Xpressions

Subz Dum Biryani - I agree it's just a fancier name to a relatively simple recipe .. :) Cut vegetables like cauliflower, beans, carrots. Boil the cut vegetables along with peas and corn until they are soft and tender Separately, cook the Basmati Rice Make 2 portions of the cooked rice - for one portion use some food color to make it a little colorful Saute some onions, green chilies, coriander, Pudina leaves, ginger-garlic along with some 'biryani masala'. You could also add some tomatoes to this. If 'Biryani masala' is not available use spices like - pepper, clove, Tej patta and cardamom Grind the above sauteed mixture in a grinder to make a fine paste Add the boiled vegetables to this masala paste. Now layer the masala paste and the colorful rice successively in a large kadai. Close it with a firm lid. Place some heavy object on top of the lid - this is our home made 'Dum' .. :) Alternatively, some people also seal the l...

Dudhi halwa - one of my favorite since it's easy to make and healthier as well.  Below is my simple recipe: Grate the dudhi by peeling it with slicer and making small manageable pieces. Heat some home made ghee in a 'kadhai' and add the grated dudhi into it Saute the Dudhi till it changes the color slightly Add some 'malai' and a little bit of milk and sugar as per taste Let it cook for about 10mins on low flame Finally add some shavings of almonds/cashews/pistachios as per requirement And for some fun ... :) Take a little amount of 'kesar' and mix it well in the milk. Add this to a small amount of 'halwa' to give it an orange hue Alternatively, you could also use orange food color to give it a better color. Arrange the 'Halwa' in 2 layers to represent the Indian flag - Orange and Green In the center sprinkle some coconut to give it a white color look. Using food color, these colors and decoration can be changed as per the ...

This is a snap of the river Godavari in Nasik. This snap was taken just a few days after the monsoons started this year. The waters look so calm and serene. Sitting on the banks and eating 'peru' and 'bhutta' is a wonderful experience.

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