and mix well.
  7. Now add the chopped onion and cook them on a low heat until they begin to break down and caramelise.
  8. Drain excess water from the lentils and add them into this spice and oil mix. Stir well. Cover and cook on medium to low heat until almost done. Check occasionally and stir as so to ensure it does not burn.
  9. Add the soaked Garcinia Indica alongwith the water it was soaking in. Mix well. Cook without the lid on low heat until fully cooked.
  10. Season with finely chopped fresh as ever coriander andserve piping hot with phulkas dripping with ghee (clarified butter) or the plain old boiled white rice.

Recipe Notes

  • Goda Masala – this is a mix of various spices readily available in Asian Grocery stores it’s basically a mixture of dry coconut roasted with a mixture of at least 10 different spices, best of all it’s available to buy online at Red Rickshaw – previously called itadka.com. Refrigerate this pack to increase shelf life,yayay so many tips from me, don’t YOU just LOVE me if u better don’t just READ this make n slurp it all ALONE, drop me A LINE and thank meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) Better still make your own, recipe coming soon – watch this space!
  • Aamsul / Amsul – also known as Kokum or Garcinia Indica, is a plant belonging to the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae). This is one of those revered ingredients that is commonly used in Indian cooking especially in Maharashtra, along the coast. Much like my beloved coconut this fruit has multiple applications and is very versatile, besides it is such a good-looking gorgeous and delicious tropical fruit.
  • Coriander and Chilli paste – 2 small-sized bunches of coriander pureed with 2-3 green chillies – freeze and use on demand, handy and 1 of my 5 “save your face” purees for unwanted guests popping in at odd hours – the other 4 are listed at the end of this recipe.
  • The other 4 SAVE ME NOW pastes are: a garlic ginger coarse paste, Finely grated fresh white coconut paste, Tomato red onion puree -1:3, And the best one for last aye? – a few onions chopped lengthwise n lightly roasted in a kadhai (wok) with fresh white coconut finely grated till they turn slightly brown, then churned into a paste in the mixer.
  • The masoor dal can be done 2 ways for stage 1 of this process, 1st is the short cut which I love as I suddenly get an urge mid-evening to cook this typical CKP recipe to appease my urges to run to Heathrow n take the next flight to my parents home in Pune, hummmmm, so we soak the masoor dal 2 measures feeds 2 adults with a ravenous appetite and leaves some to spare.

Key

This is the key to a mystical tropical paradise…. errrr… sorry but it is not, it is simply the key to some important words that you will encounter pretty often while reading my posts or watching my videos. I am after all a student of Chemistry and treat my kitchen like my personal laboratory where I create my own kitchen experiments! This is why the word ‘Key’ reminds me of my Chemistry textbook in my school years 😉

  • C.K.P stands for Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu a sub-section of the Maharashtrian community in India and they generally hail from the coastal regions and hence are rather partial to freshly grated coconut and amsool in their food, not to mention their love for fresh fish and mutton, oh yeah!
  • Daal is used to loosely to refer to the uncooked Lentil and AAMTI is a Marathi word meaning cooked curry.
  • Coriander for my friends from across the pond is Cilantro.
  • Phodni – Marathi for tempering, also one of my favourite words to say. Follow my hashtag on Instagram #phodnitales , please pretty please? 🙂
  • Kadhai – The Marathi pronunciation sounds like it ends in ‘ee’, while the Hindi pronunciation stretches the first ‘a’ following the ‘K’ to sound like ‘aaa’ , easy or what?!
  • Phulkas – Also called chapattis or the delightful Indian Bread soft and fluffy and fresh off the pan has ghee smeared on it to pack some punch and many, many calories 🙂

EXPLORE MORE RECIPES FROM MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

Random Thoughts

I would totally rechristen the word ‘Method’ in a recipe post with the name ‘Process ‘ Why, well once a Chemistry student and a retail employee I guess some things just stay with you forever. Also, instead of “PREPARATION” I choose the word ”Process” which is drilled into a Retail Managers brain like young parents making their kids rote learn alphabets)

Pic 1: The saucepan contains oil heated and then the asafoetida, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, then the garlic, chopped green chillies and curry leaves and last but the best one is GODA masala

Pic 2 :Chopped red onion added to the mix

Pic 3: That’s the dal cooking

Pic 4 & 5: All done , the AROMA is filling my senses and transporting me into my MIL’s kitchen , I want to HUG her nowwwwwwwwwww

P.S: Will post pictures to compare the 2 sizes of Mustard seeds at a later date , I am now going to be too busy slurping my Aamti off the plate 🙂

Put on a SMILE … there’s too many Miles ..to be covered ..

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Though THE weather is now dark and grey ,
I won’t allow it my nerves to fray,
Grab my best jacket n put on my boots,
Step out in the cold n pretend I care two hoots ,
its only our spirit that keeps us going on,
So even if the road seems endless and forlorn ,
Hold ur head high up and smile
Kick up a pep in ur step till the last mile,
for life isn’t all about the big grey clouds ,
It’s how u weathered the storm that counts !

An Omelette with a twist

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Your regular omelette but better

Easy omelette recipe

What’s life without a bit of a twist I say!

So here’s one of my “different” omelette recipes, I love eating eggs in all shapes and forms and am more so obsessed with omelettes and scrambled eggs.

This recipe is for hungry morning times when you have a rumbling tummy and need time to hold the tummy quiet and prepare for rest of the day. It is a filling, satisfying yummy start to the day, I serve this with 2 slices of toast buttered with a generous blog of organic grass-fed butter and a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it down 🙂

Ok so you will need the following ingredients and a really easy short process to cook this yummy egg omelette

An Omelette with a twist

5 from 6 votes
Fluffy, delicious egg omelette
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Servings: 1 person
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 large Red onion chopped lengthwise
  • 1/2 Garlic cloves sliced very fine lengthwise again
  • 1 Chicken Sausage
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • Olive Oil as required or unsalted butter
  • Salt as per taste

Equipment

  • 1 Non-stick frying pan
  • 1 egg-whisk or fork
  • 1 Spatula
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board

Method
 

  1. Chop the red onion lengthwise and so also the garlic clove.
  2. Heat frying pan over medium heat.
  3. Sauté the red onion n garlic slices in a generous blob of butter on a pan until the onion starts to reduce turns a mild brown n stays ab it soft.
  4. Transfer the onion and garlic onto a creamic plate and allow to cool down a bit.
  5. Crack two eggs in a mixing bowl, beat them well using a whisk or a fork until you see loads of bubbles forming and the eggs have a nice thick consistency.
  6. Now mix in the onions and garlic into the eggs, add the chopped chillies, red chilli powder.
  7. Roughly chop the chicken sausage and add into the egg mixture, mix well
  8. Heat the same frying pan on a medium add and add some more butter if you like, when the pan is hot , pour the egg mixture into the pan.
  9. Cook with a lid for a few minutes, then using a wooden spatula loosen the omelette around the eggs, flip and cook until done on the other side without a lid, reduce the heat as required.
  10. Serve hot with toasted sourdough smothered in butter, a nice strong cup of masala chai and some freshly squeezed orange juice or a slice of grapefruit.

Recipe Notes:

  • I like to chop the red onion and garlic lengthwise. Why, you ask? Because in an omelette the tiny square bits will loose themselves and vanish I like to chomp on and feel the taste of all the ingredients as I eat the omelette and appreciate each and every ingredient, it’s just so much more fulfilling and creates an immense feeling of happiness as a creator of a true mouth-watering masterpiece.
  • The red onion should be sauteed to the point it is still soft and light brown so that when you bite into it, it releases a sweet burst of onion taste on your palate.
  • Feel free to swap the butter for olive oil or an oil spray.
  • I prefer to use unsalted butter, I mean who wants to pump their body with extra sodium, not me, hellow normal blood pressure!
  • A fluffy, well-cooked omelette is a joy to cook and serve and even nigger pleasure to eat so it is imperative to get the timing of flipping it over absolutely spot-on and correct, it comes with practise and you will love it!
  • Feel free to innovate and improvise this recipe, throw in bits of sweet pepper, sweet corn, spinach that is about to go off, or some kale that is looking tired, add in your favourite cheese or not. I leave that to your imagination, creativity, and what is available at hand!

AAAHHH pure omelette pleasure.

If you do make and enjoy eating this share your partner or husband or children’s reactions, it will surely make me smile.

Egg-citing egg recipes to inspire you!

I visisted a busy egg Farm where hens roam in rural England, have a read and browse through some pictures for a virtual tour

Behind the scenes at an Egg Farm

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