In the lap of Himalayas - My Journey

It has almost being more than 16 months where I had taken a break for more than 7 days from my work and recently it was starting to show while I was sitting beside my computer at my office the want of going out. Then Metallica show was going to be Delhi on 28th October and friends had decided to go for it, I also jumped the bandwagon and purchased the tickets. While thinking a lot as I was already in Delhi why not go for a longer duration to beautiful places in Rajasthan, HP, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab etc etc. I started doing my research and as it was a holiday time all tourist places are going to be full. After going through more I bumped into http://himalayanfarmproject.com/ who wanted volunteers to work on their newly purchased farm (an organic one)

Here my journey starts, where I put a comment on the volunteer page and yay I was invited. I was all geared up to live in the farm, backpack, sleeping bags, odomos, torch and just few pairs of shorts and shirts. Just a day before my trip I decided on missing out of Metallica to get an extra day in the farm and it turned out to be one of the most awesomest decisions I took. Reached Delhi airport at 7 PM and took the Express Air Con bus to Kashmiri Gate where I could get a bus towards Nainital. Though I got ripped off by Rickshaw driver and travel agent in Delhi (yeah it happens everywhere in India the duo of Rickshaw driver and travel agent earn a hell lotsa money that way from tourist) got into so called Kinglong bus and journey started. We reached Kathgodam (the last station on the Uttrakhand) at 5 am, I got down and found out that the village DoGaon was still 12 KMS away and luckily bus was going from there. Told the driver to drop me off at the village and luckily he dropped me off at the tea stall which was open.

My conversation with tea - stall person
Me: Do you know Brigadiar Hari Pant
Tea Stall owner: What? Who?
Me: The guy who owns the Himalayan Farm Project
Tea Stall Owner: What? Who? There is nothing like that here
Me: This is Dogaon right?
Tea Stall Owner: Yes!
Me: There are some white people in the farm
Tea Stall Owner: OHH!! yes yes the road just goes up from here. (pointing to the road)
This is the point to think, the person does not know the owner but the white people who work there he knows where they are.  

After walking up for almost 2 hours which they say you will reach in 50 mins (i guess for a fit person) I reach this place which at first does not give you that wow feeling just keep walking to the main door and the awesomeness just hits you. I was greeted by 5 people Keveen (from France), Gina (from US), Mark (from UK), Choe (from Belgium) and Sybille (from Switzerland) who have being here for past 3 days. After having some black tea, biscuit and toast with mixed fruit jam we just talk randomly. Keveen who has being a traveler for last 11 years (I admire this man) tells us the mini - project on what all we have to do in the farm and there are too many things to do as this is just a start.

For next 5 days we were each given a task to finish and everyone finished them with help from others at times, where I had to do the trenches for the toilet, paint the wood, clear the jungle, make compost, clear and make beds where we can plant the vegetables.

So the daily schedule was wake up around 6 am (or it is upto you how long you want to cuddle in the bed), have hot black tea/coffee (you have to make it) with some toast, biscuits etc (or sunday special like pancakes), do your morning chores like poop, brush, clean (if you like icy cold water), start working on your project which is talked in the morning, finish the task your way, enjoy the cool breeze. By that time someone will be preparing lunch for all of us which would include Rice, vegetable curry and salad (sometimes eggs, at times macaroni and cow cheese), talk have fun, pull each other leg, know more about their travel, relax for an hour or so, get back to work, it starts to get dark around 5 PM where you feel the need to go back. Make tea for everyone and enjoy with bhujiyas or biscuits.

Moms Kitchen Surprise - Curd Porridge Utappa

Another one from my super awesome Mom kitchen, where she has the uncanny ability to make things by tasting them once or seeing them once on TV. So today we have Curd Porridge Uttappa

Ingredients:

• Curd 
• Porridge 
• Salt 
• Onion
• Green Chillies
• Coriander

How to Make:

1. Soak Porridge in curd for almost one hour. Add water to the mix (little more than the curd)
2. Later add green chillies and Coriander to it (to give it some flavor)
3. Put oil on a pan and let it heat up, slow down the flame and then make small circles with the batter.
4. Add Onion on the top
5. Let it cook till the bottom becomes brown and then flip over
6. Serve it

We had it with Salsa sauce which was prepared during the weekend but you can try out your own combination

Kellogs Honey Curd Kiwi - Confusing Mix [Recipe]

Well my mom is who loves to cook and I love to eat whatever she puts in the plate except Karela.

This is one super simple stomach filling (i think healthy) breakfast or whatever time you feel like eating Confusing Mix

Ingredients:

1. Kellogs Corn Flakes
2. Olive Oil
3. Dry Fruits
4. Honey
5. Kiwi 
6. Banana
7. Curd

How To Make:

1. Cook Kellogs in 1 table spoon Olive Oil for 4 minutes in low flame
2. Add in 2 table spoons of Honey and keep on stirring for 2 -3 minutes in low flame
3. Put in dry fruits to the mix and keep on cooking for another 2 minutes. You will find a sweet and crunchy feel to the Corn Flakes
4. Take curd and beat it.
5. Cut the Kiwi and Banana in small pieces
6. Take a bowl put Corn Flakes mix in the bottom, put curd over it, add fruits over the curd, then curd over the fruits and top it with corn flakes again
7. Then what eat it...

Crispy Roti - Recipe

A lot of times when you might have made some extra roti which you think are wasted, do not worry nothing will go waste here, coming directly from my mummy and her mummy kitchen is the thing which is known as Crispy Roti.

It was made again today

Well it is very simple, make some extra roti and do not eat them. Next day morning you maybe late for work or too bored to make breakfast and you remember about the roti left from last night. No no do not take out the achar aka pickles. Take out a deep frying pan and pour in oil, cut the roti in 4 pieces like a triangle and in hot oil fry the rotis for some time, till they become dark brown, remove them and put them over a tissue paper. And just sprinkle some salt over it.

And now you can eat them or take them to office to show off to your colleague. Try it with garlic chutney taste is awesome.

Anon Healthy Breakfast - New One

Today morning my Mom who is one hell of a cook (love ya!) created something which was so out of the way and I would not mind having it once a week for breakfast.

I cannot name the dish right now as it has got so many things in it but currently I name it Anon

Ingredients:
1. Bowl full of Chrispy Corn Flakes
2. Honey
3. Dry Fruits (whatever you wish)
4. Olive Oil
5. Hung Curd
6. Kiwi Fruit (1 piece)
7. Banana (1 Piece)
8. Strawberry Crush

It is a multiple process dish:

Part 1:
Pour little Olive Oil in a pan and add Corn Flakes (depending on how much you like it) and then 1 tablespoon of Honey and cook for 2 to 3 mins. And then add dry fruits to it. And let it cool a lil bit.

Part 2:
Cut and peel the fruits (avoid the orange) we took Kiwi and Banana as they are so different and peeled and cut into very small pieces.

Part 3:
Make hung curd, add some sugar and strawberry crush and mix it very well.

Now mixing part: Put the fruit in the bottom of the bowl and spread curd mix over it and top it off with cooked corn flakes. And enjoy.

You shall get the crunchy sweet flavor of the corn flakes, sweetness of curd with strawberry and raw feeling of the fruits. Sorry the photo is not there coz I forgot to click one when I was helping mom cooking it.

Aloo Kachori - Agra

It was a pretty decent Sunday October morning in Agra temperature hovering around 25 degrees celcius and right opposite our hotel was a place known as Pappu Kachori at Baluganj road opposite Lavania Villas.

Kachoris In the process

We were walking randomly in Agra and we asked where can we find an awesome breakfast he pointed us the place from where we started.

The Team

The place is just 8 x 8 place where inside 1 person is filling up the dough, 2nd person rolling up the dough in small circles and putting them in hot oil and 3rd person taking order from hungry junta. This is the first time I have seen a complete process of Kachori making it just looks like you are making Puri. But here they have to be cooked for a longer time. People are getting stressed, hungry, more people join in. And outside I see the 4th person making Jalebis and almost everywhere in India people do not say no to Jalebi in the morning. But for the first time I have seen them it having with Aloo Bhaji yes Jalebi mixed with Aloo Bhaji.

People waiting for the Kachori

Finally after 20+ min wait we get hot hot kachoris in our hands with Aloo bhaji curry in a small bowl. You have to crack open the Kachori let the heat out and dip it in the curry and enjoy it. Note: the curry is a spicy mix of red chilly powder, pieces of green chillies and other masalas. The 75+ odd kachoris got over in 10 mins.
We had 4 Aloo kachori, 1 dal kachori and 2 bowls of Jalebi total bill Rs. 36 and satisfaction priceless

The final product photograph were not taken as we were very very hungry and ate it. 

IC615 - Food Review (Air India Breakfast)

Finally the company decided to buy tickets for the plane to Hyderabad on Saturday for Nasscom Animation and Gaming Expo. The flight was IC 615 which take off time was 6:15 (what coincidence!)

I am never a fan of airline food and was skeptical on what would I get, so the flight steward asked veg or non veg without blinking i said Non veg and a tray was passed over to me. *photo will be up soon

Things in plate were, mushroom stuffed omelette, fruit salad, bread, tea, jam, butter, salt n pepper.

I attacked the Omlette first which had a mushroom filling and was quite warm perfect to my taste and the omellete was also fluffy and tasty.

The fruit salad was nice and fresh (as said by the caterers no preservatives) apple, pumpkin, watermelon.

The bread which was shaped like a croissant was soft but dont know whether it was fresh.

Tea was the best I have tasted while flying.

Rating: 7/10
I hope Kingfisher Red also has the similar kinda food while going back to Mumbai  

Breakfast

Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Jack and Dinner like a Pauper

But we living such an hectic life working almost 10 hours and traveling approximately 2 hours a day. We tend to do it the other way round,

Breakfast like a Pauper, Lunch like a Jack and Dinner like a King

I also would fall in latter category if my Mom would not make something for me during breakfast.

I always like things to keep on changing and my mom knows that....what i have for breakfast

POHA - This is a maharasthrian favorite, rice with onions and turmeric makes it a perfect breakfast

UPMA - I think this dish originated in South (please correct me if wrong), if hot it is my favorite and add a red chilli paste over it makes it even better

Sandwich - Common man breakfast, add anything what you like and you are ready to go.

Cereals - Used to have it long time back but got bored of it.