mayurisjikoni

Nutan Varsh Abhinandan ( Happy New Year)     Today it's New Year for the Gujarati community. Its also Govardhan Puja day. Back in Mombasa its the day when we dress up in new clothes and go temple hopping... yes you read right not bar hopping but temple hopping. We visit all the Hindu temples in Mombasa, meet friends, relatives and acquaintances. After that it's lunch at Ajay's foi's house. It usually is very hot around that time of the year so after a heavy lunch we need to take a nap. In the evenings we get ready and go to Patel Samaj to meet and greet our community people. Its also the day when I prepare some prasadam for the ISKCON temple in Mombasa. Its the only day when outsiders can prepare whatever they like for Govardhan Puja.   But today New Year in Bangalore is quite different. Not attending any Govardhan Puja and may later go to a temple nearby. However, have spent the morning cooking as Nami's friends are coming over for dinner. It probably will be her l

Happy Diwali Wishing all my friends and family a very Happy Diwali.               Time is just flying by so fast. Its already Diwali but this time round my kitchen is not busy. You all may wonder why? A food blogger and her kitchen is quiet during the festivities. Well, it happens sometimes. I fell sick during my recent visit to Mumbai and its taking me a while to recover and gain enough energy to toil over a stove. Luckily, I had prepared my October shhhh cooking secretly challenge before I left for Delhi and Mumbai. My partner for the October "Diwali theme" was Avin Kohli of The Yellow Daal  and she challenged me to make a Diwali treat using condensed milk and gulkand. Do take time to visit Avin's blog for some traditional to baked goodies.              While condensed milk is not a new ingredient for me, gulkand was. I'd not used it so far and am glad was challenged to use it. Gulkand is basically rose petal jam that's widely used in preparing traditional Indi

Chilli and Cheddar Potato Rolls#BreadBakers Happy Dussehra      Today is Dussehra. What is Dussehra? Dussehra is a festival celebrated by Hindus all over the world. Usually, no Hindu festival is celebrated for just one reason. The word Dussehra comes from the sanskrit word Dasa hara, meaning defeat of Ravan. Ravan was an evil demon King ruling over what is present day Sri Lanka. Ravan was enthralled by Sita's beauty and wanted her. Sita was married to Lord Ram(the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu). Ravan abducted her and took her back to Lanka. Thus began the war between Ram and Ravan. The day Ram killed Ravan is celebrated as Dussehra, signifying victory over evil.       The second reason Dussehra is celebrated is because its on this day Goddess Durga was able to defeat the evil demigod Mahishasura(who wrecked havoc on earth) after fighting with him for nine days and nights.        Dussehra is usually celebrated by burning effigies of Ravan, fire sacrifice(havens) and worshippin

Navratri celebrations      Its amazing how different states of India celebrate Navratri. Some with poojas and havans, some by laying out different types of miniature dolls depicting the Gods, demi Gods, animals and people. For Gujaratis its all about garbas and dandiya raas. I miss the small familiar community celebration that takes place every year at the Patel Samaj in Mombasa. This year I'm in Bangalore.     Years back when I was in Bangalore with my daughter, Navratri passed by without much happening. The highlight was a pooja in our society Club house and then Dussera celebration. However, Navratri celebrations have taken on a whole new meaning. As HSR Layout gets more developed, we saw lots of decorations and more temples celebrating the festival. A Durga ma pandal and the whole street was lit up making the area look so beautiful and festive. We've just moved to a new home and the society had organised a garba night on Saturday. Chaats and sweets were served and the resid

Chaotic life                 Have you noticed how life in India can be so chaotic. Forget about getting problems sorted out in an orderly and calm fashion. Everyone thinks that the more you shout, the louder you are the problem will vanish. Shouting, loud accusations and chaos does not bring about solutions. However, after a bout of all this 'hangman' life carries on till we experience the next round of shouting which gets louder by the second and then suddenly peace and quiet rules. Has the problem been solved? Not at all but for many spectators it is entertainment. But isn't the chaotic life that attracts so many to India again and again?                 I am grateful that I'm right now sitting in my apartment where the surroundings are peaceful and quiet and cool breeze cooling my home and typing my post out.               It's Monday and time to present our #foodieMonday#Bloghop recipe. Our 60th theme is Chatakedaar Chaat. There was much excitement on this theme