Amongst the Strangers..........

Amongst the strangers,she seeks a friendly
smile.....
People get busier as the day goes
by..........
Meetings here and trainings there....
As emotions start to flood her 
mind........
Saying a quick prayer she fights it 
all...........
Excited she gets,as they showed her the
office........
Greeting everyone she sat in the new
place........
anxious, thrilled and eager to
learn.....
Only to catch up with others
pace........
As the time goes on, her eyes on the 
ticker......
Wishing ,if it would tick a bit
quicker.........
Thinking of her man who is the love of her
life...............
fantasizing the moment when he'll hold her
tight.............
And when the clock ticks half past
six...............
people buzzing their ID cards is what she 
sees...........
Hopping a bus and grabbing a 
seat............
She pings him "I left"......
Moving along the way,she thinks of the whole 
day..............
"I wish I learn the work soon"  thoughtfully she 
prays...........
Boarding from the bus ,she sees him across the 
street...........
Brimming with joy,she crosses the 
road.............
Only to hug him tight while zipping away 
home............

Broccoli Stem Salad

Every time when I bought those Broccolis  , I wished why can't someone find a recipe for the stalks too. Initially, it broke my heart to throw away the stem part of this over-priced veggie which in India currently is Rs.255 per Kg..I knew that broccoli stem were used in soups in some countries , but the idea of making a soup of it did not appease me.Instead,I decided to try a Salad version of the Broccoli Stem. 

Things Required:

Broccoli Stem-1
Tomato- 1
Tofu- 3 tsp grated
Ginger-Garlic Paste- 1/2 tsp
Soya Sauce- 2 tsp
Pepper Powder- 2 pinch


1. Clean the Broccoli stem and remove the protruding stalks and leaves. Then finely chop them.

Broccoli Stems

2.Finely chop the Tomato

3.Heat oil in a pan.Add the chopped stems and tomato.Then add  ginger -garlic paste.

                                         

4.Add soya sauce ,pepper and grated tofu. Then mix it along.

                                              

5. The Broccoli Stem Salad is ready to go....

    
Any sort of veggies can be used like bell peppers,carrots.All go well with the Stem salad.

સાપુતારા-SAPUTARA

They say "Everything happens when it needs to happen"...That's how our first trip to Saputara happened.Unlike the last year,this year we made quick-to-go plans...and it did worked..

Panoramic view of the lake and the town

Saputara-the only hill station in Gujarat, where the gujjus and even marathis come to unwind themselves in its serenity.Why will they not?..The calmness of the lake..the undulating peaks...the green and lush surroundings can lure any nature loving person..And so were us..the Mallus..

Being just 5-6 hrs distance from the place where we live, I had been always eyeing Saputara for a cool summer holidays..But it occurred to us that it was the hottest time of the year in Saputara..Still nothing stopped us from exploring the Dang's very own Hill station.

Our first stop was at the Step Garden..a beautiful stair like alignment of flowers and plants..One could also see some display of adivasi artifacts too...It also has a picturesque view of the dang forest.

Step Garden

Next we trekked along to the Saputara Lake.The alluring beauty of the lake held me spell-bounded. It has a boating club adjoined to it with a very nominal fee.Nobody leaves Saputara without boating in this magnificent man-made lake.We wanted to save the best for the last, so we decided to go boating ,the next day.

View of the lake from the Lake Garden

Very close to the lake is the Tribal Museum.It depicted the simple lifestyles of the Dang people back then...Their culture..their festivals..Their deities ..all of these could be seen displayed in this tribal museum.At the entrance,a person plays an instrument called Tarpu to attract more viewers.Its a pity,that the museum was poorly maintained and certain rooms were shut too..
Just few feet away from the museum was the famous snake sculpture.This sculpture is made in resemblance with the one the local Dangs worship.

                              
After the museum,we headed to the rope-way. With the GPS on ,we trekked on for about 2.3 kms. It surely was a breathtaking experience to see Saputara from the top.The rope-way took us to the other side of the mountain, where we had a picturesque view of the sunset.We couldn't spend much time at the sunset point as the rope-way was about close down.

On our way back to the hotel,we visited the lake garden..Its one of the best gardens in Saputara..So green and less crowded.It had the best view of the lake and surrounding mountains.If it wasn't for the guardsman(Who by the way whistled at me twice for swinging at the Children play area that the garden had.Well I didn't see any "Children above 25-Not allowed" mentioned on it),I could sit here all day long ,enjoying this splendid view..feeling the smooth wind passing through and rustling the tree leaves...

Caught in the action

Rest of the evening ,we slowed it down and relaxed at the Hotel.There are plenty of eat out options in Saputara. One can easily find a decent restaurant of their own choice.Our hotel had  Deewan-E-khaas and Sugar N Spice adjoined to it,which made out options clear.
Next day morning ,We started off with the best part...BOATINGGGG..We paddled our boat from bank to bank ...humming thi thi thara thi thi thaii(our very own boat race song,though we paddled instead of rowing)...and feeling glad that we saved the best for the last..

I know that still there is a lot left to see and do in Saputara,but I realized the joy of missing out and promised myself to enjoy the moment I am in and not  to bother about what I missed....
The beauty of those untouched valleys and undulating peaks will stay in my memories forever..

My first Pesaha Appam and Pesaha Paal

Last week ,during one of the daily night time talk with my mom ,I told her "Maa,this time I have decided to make Pesaha Appam on Maundy Thursday"..The very next moment she narrated the whole recipe under one breath.I am like "too much information!!! Maaaa..I want you to repeat all of it on Thursday morning".More than being excited,I sounded nervous and anxious.The thought of me making the "Pesaha Appam" which my mom used to make every year this day since my very childhood,sent chills through my spines. "What if something went wrong?" "Who would correct me?" "Will I spoil the occasion?".All sorts of thoughts in my mind..I wanted to make it in the same traditional and authentic way that my mother followed, which required a bit of an extra effort.
I made myself thorough with the recipe, which apparently looked very simple to follow.All it required was three main ingredients:Rice powder,Coconut and Urad dal.
First I kneaded the roasted rice powder with hot boiling water like a roti dough.Then grinded the coconut with some shallots,garlic and zeera. Then again ,grinded the urad dal into very fine paste.Lastly mixed all three of them together. That's it, piece of cake haa!!.Next step is to steam it in a steamer.I know have not narrated the recipe very well.The reason is one can find the recipe all over the internet.Well, my intention is to pen down the things where I went wrong:
1.The rice powder :always roast it irrespective of the fact that it is ready-made or not.Roasting is a must.
2.The steamer: I have an idli maker and it came with 3 dhokla stands too, which I used for this recipe.Remember to always skip the bottom stand because there are chances of water getting into the dough.Trust me, its the experience talking.This is how it looked:

The one which gave me tiny heart attack!!!

3.The banana leaves: Staying in a city,it was difficult for me to find them ,which was painful.In my hometown, I can make a tent out of banana leaves..!!Its like everywhere there..Oh I miss my home so much...Well ,back to the topic. Even-though I greased the base of the stands thoroughly,it did not work out.My appam was stuck to the stand.Next time, I'll make sure that I get it from somewhere for a better experience of Pesaha Appam.
But still inspite of these mistakes I made it through.The Appam tasted good too..
Making Pesaha Paal was Child's play,ifffffffff someone got you the coconut milk.For the sake of traditionality and authenticity (which I promised my self that I would abide to) I did not use the coconut milk powder instead made it, which by the way was tiresome.It required just two main ingredients: Jaggery and Coconut milk.Syrup the jaggery then add the coconut milk.Stir it in low heat for a while then add two spoons of rice powder paste to thicken the consistency of the paal.Voila!. its done..

In-spite of these imperfections,I had a sense of accomplishment.I don't know what swayed me into this, but it made me realize that Pesaha Appam is certainly a quintessential part of Maundy Thursday.