Zenith of Happiness..

... For any book-lover would be a birthday bounty that looks something like this :-D. It doesn't surprise me anymore that half of these came from my blogger friends :)

Off late, the books I have been reading were failing to get me hooked! None of them transported me wholly into the land of Punjab or London where the books were set!

So I was glad, when I landed upon "More Than Just Biryani" - it took me on a delightful journey to Muslim kitchens (comparatively unknown for me) set in vellore, Bangalore and then Hong Kong! The book revolved around food and is full of lovely anecdotes!The story of a husband besotted by his wife's Shammi Kabab, to a new bride being accepted heartfully by her in-laws family only after she is able to dish out the delectous doodhi halwa, stories of how the matriarch doesn't share her secret ingredient(Glucose biscuit) which makes the most perfect 'Ande Ka Halwa', to how flipping rotis is the first step a young widow takes as she limps back to normal life, to the story of the protagonist for whom food is the only she knows to express her love and how the humble 'Biryani' opens up an all world of opportunities for her!

"More Than Just Biryani" is a book I finished in straight four hours and thoroughly enjoyed! The story crept in so much into my heart that I dreamt of it yesterday night and now I know I'll have to treat myself to a biryani Soon :-D. Its a book I will recommend to every food lover!

Thank You Mr.Museum piece, for taking the effort to read thru tons of reviews and zeroing on this book for me! I am indeed delighted :)

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - Z  is for Zenith Of Happiness :).

An Yummilicious Birthday :)

The one word that describes this Birthday must be - "Yummilicious"! From having my first taste of a custard cake to trying out Japanese cuisine  - we indeed had a gala time!

The custard fresh fruit  cake, came from a bakery next door, who went out of their way to accommodate a cake that was not even on their menu! Of course the choice of cake was spelled out clearly to 'Chocoholic' Pheno:-D

Dinner that day was a Japanese affair - another first! While I obviously cannot vouch for its authenticity, I absolutely enjoyed the experience @ Teppan. Pheno has reviewed it in details here. My abs fav were the Tuna Salad and Sushi- Indeed I have waited for a long time to taste them and they truly dint disappoint me :)

Japanese Cuisine is synonymous with Sushi for me!

For True Fish Lovers - The Tuna salad must be mana!

Linking this to Linking this to AtoZ challenge - Y  is for Yummilicious :). Another post coming up soon on best part abt birthday - gifts, what else :-D

X-Mas Eve.....

It was last X-Mas - my niece was home for her hols. At the last min, the little missy decides she wants to do up a Christmas crib. We did a quick dash to the local market with absolutely no luck! So literally on Christmas eve, we went about scouring a crib from the itty-bitties at home......

An empty oil box from the shop next door became the base for the Crib

Jesus, Mary, Joseph!

A few hours later, here's her cute little crib... ....

Did you like our little crib? Linking this to AtoZ challenge - X is for X-Mas

A Walk in a Coffee Estate...

The best part of any holiday for me are the long walks in midst of unadulterated nature! Its funny but when am on trips, am generally the first to be up and about!!

These are from a holiday at a coffee estate in Chikmagalur. The homestay there was amidst coffee estates - I have posted about it here. The day we landed there, the owner offered to take us on a visit to his estates. It was a monsoon evening - so armed with gumboots, raincoat and a stick we were ready to go!

It was an absolute delightful three hours that followed... The extra-green plantation due to the recent showers, the ravines, the grasslands and the streams on the way were an absolute delight!

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - W is for walk in a coffee estate!

Veena......

Today was the 11th day death ceremony of her dearest Ravi. She couldn't believe that it was just last week that they had a four hour long Riyaz** - Ravi as always on his beloved Veena**! Despite the heart wrenching grief, Latika was thankful for this companionship that lasted more than seven decades.....

Indeed they had both come a long way from the tiny hamlet in interiors of Tanjore where they received their first lessons in Music.  Now the house was filled with dignitaries from the world of Music who had come to pay their last respects to their beloved Ravi. As they stepped away, most of them silently bowed in front of Latika.

She jerked her head at the loud wails coming from the house backyard. As she strained her neck, she saw a few lady relatives gathered around Menaka - breaking her bangles**. Unconsciously, Latika's hand tightened over the pedant dangling on the chain around her neck.

Latika's  mind as usual went back to the question that haunted her life for the last fifty years. What was she in Ravi's life? A friend? A Companion? Lead singer of his troupe? Or as Menaka accused her was she a Whore? A mistress?

Latika sighed and realized its time she made peace with it - Indeed as Ravi always told her, she was all this and more in his life! Mistress or not, she was thankful nobody could seize her Guru or his beloved "Veena' pendent from her .. A priceless family heirloom  he gifted her on her sixtieth birthday!

This piece of fiction is in response to WT prompt of Dangling on the chain was………. Linking this to AtoZ challenge - V is for Veena. This story is highly inspired by the plot of the book - Mistress Shakespeare.
 
**Riyaz (also Riyaaz) is an Urdu language term used for music practice, for honing of Hindustani classical music vocal as well as instrument skills.
**The Veena is a plucked stringed instrument originating in ancient India, used mainly in Indian classical music.
**The widow will break her bangles and remove her bindi as well. Many Hindu women will remove their nose ring and toe rings as well on her husband's death 

Urban Wanderers Nirvana....

.... are quaint little settlements, in midst of nature - deep in jungle or hill-stations, far far away from hubbub and sounds of Urban life! Haaa the nirvana that every urban soul craves for ...That's exactly what we did last weekend.

We were headed to Kolli Hills ... a picturesque hill station, a six hour drive from Bangalore. The drive up to the hill station is an riders delight - a total of seventy hair pin bends(which makes it a nightmare for people with motion sickness - yours truly). The "To Do" list for a tourist is nothing to write about. Just the usual "View Points", water falls that every hill station is endowed with. This is a blessing in disguise as it makes it keeps the horde of tourists away!

We chose to stay at "Kolli Hills Camp". This is a good ten kms from the Kolli town and is in middle of nowhere. The nearest human settlement is a good three Kilometers away! This place is a camp in its truest sense - wooden cottages with basic comforts, unpaved pathway, no-frill yet hearty food. For somebody used to urban life, the prospect of  staying alone(we were a family of three) with just the boy running the place for company and absolutely no other human in sight can be a bit unnerving (The tourists staying in the adjoining cottages were running late and arrived only around midnight!). Of course, we lived to tell the tale :).


Despite all this we had an excellent evening - imagine huddling around a camp-fire with your fav book in one hand, a beer in another with some lip-smacking good country-chicken to nibble on! Well this defines the perfect holiday for us :-D

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - U is for Urban Wanderers....

The Thinker!

That's Munch(My 3 month old Nephew) in action :-D.

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - T is for Thinker (This title is courtesy The museum Piece .... Despite that brooding look of his blog n FB DP, I assure you he has a fun side to him :-D)

Summer Treat...

Last week we went on a road trip across parts of Tamil Nadu. The summers here are scorching but  - as if to compensate for it -  its when the nature is at its abundant best!

One of the unsung heroes of tropical fruits should be the humble "Ice Apple" or "Nungu" as it is called in these parts. That Jelly-like fruit has a complex taste that's difficult to describe!

Now while I have had Nungu from my childhood, its for the first time I came across "Pathaneer". Pathaneer is basically sap collected from Palm trees. The Nongu sellers in interiors of Tamil nadu, usually have a pot of Pathaneer in their push-cart which is served to you in dexterously molded Palm Leaves!

Come summer, I make sure I treat myself to these delicate tasting Ice-Apples! Linking this to Linking this to AtoZ challenge - S is for Summer Treats!

Recipe: Pazhutha Manga Curry

Have you yet had a taste of the delectable , luscious , finger-licking good mangoes this season?

Once you have had these mangoes to your heart-content, here is a "Curry" made of ripe mangoes that tops my list of favorites (My mouth literally waters as I write this :-D)This recipe is courtesy dearest Bhavs who has been delighting us this season of A2Z with her amazing stories..

Ingredients    
Ripe mangoes (small sized variety) - 8
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Grated coconut - 1/2 coconut
Cumin  - 1 tsp
Thick sour curd (beaten) – 1 1/2 cups
Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies (cut to 2) - 2
Curry leaves -10-12

Preparation

Cook the ripe mangoes, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt in one cup of water. Grind the coconut and cumin to afine paste adding a little bit of water and add to the mangoes when they begin to cook.
When the coconut and mangoes have cooked evenly add the beaten curd, cook for a very short while (do not allow the curd to boil) and remove from flame. Allow to cool lightly and then sprinkle the fenugreek powder. Mix again.
Heat oil in a pan and let the mustard, dry red chillies and curry leaves splutter. Add this to the curry and mix well.Adding a bit of sugar/jaggery to make the curry sweet makes it all the more yummy.

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - R is for Recipe

The Quest for life....

... Begins when you realize, 'YOU' are insignificant.......

Clicked by Pheno @ Sravanbelagola

Linking this to AtoZ challenge - Q is for Quest ..