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Mumbai .. the maximum city as it is known is a truly inspiring place .. I've always loved visiting Mumbai and it always leave me awestruck ... :) Sharing a few snaps from one of my recent trips to this amazing city ... We traveled from Pune by the 'Deccan Queen' express which has been running on this route for 82 years now ... what a legacy... Loved everything from the people and their spirit around to the pantry car and it's delicacies ... :) The route goes via the beautiful lonavla-khandala ghats which were in full glory during this monsoon season. The wada-pav at karjat and the coffee from PC is a must have while enjoying the monsoon sights of the ghats. We reach the CST - Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai which is a very impressive edifice. It also houses the Railway offices. We walk from there to the flora fountain or fort area. The entire area is sprinkled with lots of impressive looking old and new buildings of great importance. So beautifu...

Its really funny. I've spent my entire school and junior college years in Nashik and yet there are places in Nashik where I've never been. Strange enough some of these places are really famous like the Sundar Narayan Temple or Sita Guha. So this vacation I spent a couple of days in my hometown - Nashik to actually see the places for which Nashik is famous. Nashik is considered to be a very ancient settlement with stories and events from the holy epic Ramayana having happened here. There are many temples around the area known as 'Panchvati' which is considered to be holy land. I visited the Sundar Narayan temple on the Godavari river banks. It is said that on the day of equinox in March, the Sun rays directly fall at the feet of the idol here. Its a very beautiful temple but sadly not very well maintained. From the temple we went onward to the river banks also known as Goda (short for Godavari river) Ghat. Here too there are several temples - one specific w...

Mahabaleshwar is a beautiful hill station in western Maharashtra about 120Kms from Pune. It can be visited almost round the year as it is popular in summers because of it's cool weather and popular in winters because of strawberries which grow in abundance in the nearby areas. We visited Mahabaleshwar in July 2012 and although it was raining, the place did not disappoint us. Soon as you enter panchgani, you are almost travelling through clouds. And they remain all the time in Mahabaleshwar. The Pasarani ghats which end in panchgani when you are travelling from Pune are amazingly beautiful and more so in the rains with seasonal waterfalls around. We started from Pune after a nice breakfast on a Sunday morning. Although the city and plains were dry, it started raining soon as we entered the hilly ghat area around. The road from Pune was really in a mint good condition which was a pleasant surprise given the usual state of roads here. Panchgani is like a twin hill station whic...

Had a wonderful week long road trip ... covered 4 hill stations Mahabaleshwar - Lonavla - Igatpuri - Saputara. Posting some snaps .. will follow-up with a detailed itinerary

Tried a couple of new dishes this weekend. Wanted something which is tasty but healthy .. a tough combination. So decided on this menu for a lazy Saturday brunch - A simple Salad and Aubergine Kebabs. It turned out to be quite a surprise because it was actually very tasty - never thought salads could really taste so good ... :) Here's the simple recipe. For Salad: 1. Nicely cut salad vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and capsicum. 2. Mix them together in a salad bowl and add some salt and herbs to taste .. and you'r done ... :D Tip: Add cubed cheese pieces (cheddar or regular cheese with chili flakes) For Kebabs: Take a large Aubergine and cut it into slices - not too thin. Place this in water so that they do not start turning black.  Mix together mixed dal flour (available in markets - known as 'bhajani' here in Maharashtra) with salt and chili powder as per taste.  Place a flat pan on the gas and put little oil into it. Let it hea...

Had a great weekend with the family ... Even though it's summers weather has not been too bad this year. Evenings are really pleasant and nights are cool these days. Been hosting family and guests entire weekend and made a couple of awesome summer coolers .. :) Cant stop sharing this - Tender Coconut - Strawberry Falooda Ingredients : Vermicelli-Seviyan Tender Coconut ice-cream - Naturals has this awesome flavor Strawberry crush Tender Coconut water and mallai (tender coconut) Soaked subja seeds (soaked for atleast 30 mins) Recipe : Cook some vermicelli-seviyan in boiling water. Let the water drain and allow it to cool down completely. In a blender, mix the coconut water and mallai and add some strawberry crush to give it that cute pink color.  Falooda is basically layering of seviyan, crush, milkshake/juice and ice-cream.  So in a tall glass, start with cooked seviyan, top it with some strawberry crush, add some subja seeds, pour some blended coconut straw...

Kairee Panhe as it is popularly known is a summer drink made from the raw mangoes. Its sweet and refreshing and helps cool down during hot summers. The raw mangoes are pressure cooked, de-seeded and mixed with jaggery and cooked to make this kairee crush. This is usually made in the beginning of summers. To actually make the drink, we only need to add water and sugar/salt as per taste to this kairee crush. Summers cant be complete without this kairee panhe ... :)