mayurisjikoni

Good Holiday       Our trip to Dubai in December was a fun, relaxing and an enjoyable experience. Meeting up with family is always a happy affair but leaving them equally sad. We got to spend a lot of time with my daughter in law's parents and her brother. My son and daughter in law would meet us in the evenings on the days they had to work. It was my hubby's first trip to Dubai. He was amazed at the number of lanes on the highway, the cleanliness, security and the parks. What baffled us was how green the parks were. What struck me was that the rest of the world is cutting down its trees mindlessly and here people are making an effort to grow trees in a desert. Lovely sunsets, walking at the Beach, The Walk, the malls, the souks, all a wonderful experience. I loved the Ibn Battuta mall, visited the Atlantis, and the fountain show made my day as it played the song  Dhoom Tana. Bollywood song in Dubai... enjoyed it thoroughly. Different cuisines to try out, some days w...

a daily health drink Chaas or lassi is a healthy yogurt drink. Besides getting your daily dose of calcium and protein, chaas is very cooling drink and settles your tummy after an extra hot, I mean chilli meal. We have chaas everyday and I don't consider my meal complete without it. Don't laugh, but these days I have it with pasta, tacos, basically any meal. Out goes the fizzy damaging coke and in comes the chaas. Haven't had chaas and pizza yet!  Now that I don't keep any fizzy drinks at home, I do offer it to my guests, but occasionally do get  funny looks too.... what serving chaas instead of soda or packet juices! But then its so normal to serve chaas in India especially during summer. VAGHARELI CHAAS   Serves 2 1 cup yogurt 1 cup chilled water ¼ tsp salt 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander 8 curry leaves ½ green chilli, finely chopped ½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera) 1 tsp oil or ghee (clarified butter) Whisk yogurt, water and salt together in a deep pan or bowl. Heat...

  a must have in most indian homes When  we were travelling from Gondal to Anand  on Ram navmi day, we stopped at a restaurant just near Anand to have our dinner. It was very very hot that day and I cannot remember the number of cold drinks, mainly nimbu pani and limca we all must have drunk. As we all could not fit on one big table, our family decided to occupy 5 small tables and each table ordered for themselves. On our table, Vibha bhabhi and I decided to stick to the good old water whereas Ajay and Snehalbhai ordered lassi. They both enjoyed the cool drink and Snehalbhai said 'Vibs we should have this everyday at home.' Vibs did look at him oddly and asked ' even in winter?' And the answer was ' its cold outside the house not inside.' Whether Vibs makes chaas everyday or not, its a must have in our house for lunch. Considering the weather in Mombasa, its the most cooling and invigorating drink that the Indian subcontinent has invented. It goes by many names ...