Explorer

Did you find your space?

akash94 — Mon, 5 May 2014 22:45:00 GMT

It is Sunday morning and the roads leading to Chandni Chowk are deserted. We cross the chaotic merry-go-round of Connaught Place in a trice and head to old Delhi. Where are all the people? The buffaloes that amble through the roads listlessly? The children who dart at unexpected moments across the road? It is so quiet. Where are all the vehicles? There is no orchestra of blaring horns, no tinkle of cycle rickshaw bells as they weave their way through the narrow lanes, just managing to miss running over innocent feet and getting run over by speeding cars. Before I realize it, the Red Fort is to my right, imposing and grey in the early morning light, not fully awake.And inside the Jama Masjid, the sense of stillness follows us. On an earlier trip late one afternoon a few months ago, I remember the contrast the interiors of Jama Masjid presented to the Babel of the streets and market surrounding it. At one of the gates, the cap seller is just taking out his stock, arranging them carefully into a delicate house of cards. He ignores my intrusive camera, shrugging his indifference even when I show him his photographs. I can see he is pleased though; he summons his friend to see them and then calls out to me a few minutes later to share the meagre breakfast of parathas they have all carefully carried from home.I stand near the gate that looks on to the Red Fort, sharing the moment with families sitting on the steps. And later, from the top, having made our way up the narrow, winding steps, we see old Delhi sprawling before us, bursting at the seams. My mind keeps going back to the past, to the place this must have been, to the better days this area has seen. Now, people are washing their clothes on a tiny stream between the mosque and the fort, vendors are setting up shop all along the road, children are running around trying to catch chicken and each other in a game that makes sense only to childhood.Back again on ground level, people are quietly doing their own thing. Near the pool in the preliminary cleansing ritual, under the arch staring out blankly into space, on the corridor offering prayer, behind the pillars fast asleep; all outside noises are filtered by the thick red walls along with their worries and anxieties.Inside Jama Masjid, each individual seems to have found his own space.

Passport & Plate - Spicy Carrot Cake with Berries

akash94 — Thu, 6 Mar 2014 22:18:21 GMT

Ingredients
For the Cake-
Maida(All purpose flour):150 gm
Whole Wheat Flour:100 gm
Baking Powder: 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder: 10 gm
Butter (melted): 150 gm
Caster Sugar: 150 gm
Eggs: 4
Carrot (grated): 150 gm
Coconut Powder: 100 gm

How to prepare this recipe
Preheat oven to 1700 C . In a mixing bowl, sieve together the maida, whole wheat flour, baking powder and garam masala powder and keep aside.

In another mixing bowl, cream together the melted butter with caster sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time, beating a bit after each addition.

Next, gently but quickly fold in the carrots and coconut powder in to the batter. Also fold in the sleved flour mixture and mix well.

Pour into a greased and lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. When done , remove from oven , de-mould and keep aside to cool. Once the cake has cooled , you can sprinkle some rum over it and cut into slices to serve.
To decorate, you have the option of using coloured marzipans ( green and orange) and shaping them to resemble carrots.

The story behind this recipe
This is the first cake that I made myself. Cakes had always been special to me and also close to my heart. Cake is always symbolic to happiness . I learnt this recipe from my grandmother. She used to make a delicious and mouth watering cakes. I am always amazed by her cooking ability and used to call her " cake queen". Unfortunately , now she is dead, but luckily l got recipe from her and fortunately last dish that I ate from her was this cake . When I was making this cake , I got quite emotional. I realised a deep significant meaning asociated with the cake. I guess by this recipe, she was trying to tell me something. It was about life. When you take a bite of this cake, first you get a spicy flavour , after few seconds sweet flavour just dissolve in to your mouth. In life, we get numerous problems, difficulties which resembles spice flavours but after overcoming it ,you get satisfaction, joy, happiness that is sweet flavour. Goodness can never be outshine. This dish is tribute to my grandmother who taught me important lesson of life .

'Samosa' my life saviour

akash94 — Sun, 22 Dec 2013 19:04:00 GMT

How can I forget that delicious and crispy 'Samosa' (Indian snack), which really saved a life of mine and my friends. Let me start from beginning, I including my friends were at Manali for hiking . It was a winter time and whole place was covered by the blanket of snow. We decided to trek a whole mountain. First image of mountain, doesn't scared us. It was not looking large by any means, when we looked from bottom. We all thought , as if we could climb the whole mountain in less than 2 hours. But it was only a assumption and you know, assumptions are not always right. We were neither an amateur, nor an expert in mountain climbing. We previously had gone for a hiking , so we had a experience and knew about the challenges involved in it. I still remembered, we had bread and omelet in the breakfast that morning. We were sure by lunch we would be back . We packed our bag , which consist of water bottle, binoculars, camera but not even a single food item , but my friend secretly took some cookies in his bag . After it, We were ready to roar . Around 10: 15am , we reached the base , from where we had to begin . It was quite cold out there , and could feel cold gust on our faces. Earlier that morning , it snowed heavily so we had to walk quite carefully and mind our steps. We were aware about dangers involved in it. Our journey took a best possible kick -off . First hour of the journey was quite enjoyable . It went according to our plan. Beauty of nature provided glitters, as well as pleasure to our eyes . Moreover , we were quite enthusiastic , and doesn't allowed our energy to dip in first half. . Through out , we never compromised with our protection. After it , we had roller coaster of a ride . Now , enthusiasm and energy had died down and boredom replaced it . We were feeling exhausted and destination looked too far still, we moved on . After 3 hours of exacting climbing, we decided to rest so we sat. First time in our journey, we realised the difficulty of the task, which we overlooked. Now, weather was getting worsen by every passing quarter of a clock. For first time , I was worried but I never showed it on my face. We all were hungry, but somehow controlled our hunger and shared the cookies , but it was not enough to feed us. After resting half an hour, it was time to resume , from where we left. The next part really challenged our will . But , our determination got better of it and we overcame all difficulties. It took us approximately 5 hours to reach top of the mountain and to conquer it. View from top removed all our tiredness .It was a view to die for and we felt top of the world. Then, suddenly felt new energy in us. I guess , it was a satisfaction of achieving something. Journey was not over as yet. We had to climb down , sounded simply easy to us. We became quite casual and all the cautions were now turned down ,which proved to be our biggest mistake . My friend injured himself as he fallen on a rock while running and twisted his ankle. So , we had to carry him throughout the end. Its created more burden on us . Till now , we had nothing to eat and we could see the results . There was no energy left in us and we could hardly walk . I guess, we walked 2 hours continuously, fighting against our body. Still, far away from the base . Now , we were lingering and fatigue showed on all of us. As a result, we took a wrong turn and found ourself in a middle of nowhere . I noticed the tree that we just crossed, few minutes back. I realised we were walking round and round . Adding to our problems, It started snowing , so decided to rest as there was no point in waisting our remaining energy . I thought someone will come in search for us . We were freezing out there , in an open. Our body had given up , eyes begain to close . As soon as we started to gave up hope, then our optimism pays off . An angel came. Honestly, I don't know what happened next. We found ourselves at a house. Person who took us was a local guy . He was coming from work , when he saw us ,lying on ground . With a help of others , he managed to took us to his home . On regaining our conscious back , first thing I noticed the smell of food . It was 'Samosa' ,being cooked . He offered us the 'Samosa '( Indian snack) . We were hungry like a devil and waisted no seconds , digged it . We threw all the manners out of a Window and ate like a beggar .I can't describe in words, it was so 'yummy' , even now it brings water to my mouth. I have eaten 'Samosa earlier , but frankly I didn't't like it as much . But that night it tasted amazingly , had a magical flavours in it . He had put, quite a lot of stuffing inside the ' Samosa' . I guess , it had 'paneer'( Indian cheese) in it, which is quite unusual . Traditional 'Samosa' don't have 'paneer' , but we don't' cared as soon as it taste better. It took almost five of it, to satisfy our hunger . After eating, it felt quite better . Heavy snowing prevailed the area , also it was quite dark outside so, decided to stay their only. Next morning, he showed us a direction . After it ,we thanked him for all of his help and then we left . I guess, if he doesn't helped us , we could have died. We reached base after one hour. I couldn't get rid of 'Samosa' from my mind and never will, in my entire life. At last , 'Samosa' become one of my favourite snack and whenever I eat , It just reminds me of this incident.

Beware from getting caught

akash94 — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 15:50:00 GMT

Tips to survive from getting caught

Goa is the party state in India. It's the most loved tourist place and everyone wants to be here. When you hear about Goa, first image that comes to your mind, exotic beaches, party and many tourists. But for a first timers it can turn out in to bitter experience if they don't remember these things. Quite a few local people try to misguide you by offering you many attractive offers. I was also the victim of one of these. When I reached Madgaon (GOA), a local person approached me and offered me many attractive discounts for a stay at hotel . He gave me the pamphlet which state it was a 5 star hotel . I was quite impressed with that and decided to go with him . But when I reached the hotel , it was quite different from what he told. First of all it turned it to be 3 star hotel. The hotel turned out to be in one of the deserted location and was also away from city. I was not feeling secured and protected. When I entered the room it turned out to be ordinary room with no tv. I felt cheated. I don't want this to happen with anyone. I advice you , before you make your trip , you should check the prices of hotel and compare it accordingly. My advice would be to book your hotel online. Secondly, if you been to Goa , you would have noticed the prices of auto - rikshaw's or taxi too much . I'll tell you my experience , I was going from Madgaon to Benaulim beach, It's only 4km away so I asked one of the taxi driver that How much it will cost?. I was shocked by his answer by what he told me , he would take 400Rs. I tried to nagotiate wit him but he stuck to the price. After it I decided to take bus instead . With a help of locals I got to know from where I should take a bus. You won't believe I paid only 10Rs to reach Benaulim beach. In addition I also enjoyed the journey. Let me tell you, there are quite many out there who thinks tourist as a bait . But there also a few good people who will not hesitate to help you anytime. I guess people are not bad situation make them. I hope you will keep this tips in your mind whenever you make your trip to Goa. Enjoy the travel and let the travel freak you outAkash Deep at 19:57Share