Food, travel and life stories…
Mango bruschetta is a different-from-the-usual snack, a beautiful sweet and spicy thing that would brighten up any party. We love it so much that we sometimes make a breakfast out of it – it has the power to add a dash of zing to any ordinary day.
This bruschetta is light on the palate, yet fulfilling. It isn’t a very difficult thing to whip up, but you will be pleasantly surprised by the many flavours and textures it fills you with.
Here‘s how to make this delish appetiser!
Mango kesari aka mango sheera is yumminess personified. If you like sheera, you must absolutely try out this particular variation. Oh, even if you don’t like sheera all that much, do try this out – you might fall in love with the sweet dish after all! Yes, it is that delicious.
Do check out the recipe – just in on my photo blog!
A while ago, I was invited to attend a workshop for kids by Lego, at Orion Mall, Bangalore, and I readily accepted.
Check out my post about the workshop as well as a review of one of Lego’s new Starter Sets, just in on my photo blog!
Ras no fajeto is a beautiful, beautiful Gujarati dish made with pureed ripe mango and curd. It makes for the perfect side dish for piping hot steamed rice, with a little ghee mixed in. I love having it with rotis, though, with or without another simple curry on the side.
The sweetness of the ripe mango, the sourness of the curd, and the heat of the ginger and green chillies meld together to give this dish a gorgeous flavour. Beautiful as the fajeto is, it isn’t a dish that is really well known in states outside of Gujarat.
Here is my way of making ras no fajeto!
The famed Kamakhya temple in Guwahati was the first pit-stop on our recent journey to North-East India.
I have been fascinated by this temple ever since I read about it a few years ago. I had heard that this is the temple of the ‘menstruating goddess’, the goddess who bleeds once every year and that people consider her menstrual blood sacred enough to dip their handkerchiefs in it and carry them home, as tokens of good luck. This temple was, definitely, one of the spots I had eagerly wanted to visit, as we planned out this trip to the North East.
Read all about our experience at the temple, here.
The bub starts school this June.
After a lot of thinking and researching and soul-searching, we decided to go ahead with the Montessori method of teaching. I still have my fears about the method, but we want the bub to be in an atmosphere that doesn’t put undue pressure on her, letting her learn at her own pace, in her own way, at least in the initial few years. We love the concept of Montessori, and the few friends I have talked to about this have vouched for it. We have had naysayers, too, but the husband and I have made up our minds to give the bub a chance at this system, and the system a chance to work on the bub.
We were fortunate enough to get her admitted into a school that follows purely Montessori methods of teaching (there are many schools that call themselves ‘Montessori’, but aren’t really!). We liked the school, and got good vibes from the teachers and principal, with whom we talked to at length. Soon, very soon, too soon, the bub will be a ‘school-going’ child. Life, as we know it, is going to change, for all of us in the family.
As I stand at the crux of a huge life change, I am as worried, fearful and doubtful as I am happy and excited. This is a big, big, big decision that we have taken on behalf of Bubboo, and I hope (pray, fingers crossed) that it works out for the best. The OH, being the OH, is unruffled and unperturbed about it all, at least on the surface.
Considering that life is going to get crazier than it is now, once school begins, and because we have been having quite a few stressful days lately, we decided to take a vacation. Within the span of four days, we had in our hands a travel plan for parts of Northeast India – a place that I have always dreamt of visiting. It was as if the place called out to us, and chose us to come over. Last-minute preparations and packing were done, and we left on our holiday – I choose to call it a ‘schoolmoon’ – a week ago. We just got back to Bangalore after a little over a week’s time of visiting fabulous places that had us ooh-ing and aah-ing, made us introspect, and pushed us out of our comfort zones. We met some very interesting people, and had some lovely experiences that I will cherish for a long, long time to come. Stories from the trip will be up on the blog soon, hopefully.
Please do pray for us to fare well and send us positive vibes, will you? And do wait for the travel stories – I promise they will be worth your while!
Till the next time, be good!
Here’s presenting to you a tried and tested recipe for Barnyard Millet (‘Kudhiravaali‘ in Tamil) dosa, which all of us in our family love. These dosas contain absolutely no rice, and taste just like the regular ones – no one can tell the difference! They are supposed to be more filling, yet lighter on the digestive system, than the rice-based dosas.
Check out the recipe, just in on my photo blog!
A while ago, I got my hands on a beautiful bunch of seedless black grapes, probably the last of this variety I will get this year. I wanted to do something different from the usual with them, so I used them to make a sweet-and-spicy chutney. The chutney, or relish if you want to call it so, turned out beautiful and was much loved. It made for a lovely accompaniment to parathas and dosas.
Check out the recipe, just in on my photo blog!
Did you know that the temple city of Madurai is famous for the jasmine flowers produced locally and in the surrounding areas?
Do check out my detailed post about the famed Madurai mallige, just in on my photo blog!
Make the best of the beautiful mangoes available this summer! Try out this super-simple no-cook recipe to make some scrumptious amrakhand, using all of three ingredients!
Check out the recipe, just in on my photo blog!
