Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Amarnath Yatra - A religious adventure
Reaching Amarnath cave or Amarnath yatra is a religious adventure. It gives you a flavour of hiking, camping, trekking, breathlessness and God. Amarnath Cave is a speechless, powerful demonstration of beauty of nature. Beautiful caricatures formed from ice is a worth a beauty after the treacherous trek to the cave.
The track places you in midst of death and life many a times. This
is such a life changing experience. The unknown will be serving and helping you
in best possible ways like your own family members at the time of distress.
There are lot of bhandaras and langars set up throughout the way up to the
cave. They will provide you with what best they can provide in terms of food,
shelter, medicines.
These bhandaras have a positive cutthroat competition. Each
bhandara wants to serve yatris or travellers of what other bhandaras have
missed and or are not able to serve. They are the best example positive
competition, a pure demonstration of win-win strategy. You will find anything
you can think of to eat up there in the hills. Popcorn, Cold drink, Cotton
Candy, Manchurian, Chowmein, burger, fried rice and the list is endless.
However, all food served is strictly vegetarian. In short you, do not have to
worry about food in the Amarnath yatra once you have reached pahalgam or baltal.
You can reach amaranth cave from baltal as well as pahalgam. The
pahalgam route is difficult and it takes days to reach the cave. Belief is that
pahalgam is the actual route, which Lord Shankar took to reach the cave. The baltal
route is short. Back and forth is easily managed in a day, when all is by your
side. When I say all by your side, the major factors are weather, your health,
time you start your journey from the base camp. One should start the journey
latest by four in the morning, and if you have a decent stamina, will be able
to manage back to the base camp by four in the evening. You can choose to
travel by Helicopter, Palki, Pony or your strong legs.
There are lot of historical stories about this cave that you will
learn on your way to cave, not sharing any of those here. However, the most
popular one about the pigeons seems like a truth. I was able to spot a pair of
pigeons at the cave though no birds spotted throughout the trek.
On the way up to the cave you will have most amazing things to
look at. Last three kilometers you will be walking on the glacier. Locals have
dig out holes in Glacier to draw water from the river beneath. There are tents
on the way and can be hired to stay overnight. If the weather turns bad, you
will not be able to reach back, and then might need to put up in one of these
tents. The beds in these tents are made by cutting ice or they can be called
ice beds. When you wake up in the morning, you will be buried inside these beds
because of your body warmth. Make sure to sleep with raincoats on, as these are
not at all warm and cozy, and instead wet and hard.
I have travelled twice and only through baltal, so the experiences
shared are as per that. Helicopter drops at Panchtarni and then one has to
walk, pony or palki to the cave, which is close to 5 kilometers. The last 3 kilometers
is walk on Ice and is the most challenging part. You will stand, fall, stand,
fall in the ice and the series continues until you reach the cave. If you hire
a palki, it is the most comfortable part and they will take you up to the cave
and back to your base camp. You can hire a pony if you are not scared of
sitting on the horse.
Possible ways to reach cave are
1. Helicopter (panchtarni)+ Pony
2. Helicopter (panchtarni)+ Palki
3. Helicopter (panchtarni)+ Walk
4. Pony back and forth from base camp
5. Palki back and forth from base camp
6. Walk
Word of caution is that one has to negotiate like anything with the Pony and the Palki vendors. However, the Amarnath Shrine Board regulates the rates, but the vendors inflate it like anything. Do not be scared of them, as they will try to do that all the time. Be bold and strong. Army is deployed every nook and corner on the route up to the cave. Do not think for a second if you need any help. They are the most humble, generous and true God’s Avatar on this trek. Once you reach out to them, they will do what best a god can come and do for you. I have seen Army men helping travellers with warm water to drink, motivating them in depression and encouraging reaching to top, helping them with oxygen in breathlessness, resolving fights with local kashmiri goons. The valley earns from the yatra, only because of Army. The police seem to be hapless in front of local Kashmiri goons.
Notes of Personal advice
1. Always carry raincoat during the trek, as
it takes only few minutes to change from bright and sunny to rainy.
2. Carry some chocolates, dry fruits, glucose
and ORS in your pocket, as there may be times when you need instant source of
energy and vital salts.
3. Eat light but enough to have decent energy
as due to lack of oxygen at the top, your digestion will slow down and may
suffer from nausea.
4. Do not get too excited and burn your
energy quickly, as you will not be able to regain it back soon due to slow body
processes subject to low oxygen levels. Always save some buffer energy in your
body, as if you keep power bank for your phone.
5. As soon as you get a network or a
telephone booth, inform your family about your well-being, as there may be
times when there is no network for days. Also, tell them not to panic in case
you are not reachable.
6. Wear good quality shoes, as you have to
walk in ice for close to 6 kilometer. Sneakers are a big NO as they may become
wet and chances of catching cold and falling prey are high.
7. First aid kit, torch, warm jacket, water
bottle, tissue paper is necessary. You might end up paying for basic stuff
worth 10 bucks in hundreds.
8. Amarnath is always high on terror attack
do not do anything which may be harmful to India.
9. Most important, never pay money to the
pony or the palki vendor before your journey completes. They are the biggest
miscreant on this yatra, and do not trust them at any cost. While starting the
journey with them, ask them for their Identity Cards, and do not hand them back
until you are safely back to your base camp. They may misbehave with you at
times, like ask you to walk when there is uphill to climb, so they do not have
to do much labour. Reach out to the nearest standing army men if misbehavior is
reaching beyond limit and do not create unnecessary noise; it will be
problematic for you only. There is thin line to decide when you need to raise
voice and to ignore. Manage with these people diplomatically and avoid getting
in to discussions.
1. If you are not that typically religious
and superstitious, avoid journey on Monday. There is rush like anything, and
may have to wait for hours in queue outside the Cave and that too in ice.
Happy Travelling!!!
Little Foodhall @ Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon
pic courtsey: lbb
No
better name. The place comprises of only food and is displayed in Hall. This is
a venture by future group and a real good one. Very few of its kind, one can
sit and have a coffee, try and buy food, galore at spices India is world famous
for. Unlike a gallery, where you cannot touch paintings, foodhall allows not
only to have a look, but also taste most of the viands before one shell out
hard earned money. Food hall is an exhibition, spend your own time analysing
and tasting the food.
pic courtsey: zomato
Let's
start trolling through the exhibition. Enter the hall, and on the right very
cool sitting to enjoy your coffee. On making a further move, at your left, you can
sip a choice of tea or exotic flavoured juices.
Move
forward and now you can pick choice of flavoured dry fruits from paneer tikka,
chilly, honey and lot more for memory to recall, but there were many.
Turnaround and there are cakes, dried kiwi, mango and many more tasters placed.
Taste and buy as you like.
pic courtsey: lbb
Picked
up? Move forward and if you are a Delhite the only word that will come to your
mind is 'khari baoli'. Most exotic range of spices is at display for purchase.
Take
a right turn while gazing through them and then another right, now you are
landed at the right place. There is cash counter on your right and some mouth-watering
tortillas, chips and sticks to be savoured with flavoured cheeses, sauces and
dips. Between all this lot of beautiful and lovely packaged food.
Move
forward and the exhibition continues, with some ready to eat pastas, pizzas, cupcakes
and lot more. Exotic sweetmeats such as baklava are also available along with
lot of other variants.
The
walk around the store whether one buys anything or not is a beautiful short 10
minutes food trip. The best part is the prices are very apt. The place is a
must go for a foodie who is craving for range of flavours and in search of
something exotic. Hygiene, beautiful and some quick bite, want to eat exotic,
don't want to eat just want to walk through food? Foodhall at cyber hub,
gurgaon is the place. Some may feel high end of prices for items, however the
store can be discounted for variety. One may be disappointed for not able to
find some of the basics, but being positive I assume the range will expand with
rise in demand.
All
the best Foodhall!!! … J
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Abki baar, Indian railways raises bar
No complaint books, no one from railway officials to listen to you. You are all by your own in this wild enclosed jungle. Practice for months to hold your pee at least for 16 hours, as you might never be able to reach toilets.
You may be having a confirmed seat in first, second or third AC, but if you get a chance to sit on your designated seat then that is pure grace of God and not our railway's administrative system. Prepare your hearts strong enough to listen to life threatening warnings from the goons, who announce themselves as babas, yogis, sadhus or God men. Sadhavis (female sadhus) demonstrate a show of strong women power by their words and hands not even required. One can register with them to learn and announce the relationships with mother, sister and father.
Actually these are the special privileged class who don't need a ticket to travel in any compartment of the Indian railway. Why they don't need a ticket on their name? They get a free travel on "bhagwan k naam per " or "Allah k naam per". Now there is "Prabhu" in the railways so at least itna toh banta hai.
If out of courtesy or your heart melts at their pity condition and you may allow one to sit at one corner, they will shower you with all the love and announce you as your son and daughter. And such strong are the beliefs they will actually consider you as one. Getting down at some stop they will carry your luggage along with them so that you don't have to bear the load of carrying it yourself to your place.
I am sure you are not thinking of Railway police or TC? They were hiding in toilets and telling no we can't do anything, if you force them to do something of the nuance they will tell you " OK let me do something, I will call my senior" and then they will hide somewhere and challenge the adage "dhoodney se toh bhagwan bhi mil jaata hai". Some of the police men were themselves travelling without ticket blocking the way, and if you ask them to give way and be on side, they will flaunt their ID card and will say are on special duty. I am still trying to make sense of the special duty performed.
My travel experience with Indian Railways while travelling from Ujjain to New Delhi, train number 12415, date 22 may 2016. Happy travel in Indian railways.
So, now I have a question for you @sureshpprabhu also @RailMinIndia: All this nuisance going on namesake of god. Can a tax paying, law abiding Indian citizen vision of a secure and safe Indian railways? Will we get a chance to travel on our reserved seats? Your tenure is minuscule, I wish even if I get to see one in my life.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Pick-kal
Pickle is actually a Pick-Kal (Tomorrow) as it is a pick for tomorrow. They are prepared in present for a tastier future. Neither a starter nor a main course and not even a dessert, but the meal is incomplete without it. Finds no place even in menu of a high-end restaurant, however the table is incomplete without it. It is impossible to find a restaurant table without salt and pepper, tissue and of course a jar of pickle. I have once noticed, someone demanding it at Pizza Hut, such is the level of obsession of some in the country.
In layman terms Pickle is a combination of salt, sugar, spices, oils and vegetables or fruits. The ingredients chemically work so beautifully in conjunction that a nutritious food product is created. Many people will raise eyebrows on nutrition. But, yes pickles are nutritious. They are very good appetizers, probiotic and source of antioxidants and nutrients. The salt and sugar apart from adding taste are responsible for the preservation of the vegetables. Salts exude out sugars from fruits and destroy spoilage bacteria and these sugars are then fermented which add taste and life to the pickle.
Just Google quotes on pickle and there is no dearth of people’s experiences with it. Pickles are legacy example of preservation. In an Indian household, the average pickle is 2-3 years old and do not be surprised if one gets to taste to even older. 20 years is the oldest I have tasted until date. A common adage in Hindi “Kos kos per badle pani, bees kos per vani” well defines pickles of India. Start moving across the country and the pickle of the same vegetable will come in all different variables of color, taste, texture, process of making.
Pickle making is not just a process instead an art. Pickle from each Indian household has its own unique touch. A household usually makes their pickle and has a secret legacy recipe. The legacy is passed on to younger generation usually adolescent girls in the family by older generation usuallyDadi or Nani (granny)and is still alive in the rural India. The urban has missed onto this and they usually grab factory made available in the stores. However, many variants are available but the factory made pickles have yet to capture the respect of seniors, it is uncommon to hear “yeh bazaar wala achaar bekar hota hai” (This pickle from Market is bad) from the elders in family and they always suspect the ingredients. However, with advancements in technology and research in the fields of Food science these factory made pickles have come a long way and are able to touch lot of lives. Punjab tastes an Andhra Mango pickle now. People are getting to know Indian Pickle Culture and loving it. These exclusive pickles are now just a click away. You can order your pickle online and is at your doorstep in a day or two. It is history when one has to wait from 10 days to 6 months to eat a pickle.
Pickles are not just of aam (mango) or nimbu (lemon) or any other fruit. There is lot of variants available for each fruit as well. For example, mango pickle is dry wala (no traces of oil), tel wala (loads of oil), masala (spicy), punjabi, hyderabadi, sweet and sour, gujarati and lot more. I was reading one book and came across a recipe of Hindustani aam ka acchar, and I was wondering that how Hindustan is different from Punjab, Hyderabad, Gujarat and other states or vice versa. It is with other fruits as well; ten variants of lemon pickle are not tough to find in an Old Delhi pickle shop.
In India, you think of a fruit or a vegetable and there is a pickle for it. Common ones are of onion, jackfruit, lemon, chickpeas, garlic, reddish, carrot, cauliflower, turnip, mango, gooseberry (amla), green chilli, red chilli, coconut, tomato, bamboo, pumpkin, cucumber, drumstick and and and. These are just fruits and vegetables; however animals are also not spared when it comes to pickles. Chicken, prawn, fish and meat pickles are a connoisseur’s treat. These not so common non-veg pickles are from all over India, from north to south and from east to west.
Pickles of India advocate its diversity. One may pick a same pickle from different state and each has its exclusive taste. Keep exploring the elite viand and make your life tastier and merrier. Happy Eating !!!
Friday, May 13, 2016
Wendy's | Khana Talks
Burger brings to mind a round bun sliced in two, stuffed with
vegetables, cutlet, mayonnaise, lettuce and multi sauces running out from the sides.
Wendy’s is trying to change this round image by delivering burger in kind of
square shaped buns. I personally liked the square buns, as they are more
comfortable to grab and munch.
Economic range of railway cutlet and crispy chicken is a low
risk and is ironical to adage “high risk high return”. It is "let's give
it a try" offer for the new customer. With this offer, Wendy’s does a
decent job in trying to hold a customer, though only future will decide the
loyal turnouts. Other attractions are cool ambience, tasty sauces, numerous
burger options, sides and shakes. Yes, burgers are off course the lead actor.
Classic chicken burger, Bacon cheese baked potato, BBQ bacon club and crispy chicken were viands of honor at the cash counter. We received a tower token in return, which we placed at our table and accordingly served in short span of time. Cute small red and green toothpick flags, holds the burger and mark it as veg or non-veg.
Classic Chicken burger as the name is a legacy, with not much
experiments and just another burger at any burger store. Therefore, it is a
good option for those with low risk appetite for taste. However, something not
having USP is a bit of high priced at 170, at least for me.
BBQ Bacon Club burger was worth the price. When you bite the burger, the bacon inside will hit a crunchy feel and as the teeth get inside, juices spill out. Burger is juicy from inside, crunchy from outside.
Crispy Chicken is an open cutthroat competition to Mac Donalds
low range chicken burger and knocks it left, right and center. More than value
for money is the mantra. One of the best low price options of Chicken burger in
the City. In fact, their own Classic chicken is loses the in house battle.
If this had been a movie, the award would have been grabbed by supporting cast. Supporting cast? This role is played by Ghost chilli, mustard, Garlic aioli, Tzatziki and Ketchup. The sauces are amazing, makes visit a worth for a real 'chatora' or a 'chatori' in you.
We paid around 500-600 including service taxes for dishes. The
time of visit was post lunch and the hunger thief was already under arrest, so
could not do much loot.
Why to visit? Eatery with good number
of variant options for burger, sides and drinks. You do not need a reason to
visit so when you are not sure where to go, just go and grab your junk. Good place to chit chat and hangout
with your love, peer or an old friend along with burgers and shakes.
Why not to visit? Looking for something
exclusive, fine dine or an experience or you are in no mood to eat burger.
Hai Kahan? CyberHub, Gurgaon Do share your experience with any variants you try out.
Happy eating... J
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Ramesh Namkeen Bhandar - Food review
Name it as CFC - chaos,
food and confusion. Chaos, as if all people have taken pledge to not to eat at
home and come to this place. Food is good, and then comes the confusion. The
front sales desk guy is so confused, that people who want to eat is getting their
orders packed and the people who are for take away are getting served. However,
is this CFC worth? May be yes or may be no.
Where it is? 2151/1A,
Opposite Metro Pillar 244, Patel Rd, Ranjeet Nagar, Block B, New Patel Nagar,
Khampur, New Delhi, Delhi 110008. Though easily accessible by Shadipur
metro station, but one may struggle for parking. No arrangements for sitting
and all eating has to be done standing. That is ok if you are here for a quick
bite. However, the catch here is waiting time, 15-20 minutes of waiting is too
much for a quick bite. Waiting time may shoot if your take away is served or
vice versa and then you have to wait another couple of minutes to get it right.
Food is tasty and no second
doubts about that. Eatery scores well on the scale of taste. Viands tried were
chole bhature, naan chole and lassi. Other option available with naan is dal
makhni, which had quite decent on looks.
Naan and bhature were well dozed with
paneer and clearly wins a Punjabi heart. Chole were tasty, not too spicy served
with cooked tangy amla and flavorful pudina chutney. Will not say that Chole
were out of the place as one can find such tasty chole served by innumerable
eateries in Delhi.
Lassi would have done the job better if had been more cold. However,
it was well prepared, very creamy, but being not too cold made it a cold
serving.
Hygiene was average and one can’t expect more from the store considering the
working staff versus Customer ratio.
Enter the store, on the
left pay for your food and collect the token. Now, on the right struggle starts.
People are bumping into each other, trying hard to handle the token to the
person on other side of the counter. This part of the story is chaos and mother
of confusion. The man with so many shouting hands gets confused and forgets the
order queue, mixes two orders, serves take away and, and, and. Confusion has
taken birth.
Pricing is on a bit higher side
when compared with established legacy eateries such as Sita ram in Paharganj,
Nand Chole bhature wala in Sadar Bazar, and many more in the same price range. Chole
bhature plate is priced for 70 and half for 50. Half plate is more appreciable
at 40 or 45; Please do not typecast me as a stingy, this how the undocumented half
plate rule is. Naan Plate priced at 80, is costly when compared with quantity
and quality of Naan eateries in Paharganj.
So what is the USP? Paneer stuffed bhatura and Naan. Your Punjabi love for paneer is the
only driving force and is not something that you are missing in life. Will I
visit the place once again? I would never specially go for it, but also not
against the visit. Place is worth of once a try.
Happy eating… J
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Rahul Eggs – Too Omelety
Rahul Eggs was not
birthed, founded or started; it was surely hatched to serve 350 variants of
omelets.
Get down at Keshav
Puram metro Station, in the service lane this small eatery cat be located. The
place is an air-conditioned college canteen. Walls are full of posters of appreciation
from news channels, food magazines and other eminent.
Like any restaurant
menu, has a section of Veg and Non-Veg. Man, you are serving only omelets and
you are talking of Veg and Non-Veg, you mean to say you have a Green Dot
certified Eggs? Hold On. Veg omelets are the ones, which has only vegetables
and egg as the ingredient apart from spice and oil. The Non-Veg variants are
the ones that have vegetables replaced for chicken and mutton.
The effort is great
and innovative, but the hold factor is missing. We tried five variants and not
much difference in taste for tongue. Eyes get a good treat, aggravates the
hunger and becomes impossible yours hands away moment the omelet is served.
Each variant tried scores highly on aesthetic scale.
Monaco variant omelets
inspired from Monaco biscuit has beautiful decorated toppings. A small bread
piece topped with a layer of salami, boiled egg and veggies. The bread base was
soft like the topping and the crunch was missing. I feel, if the toasted crispy
bread replaces the soft one, it may increase the mouth feel by times. We also ordered
Chicken Jalandhari, Vegetable Jalandhari and Vegetable Indian Omelet (not able to recall
exact name… L).
Chicken Jalandhari was
the unanimously chosen hero of all the variants tried. It was like, a slice of
bread with loads of chicken, coated with omelet and garnished with veggies and
plenty of mayonnaise and tandoori orange sauce.
Indian omelet decorated
with Indian tricolor sauces well pronounced the name. Sauces orange, white and
green were very “Bharatiya”.
The taste of all the
variants was close, so more held by their looks than the beauty. In war of
presentation and taste, the taste is always the winner. However, we first eat
with eyes and it sets a high expectation. However, 350 is a big number to
taste, judge and comment. Might be the sample selected is not the correct
representation of population.
The omelets were quite
filling and had a good satiety value. We went there in the evening around four,
and had to skip dinner. One omelet per head as a snack is enough and two kicks
off dinner from the plan
The price is in medium
range, we paid close to 700 for 2 cold drinks and 5 omelet. Maximum price
noticed was around 210, which is decent considering the amount of infused
chicken and mutton.
Cannot be called a
fine dine, neither a street shop. A good place if you are feeling too romantic
for eggs and omelet. The packing is good and keeps the omelet intact till your
place, warm it in microwave and have your meal.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)