Top 10 Comfort Foods I Can't Live Without

I read this article recently which defined the author's take on Indian Comfort food. As drool worthy as the article was, it inspired me to come up with my own list. Below is my list of comfort food available only in India that I miss if I don't eat often (and crave like crazy when I travel abroad):

1) Chole Bhature - This has to be highest on the list. My only grouse with a sore throat is that I can't have the spicy chole. Chacha in DU and Sita Ram aside, my fav in Noida are those at a stall outside ICICI in Sector 18 and the ones in Nathus.

2) Pakode and Chai - These should ideally be separate points but together these are just killer. Crispy hot pakodas teamed with steaming hot ketli type chai can beat away all blues!

3) Samosas and Jalebis - Though I can never eat spicy filling inside the samosa and leave it out, there are few street foods in the world that can beat this crispy wonder. Sharing the crust can start the Third World War! I don't really have a sweet tooth but a bite of the thin crispy jalebi helps cut the spice in the samosa.

4) Gol Gappe - Call it puchka or pani puri or good ol' gol gappa, the satisfaction of savoring this tangy water filled deliciousness is unparalleled. I like mine as sooji puris with a little sonth and lots of cold teekha pani. And yes, staying in Ahmedabad has spoilt me such that I must end my gol gappa spree with a 'sukha', ie. an atta puri with aalu sprinkled with their chaat masala.   

5) Prawn with Vodka in Tomato Cream Sauce - Replacing my earlier favorite Fusilli Chicken Piri Piri, this is my ultimate Pasta dish in the whole world..no literally...all the pasta I have eaten elsewhere on my travels pales in comparison to Big Chill's sinful gorgeousness. I like mine with added bacon and paired with the Belgian Chocolate Shake. Oooohh, heaven! 

6) Aalu/ Mooli/ Gobi Paranthas - As far as my memory goes, every Sunday morning breakfast has been stuffed paranthas. Something of a tradition now, I find my weekend incomplete if I do not start my Sunday with these. I like mine crispy with loads of malai on them and aam ka achaar on the side. 

7) Rolls - The famous kathi roll gets a makeover at every corner wala stall. I love egg in my chicken roll and my new favorite is the Chicken Egg roll at Rolls King. Otherwise, just about any street vendor will do!

8) Dhaaba food- I absolutely am nuts about dhaaba food. Served piping hot, authentic to the core and it doesn't burn a hole in my wallet. My usual order is paneer bhurji, dal fry and butter roti. Food for gods! There have actually been times that we have driven all the way to Murthal, just to eat at the dhaabas and drive back. Yes, we are insane.

9) Hot Choc Fudge - This one is impossible to get outside the city. Nirula's Hot Choc Fudge is unbeatable. Decadent enough to break the strictest of diets, this tall Sundae is something of an institution in itself.

10) Bread Roll - This is a hidden secret of mine. Not something that I eat often, if I get my hands on hot off the kadai bread rolls, I can never stop at one. There was this time I went for a very important and formal meeting and was presented with a plate of lipsmacking rolls and I forgot all about the meeting, shamelessly wolfing down roll after roll :) 

You're lucky

You don't know how lucky you are. No, truly. Even if you think life is terrible and you hate your job, you're lucky. You have a job to hate. If you fight with your wife everyday, you're still lucky. You have someone to love. If you think your parents are too intruding, you have parents who want the best for you. If your friend doesn't seem to have much time for you anymore, you still have people you can call friends. If you're not with the one you love anymore, atleast you have a lifetime of memories to smile in the dark about.

You're lucky.

I forget to say this to myself sometimes. Human nature prompts me to look at the darker side of life. But once in a while, a jolt shakes me and reminds me, I'm not just lucky, I'm downright blessed.

One of my close friends, an absolute angel, one of those few people who go that extra mile for people they love, is going through a tough time. Sometimes, when bad happens, it all happens together and light seems so far away. I know, because in completely different contexts, I have felt like that myself. But P, this is just to remind you that we're with you, always. You're in our thoughts, and those of all those people whose lives you have touched and made special just by being the person you are. The bad times are gone now...its all good from here on. Be strong... 

Your Lazy Winter Lunch Guide

College like feel at Triveni Tea Terrace

A nip in the air (ok, a little more than just a nip), sun rays filtering through the foggy skies and lazy weekends. There is something intoxicating about winter lunches, especially alfresco ones. Nothing beats good food, pleasing ambience and intriguing company. If you still haven't made plans on where to go this weekend for lunch, here's help.

Crispy Palak Patta Chaat at Cafe lota

My latest article on Rediff lists my 5 top picks for lazy winter lunches. Whatever be your budget, there is an option to suit everyone.

Read the article here.  

New Year Resolution 2014

The New Year is just around the corner. Time to reflect on the year gone by. An interesting year, landmark in many ways. A little nephew to love, godmother to my best friend's angel, four new countries visited, connected with family whom I have known all my life but barely ever met, a personal loss for my father, letting go of expectations from some relationships, professionally a mind blowing year having done numerous projects with a leading food critic of the country, a new laptop, a new phone, invested in our second house, daughter's admission in the best school...at the end of the day, so much to thank god for. 

What I learnt this year is also important. I learnt that you can never be truly happy if you keep putting yourself last. Because then you base your own happiness on other people's actions and words. My resolution this year is simple. To love myself. That's it. No long lists, no dramas. I vow to love myself and put myself a few notches higher on my own priority list. To remain fit and dress to kill, not to show anyone but for the confidence that the image in the mirror gives me. To do work that makes me happy and gives me validation of my professional choices. To respect people but draw the line for those who do not respect me or value my feelings. To laugh more, worry less, hope more, repent less. To try new flavors, travel to new places, hold my dear ones close, do all the things that make me happy. 

Happy New Year everyone...what's your resolution??

Say Something....

From my favourite television series (Grey's Anatomy):

If you love someone...you tell them...
Even if you're scared it's not the right thing...
Even if you're scared that it will cause problems...
Even if you're scared that it will burn your life to the ground...
You say it...say it loud...
And then you go from there...

Say something....I'm giving up on you....

A traveller's Christmas

It is 10pm on Christmas and I'm tucked in my warm quilt after a dinner of Maggi and sausages, tired as hell but happy. I had a lovely day today...as is fast becoming a Christmas tradition, we packed our car and drove off out of the city, this time towards Garh Mukteshwar.

Enroute, we stopped at the famous Shiva Dhaba and had lovely kulhar chai with delicious pakodas. They were even kind enough to heat the paranthas mom had carried from home. The pakoras were crisp and yummy, highly recommended. We also stopped to walk into a sugarcane field and took some gorgeous snaps of the farms.

Chatting up with a farmer and hearing stories of progressive India. He has 4 daughters, all having done their post graduation and one living in London.

A Yash Raj set....train in the background, sarson ke khet, village boys running....ghar aaja pardesi tera des bulae re :)

The closest that the Holy Ganges comes to Delhi, people from the city flock to Garh Mukteshwar to wash off their sins. If you remain with the obvious, you'll see a dirty ghat on the banks of a muddy river crowded with touts pestering you. But if you can see beyond that, you may see what I saw. A brave display of faith, with people of all ages taking a dip in the icy water. Or the stalls that sold the most innovative little toys for kids (yes, my Sonu went crazy)! Or as the highlight for me is in any trip- hot lipsmacking food.

The ghats

The streets near the ghat selling interesting lil stuff

We asked around and the locals unanimously pointed us towards Raju halwai who's famous for his khasta kachori and puri sabzi. The puris were gobbled up in no time at all, especially as they were accompabied by a tangy kaddu sabzi, aalu sabzi and methi dana chutney.

200kms driven, a day full of laughter, surrounded by family, enjoying all that my gorgeous country has to offer. A very merry christmas indeed!!

posted from Bloggeroid

Twilight - A love for eternity

“No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you.”
― Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn

There is something amazing about Bella and Edward. Something almost magical. Something real, something pure...untouched. Having someone who can reach inside you and touch your very soul...someone who doesn't judge you. Where words are not needed, you just know how the other person is feeling instinctively. The absolute certainty about each other. Not even a flicker of doubt that this is the person that you want in front of your eyes when you wake up every morning. The sureness, of being born for each other and none else.

My favorite Twilight film is perhaps the one in which Edward leaves Bella and goes away...in the hope that she will be safe. The helplessness that Bella feels, how it drives her crazy. There is nothing that she will not do to get him back, even if it is only a glimpse of him. What happens to her is not important in her scheme of things. How incomplete she feels, how nothing is normal, nothing is real without him.

“I don’t have the strength to stay away from you anymore”

― Stephenie Meyer

Complete and utter love. Selfless. Possessive. Eternal. Hopeless. Unrelenting. Forever...and a day.