Remedy for Sweet Tooth

Bengali Sandesh

I had a tin of Milkmaid left from some days, so thought of making some good sweet from that, so came across a nice Sandesh recipe. In that, I made some of my changes and ta-da... a good Bengali sweet came up..

Here's the recipe ( for 8 pieces):-

Things we need:

- 1/2 Tin Milkmaid(200gm)

- 250 gms Paneer

- 1 full Table spoon Milk powder

- 1 full Table spoon powdered sugar

- 1/2 table spoon Maida

- 2 drops of Green edible color

- Pistachios or Almonds for garnishing

Method:

1. Using hand blender or a mixer, mix all the ingredients except color, it should be a thick mixture
2. Heat the mixture in Kadai with low medium flame and keep stirring
3. Add 2 drops of green color to the mixture
4. Once its dough kind, remove from gas and let it cool
5. If you have any kind of mould, make shapes of the mixture
6. Put those on greased plates
7. Garnish it with Pistachios or Almonds
8. Allow it cool in refrigerator for sometime.
9. Sandesh is ready to be served.

Serene Corner of Pune

Thergaon Boat Club

Located in Pimpri Chinchwad.. Away from the hustle bustle of the city, it is an ideal place to go with kids, have picnic with friends, relatives or neighbours.. 
Thergaon Boat Club is small park alongside the river Pavana with boating club inside the Garden.



Closing time is 7PM in evening.. Ticket is a minimal amount of 2/-

Boat rides are of 2 types: Speed Boat and Paddle boat(40/-per person for half hour).. Life jackets are also provided, so its safe and short ride.
Boating is available all year long except in Monsoon season from June 15 till september end




Park is clean and well maintained.. There are swings and other rides for small kids, so there's something for everyone..

Outside the park there is a Canoeing club which when you become member coaches you for this activity. Plus there's a Hindu temple on river bank.

 

Located in green surroundings, there is a small dam on the river, and you can sit on the dam walls and watch the boats on one side and Canoeing on the other side. Watching the sunset is also a pleasing experience...

To keep in mind:
- There are no food or drinks stalls available, so its better to carry your food and water.
- Plenty of space is available to play, so don't forget to take your badminton rackets/footballs/frisbees along...
- Best time to visit this place is 5 to 7 PM

Cook it Up: Pithla Bhakri

Pithla Bhakri

It was rainy Sunday today and we were planning to have something hot and spicy... So decided to cook Pithla Bhakri... The traditional Marathi dish for farmers...

We tasted in Singhad Fort (which is famous for its Pithla Bhakris) and decided to try it at home.

It was easy, quick and tasty recipe, esp. for a rainy day or cold weather:

Things you need for Pithla(for 2 people):

- Besan(About 1.5 cup)

- Tomato- 1 chopped in small pieces

- Capsicum -half chopped in small pieces

- Ginger- little chopped in small pieces

- Green Chilly- 1or2

- Lemon juice- 1 tea spoon

- Curd (Dahi)- about half cup optional

- Turmeric powder(Haldi)

- Mustard Seeds(Rai)

- Cumin Seeds (Jeera)

- Asfoetida (Hing)

- Curry Leaves(Meethi neem)

- Red Chilly powder(optional)

- Salt (to taste)

Preparation:

1. Mix besan, turmeric powder, lemon, capsicum, salt, dahi well; so there is no lump formation
2. Add water accordingly to make it like Kadi mixture
3. In a Kadai heat oil, put Rai and Jeera.. Allow them to splutter
4. Add Hing and Curry leaves to the oil
5. Add tomatoes and cook them till they are soft
6. Add the mixture to the oil and stir well for 10 mins
7. See if there is lump formation.. Add red chilly powder if you'd like it to be more spicy
8. Add water according to the thickness you want in the Pithla
9. Its ready to be served

Bhakri:

Things you need:

- Jowar aata

- Hot water

- Salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix Jowar atta and salt
2. Add water slowly to make a dough (like that for Rotis)
3. Make small dough balls and dust it with Jowar aata powder
4. Flatten it with hands or with help of chakla- belan
5. Roast it on pan(tawa) and let it cook
6. Roast on gas chulha directly(it will be crispy and not balloon up like Rotis)
7. Apply butter or ghee on it and serve it hot

Serve Pithla- Bhakri either with green chilly or Spicy achar or chuttney

My Travel Diary: Goa

Travel Diary: Goa

Based on my short tour along with my family to Goa 2 years ago: 

21st May 2010 :  Boarded bus from Pune - Swargate at 8:30PM to Goa.

22nd may: Reached Mapusa at 6:30AM. We took 1BHK flat near Baga Beach, so we took cab and went to our guest house in Baga beach. 

After reaching our guest house, we all got ready and called for Tour Bus service. We boarded South Tour Bus around 9:30AM.

- 1st point was Miramaar Beach, which was good, not very different. Song of movie Aitraaz- Gila, Gila.. was shot here. We took our b'fast here. Here a statue was present which represented bond b/w Hindu and Christian.

- 2nd point was Bom Jesus Basilica and inside Bom Jesus church the body of St Francis is kept which is taken out once in 10yrs. It was brought out in 2004 and next it will be brought out in 2014. Another was Se cathedral. It is biggest in Goa.

- 3rd point was Mangeshi Temple. Lata Mangeshkar father lived in the village and this temple is Lord Shiva's temple dedicated from Lata Mangeshkar for her father.
- 4th point was Temple. This was similar to Mangueshi temple. We had our Lunch stop over here.

- 5th was Museum, Ancestral Goa, which was Portugese time museum.

- 6th point was Colva Beach. It is the longest beach in Goa, 19kms in length. we were given only 45mins here so we didnt play in water.

- 7th and last point was Cruise in Panjim. We took Paradise Cruise which is the same where Honey moon travels song was shot. It had 3 levels bottom level was Disc where the girls entry was free and boys entry was not(50/-). 1st level was eating joint and top level was open area with stage for Dance performance n chairs for ppl to sit. There were 3 dance performance. 2 Konkani and 1 Portugese dance, in b/w these dance performances small kids, couples, boys and  girls were called for dancing. It was 1 hr cruise and we came back at 7pm.

Did some shopping at XTEND which was near bus stand in Panji, it was trendy shop for all clothes n accessories. We came back to our guest house at 8pm and then went to:

Baga Beach @ Night: It was unforgettable experience.. Moon light, sea roaring, clean beach and music coming from the Pub Tito at beach made the whole environment Amazing! Came back from beach around 9 had dinner.

23rd May: Woke up at 7AM, went straight to our very own Baga beach. Took a dip and got ready for our day. 









We had North Goa Tour today. We took bfast at a Gujrati restaurant.

- 1st point was Boat ride which has 5 points in the way:
      1) Dolphin point- You can view Dolphin's jumping out of sea here.
      2) Central Jail- From West side this is the last point of land.
      3) Outside view of Fort Aguda.
      4) Bunglow of Singapore Diamond Merchant.
      5) Coco Beach- which is C shaped beach.

- Next we went to Aguada fort, Dil Chahta Hai shooting took place here. There was 2 Lighthouses, the bigger one is old which worked on Kerosene and hence not used now and the new one is on other side of fort.






- 3rd point was Boddeshwar temple
- 4th point was Anjuna Beach- It was a rocky beach, for which one has to go down a mt. We had lunch after this point.
- 5th point was Vagator beach- We all rode Motor Scooter, which was fun. It was Black sand beach. Here all water sports were available

- 6th and last point Calangute Beach- It was most crowded beach and 2nd longest in Goa, still we took 1 last dip in the Sea.

Our bus dropped us to CCD near Baga beach, we all had bath and ate and started for Mapusa to catch our return bus. We were li'l early for our bus, so went to local market of Mapusa, which was partially closed as it was Sunday. Boarded our bus at 9PM.

Interesting Facts:
1) Products of Goa:

- Goa main produce is Coconut. But its not for drinking, the local ppl use this coconut for cooking, because its sweeter in taste. The coconut  that comes for drinking is from Kerela and thats why its expensive.
- 2nd major produce is Cashew Nut. This is also very expensive compared to other places. Because there are 3 places in India cashew nut is produced and among these Goa's tastes best.

- 3rd is Fenny, Port wine. Its a lot cheaper compared to other places in India. There are 2 types of Fennies: Coconut and Kaju. Coconut Fenny can be used as massage oil.  People in Goa use fenny as Ayurvedic medicine for lot of health ailments.
2) Goa has 22 beaches in total.

3) There are 3 famous F's, without which coming to Goa will be incomplete. Fish, Fenny and Football.

4) Fishes cannot be caught in rainy season, so they are dried in forest in summers for use in Rainy season.

5) Main Language of Goa is Konkani.

6) Gambling: There's a game played on beaches on Anjuna, Vagator and Calangute that is called Laal- Kaala. This is gambling game, in which there are 3 strikers bigger than Carrom are used. Apart from this in Panji there are lot of ships which are Casino's. 5- star hotels run casino which make 4-5 Lakh per day. These ships can be seen during the cruise.

TRAVEL TIPS: 
Travel Time: Best Time: October to February

- Summers are highly humid and sun is unbearable during day. If you are still planning to go in summers, take more travel days and make lot of indoor plans during day and chk out Goa after 4PM. Good thing is because its off- season, the price of hotels and guest houses are cheap. Even water sports, shopping is cheaper at this time of year.

- Rainy season after 1st June, almost everything is closed.

- Winters are the best time in year to visit this place. During Dec 25 to 1st Jan, even land piece in Goa is booked and prices are real high.. So book a guest house atleast 15 days in advance.

Clothes: Travel in Goa with light clothes, jeans n traditional dresses are not at all helpful. Cotton capris and t-shirts are good idea.

Footwear: Carry chappals only.

Shopping: Shopping is pretty expensive. Famous Flee market is on wednesday, so enquire about it while planning for your travel. If you are planning for a Parmanent Tatoo there are lot of Tatoo Studios over here.

Main Festival: Goa Carnival happens on 14th Feb every year.

Eat Out: Corn Club

Eating Out Adda in Pune... Vegeterian...

Corn Club on FC Road(near Krishi Mahavidyalaya):

Very nice and cosy joint...

Offers all types of Corn mouth watering delicacies... 

Corn sandwiches, Corn patties, Corn Au Gratin, Corn Pizza, Corn Chaat and everything made from Corn... 

All tasty and light on stomach as well as on pocket... Also try Ginger lemon drink... Perfect for Friend's gathering..

Art Attack: Chocolate Bouquet

Chocolate Bouquet

Starting the blog with my best creation... Chocolate bouquet... which I created for my hubby on his recent birthday

The things I used are not at all expensive and easy to find:
- Bamboo Bouquet stand(which can be found in any flower bouquet shop)
- Floral Foam(again from flower shop)
- Chocolates(which can be handmade or can be bought for eg Ferrero Rocher)
- Kite paper(any stationary shop)
- Ribbon
- Decorating stems(which is from Flower shop)
- Other decorative items (such as thermocol balls, glitter ribbons etc)
- Green tape optional

Simple steps(creation time about 1 hr):

1. First put decorative stems in the chocolates(by making holes in the chocolates).. Use Kite paper as leaves for the chocolates so they look like flowers and secure the end of leaves(so they don't move from their place) with either green tape or clear tape ... Repeat this process for chocolates...
2. Once all chocolates you want in the bouquet are made in the form of flowers.. you need to make the Foam wet by putting it in a mug of water and leaving it for 2 mins
3. put the foam in the Bouquet stand or bamboo baskets..
4. insert the chocolates in the foam inside the bamboo stand/basket
5. use the decorative stems along with chocolate flowerzPut thermocol balls on the foam
6. Tie ribbon and glitter ribbons to tie around the bouquet stand
7. Optional- Put a personal note(Like I did: Chocolates for my Chocolaty Sweet Hubby) on the bouquet and deliver at the door step in the morning