I am not a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian. I do not belong to the SC or ST category. I am not a North Indian or a Marathi manoos.
For me, Cauvery is a river which flows in India and it does not differentiate, depending on which state it flows in. For me, wearing jeans or having a drink in a pub is a personal choice and not trying to ape the west. For me, farmers across the country are people who pour their sweat and blood to produce food for us to eat and not the ones who, if given a chance, will ever depend on loan waiver schemes or will be a coward to commit suicides. For me public places like Palace Grounds in Bangalore or the gardens of India Gate in Delhi are places for people and families to visit and not places where political parties hold a rally, to put thousands of naïve people through inconvenience. I am not someone who wants ‘Z’ category security with black cat commandoes at my disposal, when the entire country is reeling under a terror threat. I am not someone who will block roads and streets because I want to get to the airport. I am not someone who pollutes the environment and increases my carbon emissions with a convoy of 10 vehicles. I am not someone who lives in a VIP area with no power cuts, when there are places in the country where electricity seems to be available like our so-called leaders in their respective constituencies (once in 4-5 years). I am not someone who has millions, billions, trillions and zillions of cash, stashed away in tax havens. I am not someone who will cast his vote, in favour of a person or party, who gives me a free colour TV or provides me with rice at Rs. 1 per kg.
Then who am I?
I am someone who is afraid to go out in public places as there is no security for my life. I am someone, who gets perturbed for the fear of failing to file tax returns by 31st July every year. I am someone who has paid taxes regularly, but seldom has got refunds in the same financial year as the returns. I am someone who has lost a lot of money in the servicing of government officials to get a passport or driving license; not because I am incapable to get one, but because if I do not pay, I will never get one. I am someone who respects a temple, mosque, church and gurudwara alike. I am someone who enjoys celebrating Holi, Diwali, Eid and Christmas with equal fervour. I am someone for whom August 15 and January 26 are more than just public holidays. These are days to celebrate being an Indian. I am someone who shudders, when the cops stop me on the road, to check documents, even when I know I have everything in order. I am someone, who is happy adopt the positive aspects from any culture. I am someone who has encountered hours of power cuts, in the hope that sometime I will see light at the end of the tunnel. I am someone who has got stuck in a traffic jam and missed his flight or train, for no fault of his. I am someone who is scared to meet any friend of the opposite sex on February 14, in a public place. I am someone who sees Slumdog Millionaire and salutes Danny Boyle for his audacity to capture the reality of the slums, unlike some other movie makers who show the slums as a beginning of a rag to riches story. I am someone who will always stand in a queue for 20 hours to get a decent darshan at Tirupati and not bypass the crowd through a VIP entrance. I am someone who wants to exercise his vote but cannot do so, as his name does not appear in the voters list, for reasons unknown. I could be a South Indian, who has always lived in North India, bought a house in Kolkata and currently works in Mumbai, along with my fellow Marathi manoos colleagues. So what ??????????? Isn’t it enough that I am Indian ???????
Yes, I am an Indian. I am a big fan of the dialogue from Chak De India, when the hockey coach asks the players to introduce themselves; only one of them says she is from India, while the others say they are from Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Mizoram or Punjab.
I am Indian who wants to exercise his vote this year. I want to vote for the leader of my choice. Someone, in whom I trust, will work for me. Someone who will provide me with clean drinking water, someone who will provide me with the same quality of rice from a ration shop, as what I get in a super market, someone who will ensure I have electricity when my children are studying for their exams or when mother nature is not too very kind with weather, someone who will provide me with decent quality of food articles, for which I pay through my nose, someone who will provide me with a decent road, on which I can drive my scooter, which I have paid for, through my hard earned money or someone who provides me with a reasonable public transportation system. Someone who will build roads and infrastructure to reduce (not avoid) traffic chaos. Someone, who will not question my attire and will respect my thoughts and believes, someone who will not ask me why I went to a pub and at the same time, I do not expect him to sit and enjoy a drink with me, if it is against his believes, in short someone one who will live and let live.
There’s some more
Someone who will not ask me which state I belong to as long as I am an Indian, someone who does not differentiate people on the basis of whether they go to a temple or a mosque, someone who will never call for a bandh for any reason, someone who will use public finances for public welfare and not swindle them into numbered accounts, someone who will genuinely favour or oppose the policies of the corporate sector and not purely because they fund the election coffers, someone who will ask for votes not because he belongs to my state, region, religion or caste, but because he wants to work for the welfare of society, someone who will not stop me from watching a Tamil film in Karnataka or a Kannada film in Tamil Nadu, someone who will not stop me from working in Mumbai because I am a North Indian, someone who will not instigate me to fight in Nandigram for his political motives, someone who provides me with a sense of security when I am in a crowded train or on a busy street, or in a shopping mall or at the airport or in a 5-star hotel, someone who works for the development and well being of people, irrespective of the rural - urban divide, someone who will pick up a sickle to support me in my farm and not hesitate to pick up a gun to protect me from extremism, someone who will take me into a college based on my marks and academic credentials and abilities and not because I belong to a particular religion or caste, someone who provides me with a job, so I can put food on the table for my family, someone who will have the police book me and make me pay a fine, if I break the law and not go around it, someone who will not have culprits play with the Indian judiciary system, someone who will be a constructive opposition, even if his party looses the election, someone who will not keep an eye of when a no-confidence motion can be passed and the government be voted out of power, someone who will not even think about diverting public finances for elections, more than once in 5 years, someone who will lure me with a achievable 5-year, growth driven plan and not bribe me with a TV or materialistic pleasures, to get my vote.
These are the things which I expect from my leader. When I look back at the enormous number of political parties and leaders in the fray, during the current elections, I cannot find my leader who remotely matches my expectations.
Am I asking for too much? Am being unreasonable. I am confused !!!! Who should I vote for? Or should I ???
Thursday 23 April 2009
Friday 17 April 2009
Culinary tour of Paris
Any place I visit or live, I just love to try the local food and drinks. Being a non-vegetarian really helps in this case, especially when one is travelling outside India and Paris was no way different.
Day 1 lunch was a quick bite at Mcdonalds as I was more keen on reaching the Eiffel tower than food. The dinner was a real feast. With the influx of many migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, there is a sizeable muslim and arab population in Paris. It is a universal rule that when migrants move to place, they take their food with them. Thats the reason behind the chundo, dhokla and rotla in London. Similar was the case with Paris. There are many Lebanese places in Paris. The one I tried was a quiet one, just next to the hotel we stayed in. Did not bother too much on what the name of the place was, considering the level of hunger pangs at that time. When I glanced through the menu, the first item that struck my eye was shawarma chicken. That was it. There was no need to look further. My limited experience of eating shawarma chicken in Bangalore and London was in the form of a roll. But when the food came to the table, it was a complete contrast. There were tender, juicy pieces of chicken, which were decently spiced and well done. Along with it was some herbed rice which was awesome, some spinach and tomato curry and a sea food paste made of prawns, fish and cheese. As I was about put the first piece of the juicy, yummy chicken into my mouth, the guy who served food came over and gave me something he called bread... but it was roomali roti. The sight of roomali rotis reminded me of the Thunder Fried Chicken (TFC) in Bangalore. Now all this put together, along with some wine and beer which I had, made it an ultimate combination. The juicy chicken combined very well with the sea food paste (chutney), which had very small pieces of prawns, which were amazingly awesome. All the food tasted very very nice, with the spices and the quantity was pretty decent. The icing on the cake was the price. All the food cost only 10 Euros and was well worth it. I have become a big fan of Lebanese food now.
Day 2 food was even better. Outside the Louvre museum, in the gardens, was a restaurant. Some of the food was not appealing at all on the menu. The one that struck me was pepper roasted duck with cheese. So my mind and heart together, forced me to order it. The accompaniements were fries and salad, which were nice, but not nice enough to take my focus off the duck. There were 4 succulent pieces of the BBQ duck with roasted peppers and cheese. This was purely an experiment and I was not sure what I was getting into. But the moment I put the first piece into my mouth, I had this brainwave "quack ! quack !.. this was yum". Within no time ducks swam their way into my belly, along with the fries, salad and again my best friend, Mr. Carlsberg. The damages were around 20 euros, which was worth every quack of the food on my plate.
I strongly beleive that in terms of food, once an Indian, always an Indian. After almost 2 days of non-Indian food, at dinner time, my taste buds took over my mind and heart, forcing me to look for an Indian restaurant. But my better half wanting to eat some veggie, Indian food was an excuse. Luckily there was a placed PUNJAB near the hotel. We entered the place and were greeted with "namaste and aai ye" instead of Bonjour or hiya. The whole place literally smelt punjabi and instantly I had a feeling that I was in Delhi and I was hoping the food also turns out to be as tasty as in Delhi. I ordered the desi chai and onion pakodas. It was raining outside and the door was kept open. As our table was near the door, a cool breeze was blowing and the chai and onion pakodas made it a super, duper evening. We wanted to keep the food simple and for once, I was focussing on food, instead of drinks. We ordered palak paneer, channe ke dal and naan/kulchas. As I dwelled into the naan, palak paneer and channe ke dal, I thought chak de phatte !! nothing can beat Indian food. We finished the food in no time. At that moment, the feeling inside my heart (and stomache) was something which I cannot put into words. It was like a sense of belonging, a sense of achievement at having Indian food.
Now another culinary delight of day 3 was the BBQ chicken on the banks of river sienne. The sausages were also very appealing, but the chicken looked spicy. Me being me, I went for the chicken. It was small chunks of chicken with corn, cooked in a very latino style, with spices and chillies. This was stuffed into a baugette which already had some melted cheese in it. May be the latin americans got inspired by our pav bhaji. Our pav bhaji has pav (bread) and vegetables with butter. The latino style was Chicken and corn curry, with baugette and cheese. It cost only 7 euros, which made me even happier.
I thought Paris was a fashion capital, but for me, it is more of a culinary delight. Infact, I am still looking for an answer as to why it is called a fashion capital. Is it because of the presence of all brands on Champ Elysses? Is this one reason enough for it to be given this tag? Personally, I beleive that the fashion of a city is represented by how the women in that city dress and present themselves. With all due respects and no offense meant, I did not find anything so appealing in Paris, for it be to called a fashion capital. There was nothing unusual or different or appealing about the way women dressed or carried themselves. On the contrary, I strongly feel that London should be the fashion capital. The women dress smartly, with vibrant colors, following the season. The accessories are well thought out and combine very well with the apparel and overall and most important, they carry themselves with an aura that makes you look back and take a second glance.
Day 1 lunch was a quick bite at Mcdonalds as I was more keen on reaching the Eiffel tower than food. The dinner was a real feast. With the influx of many migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, there is a sizeable muslim and arab population in Paris. It is a universal rule that when migrants move to place, they take their food with them. Thats the reason behind the chundo, dhokla and rotla in London. Similar was the case with Paris. There are many Lebanese places in Paris. The one I tried was a quiet one, just next to the hotel we stayed in. Did not bother too much on what the name of the place was, considering the level of hunger pangs at that time. When I glanced through the menu, the first item that struck my eye was shawarma chicken. That was it. There was no need to look further. My limited experience of eating shawarma chicken in Bangalore and London was in the form of a roll. But when the food came to the table, it was a complete contrast. There were tender, juicy pieces of chicken, which were decently spiced and well done. Along with it was some herbed rice which was awesome, some spinach and tomato curry and a sea food paste made of prawns, fish and cheese. As I was about put the first piece of the juicy, yummy chicken into my mouth, the guy who served food came over and gave me something he called bread... but it was roomali roti. The sight of roomali rotis reminded me of the Thunder Fried Chicken (TFC) in Bangalore. Now all this put together, along with some wine and beer which I had, made it an ultimate combination. The juicy chicken combined very well with the sea food paste (chutney), which had very small pieces of prawns, which were amazingly awesome. All the food tasted very very nice, with the spices and the quantity was pretty decent. The icing on the cake was the price. All the food cost only 10 Euros and was well worth it. I have become a big fan of Lebanese food now.
Day 2 food was even better. Outside the Louvre museum, in the gardens, was a restaurant. Some of the food was not appealing at all on the menu. The one that struck me was pepper roasted duck with cheese. So my mind and heart together, forced me to order it. The accompaniements were fries and salad, which were nice, but not nice enough to take my focus off the duck. There were 4 succulent pieces of the BBQ duck with roasted peppers and cheese. This was purely an experiment and I was not sure what I was getting into. But the moment I put the first piece into my mouth, I had this brainwave "quack ! quack !.. this was yum". Within no time ducks swam their way into my belly, along with the fries, salad and again my best friend, Mr. Carlsberg. The damages were around 20 euros, which was worth every quack of the food on my plate.
I strongly beleive that in terms of food, once an Indian, always an Indian. After almost 2 days of non-Indian food, at dinner time, my taste buds took over my mind and heart, forcing me to look for an Indian restaurant. But my better half wanting to eat some veggie, Indian food was an excuse. Luckily there was a placed PUNJAB near the hotel. We entered the place and were greeted with "namaste and aai ye" instead of Bonjour or hiya. The whole place literally smelt punjabi and instantly I had a feeling that I was in Delhi and I was hoping the food also turns out to be as tasty as in Delhi. I ordered the desi chai and onion pakodas. It was raining outside and the door was kept open. As our table was near the door, a cool breeze was blowing and the chai and onion pakodas made it a super, duper evening. We wanted to keep the food simple and for once, I was focussing on food, instead of drinks. We ordered palak paneer, channe ke dal and naan/kulchas. As I dwelled into the naan, palak paneer and channe ke dal, I thought chak de phatte !! nothing can beat Indian food. We finished the food in no time. At that moment, the feeling inside my heart (and stomache) was something which I cannot put into words. It was like a sense of belonging, a sense of achievement at having Indian food.
Now another culinary delight of day 3 was the BBQ chicken on the banks of river sienne. The sausages were also very appealing, but the chicken looked spicy. Me being me, I went for the chicken. It was small chunks of chicken with corn, cooked in a very latino style, with spices and chillies. This was stuffed into a baugette which already had some melted cheese in it. May be the latin americans got inspired by our pav bhaji. Our pav bhaji has pav (bread) and vegetables with butter. The latino style was Chicken and corn curry, with baugette and cheese. It cost only 7 euros, which made me even happier.
I thought Paris was a fashion capital, but for me, it is more of a culinary delight. Infact, I am still looking for an answer as to why it is called a fashion capital. Is it because of the presence of all brands on Champ Elysses? Is this one reason enough for it to be given this tag? Personally, I beleive that the fashion of a city is represented by how the women in that city dress and present themselves. With all due respects and no offense meant, I did not find anything so appealing in Paris, for it be to called a fashion capital. There was nothing unusual or different or appealing about the way women dressed or carried themselves. On the contrary, I strongly feel that London should be the fashion capital. The women dress smartly, with vibrant colors, following the season. The accessories are well thought out and combine very well with the apparel and overall and most important, they carry themselves with an aura that makes you look back and take a second glance.
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Bonjour Bonjour
Over the easter weekend of April 10-13, we decided to make a trip to Paris. Suppose to be one of the most romantic cities in the world and also a fashion capital.
The journey on the Eurostar from London to Paris was uneventful with a sandwich, juice and light sleep. After we arrived in Gare Du Nord in Paris, we went to the Metro station to take a train to our hotel. The trains were like cute, small dinky cars which kids play with. The station smelled like Kurla station, in Mumbai, after it has poured cats and dogs (yeah !! you got it). We got to the hotel alright and were all excited to go see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum, Champ Elysees and other interesting tourist places.
The first day (actually half) went off in admiring the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, that stood majestically across the river Sienne. Seemed like the entire world was there to see the Eiffel tower. A quick walk across the road led us to the banks of the river Sienne. It was a picturesque site with stalls on the river bank selling food and other knick-knacks, a group playing latino music and boats ready to ferry people across the river and along the must-go places in the city. We hopped onto one of the boats that took us to Louvre, Concorde, St Michael's Church and the Cathedral of Notre Dam, among other places. A glass of wine, on board the ship, with a light breeze blowing across my face was the icing on the cake.
On day two, we started from Arc De triomphe, which, in a nutshell is the India gate of France. Beneath it, was the Le Amar Jawan Jyoti de francois, with the fire burning in memory of soliders who gave their lives for their country, in the world wars. From here starts the fashion street of the world, The Champ Elysees. As we walked the long stretch, all the brands came together in one place. The Hugo Bosses, Louis Vutton's and Chanell's of the world were all present in one street. All we could do was stand and admire (nothing was affordable !!). As we continued our journey, we came across small gardens with colorful range of flowers. Then we reached the concorde and the entrance to the Louve. Little did we realize that it would take us more than hour to walk the gardens, to reach the actual museum. I have the greatest respect for art and painting and also for the Picasso's, the Michaelangelo's and Da Vinci's of the world and their work, but I am not big fan of paintings or museums, but there was a lady who lured me to the Louvre. A very pretty lady, who was the one reason for me being there, against all my interests. She was Mona Lisa. On the way to meeting her, I bumped into lot of paintings on the life of christ and some kings of France. Took me more than hour from the entrance to reach Mona Lisa. And there she was, majestically sitting inside a glass enclosure with a no-go area of 5 feet from her. As we came out, it almost dusk and we wanted to call it a day by enjoying a view of the Eiffel tower in the lights, from Trocadero. That was the most amazing site I had ever seen, with the lights shining in the dark night, enhancing the beauty of the Eiffel.
Day 3 had to be a bit light. We were not very keen on lot of walking, unlike the previous day. So took the metro to Sacre Coeur, a cathedral on top of hill. Looked like a huge cake with a nice cherry on top. A narrow street led us to the foothill. The street was full of shops selling knick-knacks, much to my delight and reminded me to the street leading to Mahalakshmi temple in Mumbai. Just that air smelt of crepes, chocolates and cheese, instead of the masala dosa and vada pav. After admiring the beauty of the cathedral, we headed back to banks of river sienne, for a late (very late, it was 4 pm) bar-be-que lunch by the river, under the warm sun, with some latino music for company. We spent the rest of the evening by the river.
Overall a very nice trip. All went according to plan and we saw all the places which were of interest to us, than trying to see everything. Now back to London and it feels nice to listen to the familiar english language, after 3 days. Goodbye to Paris metro and hello the jubilee line !!!! God bless us !!!
PS: For all culinary fans of my blog, there is more to come... watch out
The journey on the Eurostar from London to Paris was uneventful with a sandwich, juice and light sleep. After we arrived in Gare Du Nord in Paris, we went to the Metro station to take a train to our hotel. The trains were like cute, small dinky cars which kids play with. The station smelled like Kurla station, in Mumbai, after it has poured cats and dogs (yeah !! you got it). We got to the hotel alright and were all excited to go see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre museum, Champ Elysees and other interesting tourist places.
The first day (actually half) went off in admiring the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, that stood majestically across the river Sienne. Seemed like the entire world was there to see the Eiffel tower. A quick walk across the road led us to the banks of the river Sienne. It was a picturesque site with stalls on the river bank selling food and other knick-knacks, a group playing latino music and boats ready to ferry people across the river and along the must-go places in the city. We hopped onto one of the boats that took us to Louvre, Concorde, St Michael's Church and the Cathedral of Notre Dam, among other places. A glass of wine, on board the ship, with a light breeze blowing across my face was the icing on the cake.
On day two, we started from Arc De triomphe, which, in a nutshell is the India gate of France. Beneath it, was the Le Amar Jawan Jyoti de francois, with the fire burning in memory of soliders who gave their lives for their country, in the world wars. From here starts the fashion street of the world, The Champ Elysees. As we walked the long stretch, all the brands came together in one place. The Hugo Bosses, Louis Vutton's and Chanell's of the world were all present in one street. All we could do was stand and admire (nothing was affordable !!). As we continued our journey, we came across small gardens with colorful range of flowers. Then we reached the concorde and the entrance to the Louve. Little did we realize that it would take us more than hour to walk the gardens, to reach the actual museum. I have the greatest respect for art and painting and also for the Picasso's, the Michaelangelo's and Da Vinci's of the world and their work, but I am not big fan of paintings or museums, but there was a lady who lured me to the Louvre. A very pretty lady, who was the one reason for me being there, against all my interests. She was Mona Lisa. On the way to meeting her, I bumped into lot of paintings on the life of christ and some kings of France. Took me more than hour from the entrance to reach Mona Lisa. And there she was, majestically sitting inside a glass enclosure with a no-go area of 5 feet from her. As we came out, it almost dusk and we wanted to call it a day by enjoying a view of the Eiffel tower in the lights, from Trocadero. That was the most amazing site I had ever seen, with the lights shining in the dark night, enhancing the beauty of the Eiffel.
Day 3 had to be a bit light. We were not very keen on lot of walking, unlike the previous day. So took the metro to Sacre Coeur, a cathedral on top of hill. Looked like a huge cake with a nice cherry on top. A narrow street led us to the foothill. The street was full of shops selling knick-knacks, much to my delight and reminded me to the street leading to Mahalakshmi temple in Mumbai. Just that air smelt of crepes, chocolates and cheese, instead of the masala dosa and vada pav. After admiring the beauty of the cathedral, we headed back to banks of river sienne, for a late (very late, it was 4 pm) bar-be-que lunch by the river, under the warm sun, with some latino music for company. We spent the rest of the evening by the river.
Overall a very nice trip. All went according to plan and we saw all the places which were of interest to us, than trying to see everything. Now back to London and it feels nice to listen to the familiar english language, after 3 days. Goodbye to Paris metro and hello the jubilee line !!!! God bless us !!!
PS: For all culinary fans of my blog, there is more to come... watch out
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Spice Rack
On a windy, wet wet Saturday afternoon, strolling outside Stanmore station, we were thinking, what IF we could have rum and coke to warm us up a bit, with some Indian delicacies. Luckily, my memory, which seem to have desserted me when I was writing exams in school and college, helped me. A few friends had recommended an Indian club called Spice Rack, in Stanmore, north-west London. Well, bang came out mobile and without any further delays, I reached out to my friend for directions. It was not very far from where we were and luckily we found the place quite easily. Again, thanks to the weather gods, we could walk it without having an umbrella. It drizzles a lot in London and was not raining or pouring cats and dogs (unlike the old english proverb). Wonder if there is something called as a heavy drizzle!!!!!
As we entered the place, it reminded me of the various bars or pubs right out of the bollywood movies. All black furniture, with red and green lights along with the wall. four strategically placed TV's playing some Himesh reshamaiyya (bollywood music director) song. Wonder when will he keep his mouth (read nose) shut !!!!! The seating is sleek, with leather sofas and chairs. Surprisingly, being lunch time, there were not many people inside. As we entered, we were welcomed with a gujju smile (very courteous) and shown to our table.
Humungous bar, with lots of vareity, but might not impress someone like me, who seldom looks beyond a pint of beer. Oh !! and by the way, my urge to have a Rum and Coke had changed in favor of having pint (may be two).
So the drinks were beer and a funny looking drink with pinks, floroscents, maroons, with a pinapple to top it up (oh!! ladies and their colors). To go along with that were onion pakodas. I wondered how they made a deep fried dish without oil dripping from it and that too, within no time of ordering. Just had one piece of it. No offense meant to the pakoda, it was very nice, but I would preferred to have chicken/meat/fish. And I thought, what was I waiting for ? Summer ???? This was in November. Like the magic wand in any Harry Potter movie, within 10 min, 4 well done pieces of yummmy yummy chicken tikka were right in front of me, whispering into my ears "hurry up hurry up". As I gobbled the first one down, with the beer, I was enlightened to the fact of what absolute bliss meant. Within no time the juicy, spicey tikkas were done with and were at the place where they rightfully should be. The sidings like the mint chutney and salad with chilli powder and dash of lime did not disappoint as well. Gluttney is a sin, but we are humans afterall.
Next the usual main course. By sneaking a look at the next table, we realized that we should be ordering only one curry, as stating the quantity of curry decent would be an understatement. It would have been good enough for three people. Having sneaked here and there since school and college exam days, am glad that skill was useful somewhere. This time it was channa masala (chickpeas) that had the priviledge of being on our plates. Must say, it was good, but could surely have been better, if there was some more spice in it and some more ginger and garlic. Instead of the usual naan/roti, we opted for the chilli, cheese, garlic naan. Now that turned out to be an amazing choice. Not very spicy, but the chilli and cheese combined very well and the dash of garlic played its role to perfection. By this time, the pint was over and in no time was replaced my another one. As far as the colorful drink was concerned, it was followed by a fresh lime. It was like moving away from the genre of Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor (current bollywood actresses)to Nargis or Madhubala (yesteryear bollywood actresses).
With all the pakodas, tikkas and the other food and drinks, we were happy and satisfied. Slowly but surely my back was reclining on the plush leather sofa. This is the after affects of what we just had. The damages were around £25 (no complaints). Rushed to the station, caught the jubilee line, which was luckily working over the weekend and came home in 15 minutes. At the 16th minute, all I knew was my mattress, pillow and blanket and the heating was on...... sweet dreams !!!! that was the perfect dessert...
As we entered the place, it reminded me of the various bars or pubs right out of the bollywood movies. All black furniture, with red and green lights along with the wall. four strategically placed TV's playing some Himesh reshamaiyya (bollywood music director) song. Wonder when will he keep his mouth (read nose) shut !!!!! The seating is sleek, with leather sofas and chairs. Surprisingly, being lunch time, there were not many people inside. As we entered, we were welcomed with a gujju smile (very courteous) and shown to our table.
Humungous bar, with lots of vareity, but might not impress someone like me, who seldom looks beyond a pint of beer. Oh !! and by the way, my urge to have a Rum and Coke had changed in favor of having pint (may be two).
So the drinks were beer and a funny looking drink with pinks, floroscents, maroons, with a pinapple to top it up (oh!! ladies and their colors). To go along with that were onion pakodas. I wondered how they made a deep fried dish without oil dripping from it and that too, within no time of ordering. Just had one piece of it. No offense meant to the pakoda, it was very nice, but I would preferred to have chicken/meat/fish. And I thought, what was I waiting for ? Summer ???? This was in November. Like the magic wand in any Harry Potter movie, within 10 min, 4 well done pieces of yummmy yummy chicken tikka were right in front of me, whispering into my ears "hurry up hurry up". As I gobbled the first one down, with the beer, I was enlightened to the fact of what absolute bliss meant. Within no time the juicy, spicey tikkas were done with and were at the place where they rightfully should be. The sidings like the mint chutney and salad with chilli powder and dash of lime did not disappoint as well. Gluttney is a sin, but we are humans afterall.
Next the usual main course. By sneaking a look at the next table, we realized that we should be ordering only one curry, as stating the quantity of curry decent would be an understatement. It would have been good enough for three people. Having sneaked here and there since school and college exam days, am glad that skill was useful somewhere. This time it was channa masala (chickpeas) that had the priviledge of being on our plates. Must say, it was good, but could surely have been better, if there was some more spice in it and some more ginger and garlic. Instead of the usual naan/roti, we opted for the chilli, cheese, garlic naan. Now that turned out to be an amazing choice. Not very spicy, but the chilli and cheese combined very well and the dash of garlic played its role to perfection. By this time, the pint was over and in no time was replaced my another one. As far as the colorful drink was concerned, it was followed by a fresh lime. It was like moving away from the genre of Rani Mukherjee and Kareena Kapoor (current bollywood actresses)to Nargis or Madhubala (yesteryear bollywood actresses).
With all the pakodas, tikkas and the other food and drinks, we were happy and satisfied. Slowly but surely my back was reclining on the plush leather sofa. This is the after affects of what we just had. The damages were around £25 (no complaints). Rushed to the station, caught the jubilee line, which was luckily working over the weekend and came home in 15 minutes. At the 16th minute, all I knew was my mattress, pillow and blanket and the heating was on...... sweet dreams !!!! that was the perfect dessert...
Thursday 2 April 2009
Sri Rathiga
Imagine getting up on Saturday morning, after a hard working week and a few beers on Friday night. The first thought that comes to my mind is not wanting to do anything. South Indian food is my all time favourite. Anyday, anytime for breakfast, lunch and dinner and if there's anything else also, I can eat South Indian food. Idly (steamed rice cakes), vada (lentils, made into a paste and fried), dosa (pancakes), sambar (lentils and spices curry), chutney, uthappam (Indian pizza) and the likes. This is ONE big reason why I miss Bangalore. I miss the whole idea of getting up late on a weekend and going to a darshini to get masala dosa (stuffed potatoes in pancakes) and single vada.
Well, Sri Rathiga is situated just next to Safar Cinema in Harrow. Any Indian in London would know Safari, which is by far, the only very very few £ 3 theatres in London, showing only bollywood movies.
Now coming to Sri Rathiga. It is a typical MTR/Darshini (small eating joint in bangalore) in London. Small place, always chirpy and pretty clean. The menu is the usual idly, vada sambar, uthappam. I ordered for a mini thaali (a set menu), which was sumptuous and to say the least filling. It had a bit of everything in it.
I started with 2 idlies with sambar. There are 3 types of chutneys - normal coconut chutney, onion chutney and green chutney. And the quantities of chutney and sambar are unlimited. I started with 2 idlies. Steaming hot and soft. Next came the vada. Crispy yet not oily. That when dipped in sambar and dash of coconut chutney was mind blowing. Next came the mini masala dosa with potoatoes hidden inside. Oh !!!!!! that was lovely. That was almost filling, but when I looked at the left overs, thought wasting it would be a sin. What was left was some pongal (rice and lentils) and a mini uthappam. So ordered for a mango sweet lassi (mango flavored, sweetened battered yoghurt) to drown that in. After all the food, the small mini dessert of kesari (pudding) was remaining. Had to Had to finish it.
Once that was done, I was also done. The Saturday brunch was over, rather more than over and throughlly enjoyed. In the meantime, I also helped myself to a bit of what Bhooma had ordered. fried mini idly's. It was mini idly's with ginger, garlic, coriander and the spices. Instead of gobhi (cauliflower) manchurian, it was idly manchurian. Now that was yummmmmmm !!!!!
Hardly any damages... £ 10 for both of us which by no means was lots, considering London standards.
Came home and feasted myself to a couple of bollywood movies and the weekend was well spent
Well, Sri Rathiga is situated just next to Safar Cinema in Harrow. Any Indian in London would know Safari, which is by far, the only very very few £ 3 theatres in London, showing only bollywood movies.
Now coming to Sri Rathiga. It is a typical MTR/Darshini (small eating joint in bangalore) in London. Small place, always chirpy and pretty clean. The menu is the usual idly, vada sambar, uthappam. I ordered for a mini thaali (a set menu), which was sumptuous and to say the least filling. It had a bit of everything in it.
I started with 2 idlies with sambar. There are 3 types of chutneys - normal coconut chutney, onion chutney and green chutney. And the quantities of chutney and sambar are unlimited. I started with 2 idlies. Steaming hot and soft. Next came the vada. Crispy yet not oily. That when dipped in sambar and dash of coconut chutney was mind blowing. Next came the mini masala dosa with potoatoes hidden inside. Oh !!!!!! that was lovely. That was almost filling, but when I looked at the left overs, thought wasting it would be a sin. What was left was some pongal (rice and lentils) and a mini uthappam. So ordered for a mango sweet lassi (mango flavored, sweetened battered yoghurt) to drown that in. After all the food, the small mini dessert of kesari (pudding) was remaining. Had to Had to finish it.
Once that was done, I was also done. The Saturday brunch was over, rather more than over and throughlly enjoyed. In the meantime, I also helped myself to a bit of what Bhooma had ordered. fried mini idly's. It was mini idly's with ginger, garlic, coriander and the spices. Instead of gobhi (cauliflower) manchurian, it was idly manchurian. Now that was yummmmmmm !!!!!
Hardly any damages... £ 10 for both of us which by no means was lots, considering London standards.
Came home and feasted myself to a couple of bollywood movies and the weekend was well spent
Blue Ginger
Couple of weeks back went to an Indian club/pub/bar/restaurant...whatever you might want to call it, it falls under all the categories. It was highly recommended by a few friends and to get a table for Sunday lunch, we had to book on Saturday morning.
Located in Kenton, in the county of Middlesex, in London, this place, from the outside looks like an old dilapitated mansion right from one the sci-fi movie flicks. The moment you enter, that opinion completely changes. Its very very spacious for London standards. It reminded me of school days and the parade whereby we had to maintain one arms distance between each other.. Similarly there was quite a bit of distance between each table. There were quite a few people already there and I can vouch that 2-in-1, including the staff were from Gujarat. The staff were very cordial although I felt they were speaking Gujjuglish....
The bar was lovely with a variety of options. Bhooma started with a fruit punch and I preferred a long island ice tea. With the drinks, starters are the norm. So we opted for a typical Indian masala papad. As a veg starter, we ordered hara bhara kebab. The non-vegetarian in me selected the mutton reshmi kebab among the tandoori chicken's, chicken tikka's and prawn's. Now both the starters were brilliant when they arrived at our table. Very well decorated by cucumber, carrots and tomatoes. I will not comment much on the hara bhara kebab as I didnt dwel into in much. Underneath the salad were hidden 2 succulent pieces of the mutton reshmi kebabs. Oh my goodness !!! was my first reaction when I had a look at the kebebs. Oh my goodness goodness was my first reaction as I put the first piece into my mouth. It was atrociously tasty and juicy. The best that I have had in over a year in the UK. As the starters made their way from our plates into our bellies, we started thinking about the main course. For vegetarians there is a lots from the dal's, subzi's and the Indian chinese offerings. The value proposition for vegetarians is very strong. For the not so vegetarians, I was thinking chicken curry, murg malai, mutton curry or other chicken/mutton curries. But a wish in the corner of my heart took over my brains and I ordered the chicken biryani. That was one wise decision. The chicken was very well done and to say the biryani was brilliant would be an understatement. The sidings like the shorba and raitha were awesome. The veggie stuff was the paneer bhurji and naans. In the end it turned out to be too much for two of us but well worth it. The icing on the cake was a KF beer to go along with the biryani.At the end of it, we did not have the capacity for a dessert, although we glanced through the menu but didnt find anything appealing.
Now coming to the damages. Couple of drinks each with 2 starters, a biryani and a veg dish with naan/rotis set us back by £ 40, which I thought to be fairly decent. This might not be value for money to be a regular weekend joint, but for ocassions, this is a must-go place.
Anyone living in London or visiting, should pay a visit to this joint.
Jeethe raho, Khaate raho, Peethe raho
Located in Kenton, in the county of Middlesex, in London, this place, from the outside looks like an old dilapitated mansion right from one the sci-fi movie flicks. The moment you enter, that opinion completely changes. Its very very spacious for London standards. It reminded me of school days and the parade whereby we had to maintain one arms distance between each other.. Similarly there was quite a bit of distance between each table. There were quite a few people already there and I can vouch that 2-in-1, including the staff were from Gujarat. The staff were very cordial although I felt they were speaking Gujjuglish....
The bar was lovely with a variety of options. Bhooma started with a fruit punch and I preferred a long island ice tea. With the drinks, starters are the norm. So we opted for a typical Indian masala papad. As a veg starter, we ordered hara bhara kebab. The non-vegetarian in me selected the mutton reshmi kebab among the tandoori chicken's, chicken tikka's and prawn's. Now both the starters were brilliant when they arrived at our table. Very well decorated by cucumber, carrots and tomatoes. I will not comment much on the hara bhara kebab as I didnt dwel into in much. Underneath the salad were hidden 2 succulent pieces of the mutton reshmi kebabs. Oh my goodness !!! was my first reaction when I had a look at the kebebs. Oh my goodness goodness was my first reaction as I put the first piece into my mouth. It was atrociously tasty and juicy. The best that I have had in over a year in the UK. As the starters made their way from our plates into our bellies, we started thinking about the main course. For vegetarians there is a lots from the dal's, subzi's and the Indian chinese offerings. The value proposition for vegetarians is very strong. For the not so vegetarians, I was thinking chicken curry, murg malai, mutton curry or other chicken/mutton curries. But a wish in the corner of my heart took over my brains and I ordered the chicken biryani. That was one wise decision. The chicken was very well done and to say the biryani was brilliant would be an understatement. The sidings like the shorba and raitha were awesome. The veggie stuff was the paneer bhurji and naans. In the end it turned out to be too much for two of us but well worth it. The icing on the cake was a KF beer to go along with the biryani.At the end of it, we did not have the capacity for a dessert, although we glanced through the menu but didnt find anything appealing.
Now coming to the damages. Couple of drinks each with 2 starters, a biryani and a veg dish with naan/rotis set us back by £ 40, which I thought to be fairly decent. This might not be value for money to be a regular weekend joint, but for ocassions, this is a must-go place.
Anyone living in London or visiting, should pay a visit to this joint.
Jeethe raho, Khaate raho, Peethe raho
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)