Hyderabad Times

Welcome home

2010-06-16T09:14:00.002+05:30

Welcoming our new family member home - who is such an important part of our lives.
After ten days of struggle, sending back two defective pieces, this good fella is here finally!
Don't you just love the paisley design?

Bye bye

2010-06-15T09:08:00.011+05:30

There was a time our fridge was filled with Lindt Chocolate bars - and one by one they were devoured, over the last six months.
This was all that remained in the end as the last piece got over today.
Lindt Dark chocolate with orange and almonds - Love you!

Breezy Monday

2010-06-14T11:12:00.000+05:30

One of the best weather days in a long time
An evening in the terrace
Lovely breeze
Little River Band on the iPod
Life is beautiful

Beautiful bread

2010-06-13T11:06:00.001+05:30

From Ruci & Idoni
Multigrain with sesame seeds, flaxseeds
Soft and flavoursome
Love this bread

The Hyderabad Girls' on Twitter meet up

2010-06-12T11:03:00.000+05:30

At Sweet Nirvana, Kavuri Hils, Hyderabad
8 girls
Lots of conversation and laughter
Lip smacking desserts
Good coffee

Yoghurt muffins

2010-06-11T11:00:00.004+05:30

Very easy, delicious and healthy - mildly sweet
Tastes yum with a pat of jam
Also baked some butterscotch brownies for the Hyderabad Twitter girls meet up on Saturday

Atri see, Atri do

2010-06-10T10:58:00.001+05:30

My son is at that stage where he likes to imitate everything we do.
Here he pulled out some old newspaper that was lying around and sat down in the balcony with his morning Biki pretending to read it. Never mind that the paper was upside down :)

Kway-Teo noodles with Oyster Mushrooms

2010-06-09T10:55:00.001+05:30

Delicious dinner

Morning sun/ son

2010-06-08T10:53:00.001+05:30

It's barely 6.30 am and we are well into our day.
Don't mind the Teacher's container - we use it to store the smaller wooden toys - just in case you were wondering!!

Fridge hunt

2010-06-07T10:51:00.000+05:30

Most of you must have seen my rants on FB / Twitter - The hunt which started that weekend resulted in me buying it on this day - but then had to return it twice and over a week gone, am still waiting!!

Kaapi morning

2010-06-06T10:50:00.001+05:30

Frothy Filter coffee - just the way I like it

Self

2010-06-05T10:49:00.000+05:30

Since a coule of self shots are permitted in a month, this is one of them. Standing by the window, overexposed - from iPhone - what do you expect?

WIlly Wonka @ Cream Stone

2010-06-04T10:46:00.001+05:30

Cream Stone is an ice cream chain that combines the flavour of ice cream and other stuff like cakes, candy etc etc on a slab of hard ice until creamy and serves it in a cup or cone.
This Willy Wonka was deadly, lived upto its name - chocolate pastry, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce all in one...deadly enough to make us miss dinner.

Shaky car -->shaky picture

2010-06-03T10:44:00.000+05:30

One of the few things that managed to scare my otherwise very adventurous son!

Mango and coconut

2010-06-02T10:42:00.000+05:30

Two of the trees hugging our terrace wall - coming in from the neighbour's compound to say hello!

Summer skies

2010-06-01T10:41:00.000+05:30

Dinner came from these

2010-05-31T07:35:00.001+05:30

Our friend got us these Thai Vermicelli noodles - only problem was that instructions were written in Thai and the pictures were not self explanatory.
Luckily, we have google.
About.com had a section on thai recipes that explained how to deal with these noodles - soaking in hot water for 10 minutes did the trick.
Dinner was these noodles tossed in oil with garlic, chilli flakes and peanuts, paired with Eggplant in Chinese sauce

Choco-Crinkle Cookies - Batch Two

2010-05-30T07:32:00.001+05:30

A fat pinch of dried ginger powder went into this one
I'm getting confident in cookie-baking YAY

Choco-Crinkle Cookies - Batch One

2010-05-29T07:30:00.000+05:30

A recipe from Jamie's blog
Used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour and did not manage to use all the oil as I forgot to add it earlier on.
Turned out just perfect

Fresh curry leaf podi

2010-05-28T07:29:00.000+05:30

My neighbour gave me a big bunch of curry leaves from their farm and this was the best way to make use of them - Karuveppalai Podi

The haircut

2010-05-27T07:26:00.000+05:30

The day i took the bold step of cutting my hair short :)

Sunita's Banana Oatmeal Cookies

2010-05-26T07:23:00.004+05:30

Baked these cookies for my son - he loved them
Used jaggery instead of sugar, raisins instead of chocochips and lots of cardamom in the recipe and they almost tasted like my favourite 'athirasam'
Original recipe here

Double coloured bougainvilleas

2010-05-25T07:22:00.000+05:30

Found this to be an unusual colour for a bougainvillea
Making summers bearable with their beauty

Tiffin time for my son

2010-05-24T07:20:00.000+05:30

Boiled potatoes cubed and sauteed in ghee with salt and pepper
A spoon of grated cheese sprinkled on the hot potatoes

Quack Quack

2010-05-23T07:19:00.000+05:30

For my son's entertainment

Lunch date at Golden Dragon

2010-05-22T07:18:00.000+05:30

Farm fresh mangoes

2010-05-21T07:16:00.000+05:30

A box of Banganapalli mangoes sent by a farmer
Perks of husband working in Agri sector
Best mangoes I've ever tasted
Sorted into almost ripe, yet to ripen and under-ripe piles

Curry leaf flavoured paneer bhurji in Dosai - Breakfast

2010-05-17T07:15:00.000+05:30

The storm outside my window

2010-05-16T07:14:00.000+05:30

Starring - The Pot

2010-05-10T07:12:00.000+05:30

If you see the picture in the header, you'll know where this pot came from.
Another exhibition gem.
Have cooked thrice in this and food acquires a new dimension of taste
This stew served with red rice tasted fabulous

Minty Raw mangoey Ragda Patties for Dinner

2010-05-09T07:10:00.000+05:30

Mini mushroom pizzas for dinner

2010-05-08T07:09:00.000+05:30

Ready pizza base, cut into two slices to make it really thin crust
Ready Pizza sauce - Maggi Pizza Mazza
So literally a dinner in minutes

Tea and Sugar

2010-05-07T07:07:00.000+05:30

After my househelp cracked the sugar bottle, it was time to replace the pair with these pretty ceramic pots I bought from the Gandhi Shilp Bazaar

Washed and drying in the sun

Syn-ful dessert

2010-05-06T07:05:00.000+05:30

The choco-tsunami I had for dessert after a wonderful dinner at Syn @ Taj Deccan

Gandhi Shilp Bazaar

2010-05-05T11:21:00.001+05:30

The fountains at the entry

The Exhibition and sale of handicrafts and artistic textiles was organised in the lovely green lawns of the Botanical Gardens in Hyderabad. The stalls were not as many as those seen in some other exhibitions, but it was clearly a case of quality over quantity. The fabrics from various states had around a stall each. My yearning for white Lucknow kurtas to wear in the hot months of the year was fulfilled by this really good Lucknow stall run by husband and wife. I also managed to pick a piece of Banarasi material to stitch a blouse.
The Bandhani (my current love) stall from Gujarat was also one of my favourites - i went looking just like that and the sweet spoken Gujarati lady managed to convince me to buy a saree (!!)
The single Khurja pottery stall spread out on the grass had some lovely designs of mugs, plates, serving plates etc. in vibrant colours.
In short, this was one of the best exhibitions I have attended in recent times - lovely natural green setting, limited stalls, quality products. It's there for another couple of days or so, so do not miss it.

More pictures of the products and stalls here

Gandhi Shilp Bazaar
S.K.V.B.R Botanical Garden
Chirec School Road,
Kothaguda 'X' Road,
Hyderabad

Entry: Free
Parking: Rs.10

Thrilled

2010-05-04T11:02:00.000+05:30

Seeing Atri's fascination for anything in wheels, we decided to buy him a cycle - It was my uncle and aunt's wish that they get him one, when they saw him running after the neighbourhood kids' cycles ;)

This is the one we got him. He refused to get out from this, let alone leave the shop - Now i keep it hidden in some corner of the house as he wants to ride it every waking minute :)

Stepping into the world

2010-05-03T11:40:00.000+05:30

May 3rd, 2010 - A day to remember
My baby's first day in a playgroup - first day away from familiar environs
He didn't turn around to look for me
Found joy in riding the wheely horses
In two hours, felt tired and sleepy - started getting worried looking for Mama - when the attendants called for me :)
Still, a brave two hours for him and me :0

Coffee and conversations

2010-05-02T10:49:00.000+05:30

@ Mocha near our place

The first Mocha in Bombay which started at Bandra was one of our regular haunts to catch up with friends - superb ambience, restored flea market furniture, the smell of coffee in the air and the best apple pie ever - kept taking me back to the place...

The one in Hyd was a poor imitation of the original - their Blueberry Brain freezer shake was good though, apple pie that we brought home to eat for dessert was horrible, no sign of apple - just some crumbled mix as the filling inside a hard crust! If you ever visit this Mocha, stay away from this seasonal 'fruit' pie!

Plans washed out

2010-05-01T10:44:00.002+05:30

Our plans to visit this exhibition were washed out by the showers - which were otherwise most welcome as they cooled up the city so beautifully!

Inside story - Mumbai airport

2010-04-29T12:10:00.001+05:30

The new wing in Mumbai airport where gates A1-6 are, is spacious, well decorated and has a bar, food courts, shops and palm trees - but a sorry state of the so-called 'Baby changing room' (pic on right) really saddened me at the insensitivity shown by the people who manage the airport.

The room was not done at all, just used as a mini-dump and by someone to drink his/her mid morning tea.

The perch

2010-04-28T12:08:00.000+05:30

Atri liked to perch his little bum on the small ledge outside the floor window in my parents' house - only I would worry if he sat with too much force and ended up going out of the glass :) Luckily we were spared of any such drama!

Appa's Kurma

2010-04-27T11:47:00.001+05:30

Appa catches many cookery shows on TV. This time after being considerably inspired by Chef Damu's recipe - he made this Vegetable Kurma for dinner today! I really appreciate how he sourced every single ingredient over two days - chopped all the vegetables patiently to size with his recently recovered fractured hand.
The kurma smelled divine from the fresh whole spices I got home from Munnar and the fresh masala that appa ground for this dish!

Sunny sonny

2010-04-26T11:46:00.000+05:30

My little one getting his dose of vitamin D by the bedroom window!

One of my favourite stores

2010-04-25T11:41:00.000+05:30

Sunday, couple of my good friends travelled to my end of the city so that we could catch up! Even in those couple of hours, we managed to squeeze in some shopping at one of my favourite stores.
Fabindia has now launched a range of kids' furniture and furnishings - I loved this curtain (blue and white) displayed on their window.

Tiffin time - Bajji

2010-04-24T11:37:00.001+05:30

Bajjis (slices of vegetables dipped in batter and fried till golden) would feature on the 4 pm tiffin once in a while on a weekend, when we were kids. Just for nostalgia sake I asked Amma to make Bajji on this Saturday afternoon and she was kind to oblige.
After eating it didn't seem like a good idea - severe summer heat and fried food are really not meant for each other!
In case you want to see how the prepared stuff looked - here's the pic -

Geeta Chithi's Panha

2010-04-23T11:34:00.000+05:30

My chithi always makes this drink from raw mangoes every summer - so when Atri and me would visit her house each evening, I'd ask her if she'd made this already! She was sweet to make this drink while I was still in Bombay and a glass of this prepared with the raw mango concentrate diluted with chilled water and a sprinkling of roasted cumin powder is sheer bliss in summers!

Visiting my dear friend

2010-04-22T11:16:00.006+05:30

Had this plate of chilled watermelon at one of my best friend's place in Bombay. I've spent many hours in her lovely bright living room - surrounded by foliage - and I managed to escape for 8 hours on one day to travel to the other end of the city and spend some time with her! This was my only long outing in my entire trip of three weeks.

A sampling...

2010-04-21T13:26:00.001+05:30

...of the good stuff - my cousin is scheduled to get married this year. The wedding hall, the caterer are to be booked well in advance in today's times. Sometimes, the wedding date is even adjusted to suit the availability of halls and good caterers.
The caterer who is almost shortlisted called us today to sample his offering - and my uncle, aunt and myself landed up to check how good his food was...This was a Kerala style meal for a Keralite wedding and everything tasted superb! I've just come back home an hour ago and I'm taking time out to update this space - you can imagine how tough it is for me to sit up after eating a yelai- saappadu (banana leaf spread) like that :)

Saving the earth

2010-04-20T13:17:00.001+05:30

Compared to most other cities in India, Mumbai is one city where it is easiest to resort to public transport. BEST bus system, which plies all around the city is extremely reliable and safe, and one such bus goes from inside our colony to the station, making life so much easier and preventing all the cars from jamming up the busy area near the train station. It's almost like a personal bus service here. BEST is simply the best.

More about BEST here.

Bandhani

2010-04-19T13:14:00.001+05:30

During college days, I was absolutely in love with this tie and dye fabric from Gujarat. The soft cotton fabric with vibrant colours and delicate designs was just so good! Then having worn too many of them I lost interest.
The suburb where my parents live being a Gujarati stronghold, there are quite a few shops that sell these salwar-kurta-dupatta sets and this is one colour combination I fell in love with - purple and green...
It's going to be perfect to bear the summer heat...provided I get it stitched soon!

Human or statue?

2010-04-18T13:11:00.000+05:30

I've seen statues made to look real like humans. But here, outside this small exhibition hall in the market, it was quite the reverse. A man was painted white, had lights strung all over him and was made to look like a statue welcoming the crowds inside.
I first assumed it was one of those moving statues and I went close to take a proper look, only to see that he was for real :)

Fudge in the making

2010-04-17T13:08:00.000+05:30

I'm quite dreading the weighing machine now. After eating three meals a day for the last ten days, at mom's place, I'm sure I have to go on a strict diet once I'm back home. Luckily the above fudge was not made for me - my aunt was making this to send for my nephew's first birthday in Bangalore. Step wise pics have been taken of this simple paal cake (milk fudge) - hopefully to be posted on the food blog.

Bindis for the Indian beauty

2010-04-16T13:05:00.000+05:30

Found one such exclusive Bindi shop while shopping around the locality - they had the best collection of simple and ornate Bindis and I managed to select quite a few of them.
While you wont always find me sporting one, I love adorning my forehead with these cute spots when I'm wearing a saree or a traditional salwar kameez.

Autorickshaws...

2010-04-15T13:02:00.000+05:30

...are an inseparable part of Mumbai suburbs. What separates them from those that ply in other parts of the country (Bglr, Hyd and Chennai) is that they rarely refuse customers and they ALWAYS go by the meter - it is extremely difficult to find such autos in places mentioned above!
Autos in Mumbai make travel extremely easy and I'm actually enjoying the rides taken in and around where I live!

Open air markets

2010-04-14T12:59:00.000+05:30

Walking around a suburban Mumbai market in the early evening - usually it is bustling with crowds, vendors and autos, but I managed to capture a relatively empty stretch.
After shopping in malls and supermarkets, loitering around these open air markets, haggling with vendors and braving the sun seems like so much fun! My body must be thanking me for the extra dose of Vitamin D.

Swami Atrinanda

2010-04-13T12:38:00.001+05:30

Nothing but Atri cooling off in Mama's tee shirt that is like a flowy robe for him - the yellow colour is what inspired the title :)

Fryday

2010-04-12T09:58:00.000+05:30

While visiting the neighbourhood mall to meet my school friend, I found this new food stall called 'Fryday'. While the name is creative, my only reaction was 'As if we need one more of this!!'

AfterBath

2010-04-11T09:44:00.002+05:30

I am having a breather from giving Atri a bath here as my mom has taken over that chore - S would take over the duty off and on at home. It's not the bathing that's difficult but the drying up and getting him ready...This is a sample of Atri's after bath expression!

Family gathering

2010-04-10T09:35:00.009+05:30

The theme this week is turning out to be 'Family' - since I'm here till end of the month, I'll quickly have to find some new themes / subjects :)

Atri with his aunts

Ready for the groom

2010-04-09T09:29:00.001+05:30

These decked up horses were all set to give the groom a ride in our colony.

A sigh of relief

2010-04-08T09:21:00.002+05:30

It was the first time that Atri and me were traveling by ourselves - so far S and me would alternate Atri-handling duties on the flight taking time to relax in between - I was all stressed out as to how I'd manage him by myself.

In the end all my worrying happened to be in vain, as I had the best flight ever with baby! After all the running around he'd done for an hour in the lounge, he was ready to sleep as soon as he had some milk on board - I managed to catch up on some reading with some freshly brewed ginger tea..bliss...

Just looking

2010-04-07T09:15:00.000+05:30

The whole of 7th went by in packing up for the long trip to Bombay, so I just did not get a chance to even get my hands on the camera - so I'm posting a pic from the 8th where Atri was at his animated best in the airport lounge - the large bay windows overlooking the hangar held his attention for a little over a few seconds, which is a lot for me :)

Siri's Wedding

2010-04-06T09:04:00.002+05:30

Siri was sweet to invite Arundati and me for her wedding - we attended the wedding reception in traditional sarees, jewelery and big bindis - it was fun getting ready for the occasion of a fellow foodblogger's wedding :)

As Arundati has already posted, the bride and groom looked lovely in their finery and the food was yummy!
And hey a wedding to attend finally prompted the lazy me to get new blouses stitched...

Kerala Day 7 - Teapot tearoom

2010-04-05T12:48:00.000+05:30

Enroute to Jew Town on the morning of our last day in Kochi, we stopped by this quaint cafe, which true to its name, holds some hundreds of teapots in different colours, shapes, sizes and material.
As if that was not enough, the tables were old tea cases, there were sketches of teapots and teacups on the walls, old photos and pictures from tea estates - and for a tea lover like me it was heaven.

Teapot
Peter Celli Street, Fort Cochin
Kochi, Kerala 682001
0484 2218035

More about this place in The Hindu

Kerala Day 6 : Fort Kochi again - Brunton Boatyard

2010-04-04T10:46:00.001+05:30

Another one of those hotels done up with a colonial air about it - right from the Armoury Bar to the terracotta tiled reception, the Burma teak furniture to the antique accents, I was absolutely in love with this place. With a bent for bright colours in decor, I was surprised that I loved these earthy colours so much - I felt transported to another time. I loved the little eco friendly touches around the place like the small mul hankies kept in the washrooms to dry hands instead of using paper or electric blowers.

Another highlight of Day 6 was a Kerala sadya on banana leaf at this place Sarovaram in Kochi - I absolutely enjoyed the food there, possibly the best meal for me in the entire trip. If you are in Kochi, do not - i repeat do not miss an opportunity to have a meal here.

Resources:
Brunton Boatyard
BTH Sarovaram

Kerala Day 5 - Houseboat Cruise

2010-04-03T11:06:00.002+05:30

Day 5, we left Munnar early in the morning, driving down the hills to Kumarakom - which was a four hour drive. With a frisky toddler, a four hour drive can easily seem like an eight hour drive, you know what I'm talking about!

The temperature difference from the hills to the plains was a bit too much to take, especially after we were spoilt for the last few days by some crisp chilly mountain air.

The backwaters were as lovely as I'd seen them in pictures - just that making sure Atri didn't try any adventure sports jumping out of the boat kept me busy enough not to enjoy much of the scenic beauty. The extreme humidity and heat was also a big deterrent in making this an enjoyable experience for me.

We were served some good Kerala vegetarian fare by the in-house chef and the AC on full blast managed to help us get a good night's sleep - apart from the two hours that Atri decided to stay awake in the middle. I don't blame him though - given that he was being subjected to sleep in a new bed in new surroundings every day, he was behaving as best as he could!

Kerala Day 4 - Munnar Post Office

2010-04-02T11:01:00.000+05:30

The best thing about Munnar town apart from the spice and tea shops was this beautiful post office. Its board was garlanded by these vibrant bougainvilleas, and there was no way I was leaving the place without capturing its beauty.

This was our last day in Munnar and I went around the town for some last minute purchases in the Kannan Devan outlet - the High Range brand Strawberry Preserve is to die for.

Kerala Day 3 - Driving around Munnar

2010-04-01T10:53:00.002+05:30

Whenever I hear the word Munnar - it will always bring back memories of crisp cool mountain air, miles and miles of tea plantations, shiny silver oaks, tall eucalyptus trees and winding roads.

The tea lover in me was at peace here - three days of bliss - driving around to the various points, tea stores, tea museums, spice plantations - life seemed just perfect. The light showers that came down each afternoon was the ultimate gift of nature - cooling the air and releasing the fragrance from the fertile soil.

The 20 km drive from the resort to the town was hardly anything to complain about, when we could enjoy scenes like this on the way!

Kerala Day 2 - Cochin Club

2010-03-31T10:46:00.000+05:30

I woke up bright and early in the morning - went exploring the premises where we stayed the night. The Cochin Club is over a century old. The rooms are beautiful with colonial furniture and the complimentary breakfast was served in style in their dining room. The yellow walls with the tiled roofs bathed by the morning sun, the birds singing their morning songs, the salty breeze from the ocean outside the window, made it one of the most beautiful mornings I had seen in a long long time.
We highly recommend that you book yourself into this charming piece of history on your trip to Fort Kochi - you'll love it!

My only regret was we barely stayed in here for 12 hours as we started our drive to Munnar at 9 am on Day 2.

The Cochin Club
St. Francis Church Road,
Fort Cochin,
Cochin - 682 001. Kerala, INDIA.
Ph:91-484-2215140
Ph:91-484-6598994
Ph:91-484-2216211
Email:cochinclub@sify.com

Kerala Day 1 - Dinner at Fort Kochi

2010-03-30T10:34:00.016+05:30

We left Hyderabad late afternoon on the 30th, and airports in both Hyderabad as well as Kochi are located quite a distance from the main residential areas - so we reached Fort Kochi around 8 pm - checked ourselves into the Cochin Club and headed out to Malabar House for dinner at their fine dining restaurant, Malabar Junction. The eco friendly decor and the old world ambience coupled with the small lamps hanging from the frangipani trees more than made up for the humidity.

Their menu was made up of Kerala fusion cuisine, which was a new taste for us.

The Malabar House
Malabar Junction - The restaurant
Fort Cochin
1/268 – 1/269 Parade Road
Fort Cochin 682001
Kerala
India
Tel: 0091 484 2216666 / Fax: 0091 484 2217777

Cuddles

2010-03-28T17:53:00.001+05:30

Lots of them...before leaving him with the baby sitter for a Sunday evening out with the hubby and the visiting bro in law :)

[Self photograph, inspired by Sig]

3 Foodies

2010-03-27T17:46:00.000+05:30

the 3 foodies in question are Arundati, Siri and yours truly
Siri is in her home-city to get married and she took time off her busy schedule to meet her fellow Hyderabad food bloggers!

Landmark

2010-03-26T05:43:00.000+05:30

One of the best places to shop for books, music, movie, gifts, toys, stationary and yes, they even have a lot of kitchen stuff and gadgets!
Only that my kid gets all hyper looking at the colours and stuff around, wanting to jump off from my arms and do his 'demolition man' act - so unless I come here by myself, it's a 'get in-pick up what i want - get out' thing!
Hoping to do one long browsing session across the three floors soon.

Streaming sunlight

2010-03-25T12:00:00.001+05:30

With the fragrance of the ready frankincense cones in the air, the sunlight came streaming in this morning - although the heat was more than what we could handle, it paints a cozy picture of a weekday morning at home.

Polished...

2010-03-24T22:00:00.002+05:30

...the little silver glasses to drink chilled Panakam on Sri Rama Navami

Ginger

2010-03-23T11:51:00.000+05:30

This neighbourhood fat cat that sometimes manages to catch Atri's interest was sitting right outside my balcony today

Shrunk

2010-03-22T23:55:00.000+05:30

Juicy tomatoes tossed with garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil
Baked for 20 minutes at 200 C

Weekend outing

2010-03-21T21:04:00.000+05:30

Sunset behind the Buddha statue in the middle of the Hussain Sagar Lake
Lumbini Park, Hyderabad
Boat takes you to the statue area where you are allowed ten minutes to go around and it takes you back to the park
Had a fun evening out
One of the kid-friendly outings in the city

A close up of Lord Buddha's serene face

Information about the statue (click on the pic to read)

The search is on...

2010-03-20T11:03:00.003+05:30

...for a place where Atri can meet kids of his age to play with!
The things our parents did not have to do...
No kids of Atri's age in the vicinity :(

An unusual vase

2010-03-19T11:00:00.000+05:30

In the lake in the middle of Vengalarao Park

Juicy babies

2010-03-18T16:18:00.000+05:30

Found these baby tomatoes in a bag mixed with some of their yellow friends (see below) - couldn't resist bringing them home - now to figure what to do with them - any suggestions?

Nonbu adai

2010-03-17T16:14:00.003+05:30

Savoury and sweet Nonbu Adai typically made for Karadayan Nonbu - my cousin made it when I was in Bglr for the festival, so I tried replicating it when I got back home. They made a perfect light dinner - the sweet ones are had with white butter which we did not have at home, so we were kinda saved :)

Basant rani

2010-03-16T21:23:00.000+05:30

Tabebuia rosea in full bloom on the sidewalks of Bangalore
Highlight of my visit this time
Saw these trees almost everywhere
Also called the Pink trumpet tree
Same featured in another post - Flower Shower

The tree upon the roof

2010-03-15T21:23:00.000+05:30

The view from the window of my friend's house on Osborne Road - old time Bangalore homes on canopy covered lanes
Loved this huge tree covering the tiled roof

Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

2010-03-14T21:07:00.007+05:30

After having heard so much about this legendary eatery, I finally got a chance to taste their food. Luckily for me, they have opened a branch in a nearby mall, so we did not have to travel too much.

We tried their idli-sambar, rava dosa, masala dosa, chow-chow baath, baadam milk and coffee between the four of us (Atri included) - and every single thing tasted absolutely wonderful. Their sambar was to die for - no trace of sweetener like how we find it in most cities.

Packed...

2010-03-13T05:45:00.000+05:30

...and ready to leave on a small holiday.

Tiffin time

2010-03-12T05:41:00.000+05:30

When we passed one of the branches of the famous Minerva Coffee Shop, we had to step in. Pesarattu, Chole Bhature and filter coffee downed, needless to say that made an early supper for us.

P.S.
To the two guys who got captured in the frame by default, sorry!

Flower shower

2010-03-11T16:09:00.002+05:30

A most amazing sight lay in wait for us at the park this evening...gentle breeze bringing down showers of these light pink flowers that nearly covered the grass all over...as usual I had my toddler in my arms, so couldn't take a picture of the flower showers, but managed this shot as a remembrance of the pleasant evening we had. Another pic of the fallen flowers on the walk-way - any idea what tree this could be? Is this by any chance the Tabebuia impetiginosa?
Updated on 16/03/10
Enlightened from my visit to Bangalore, this tree is Tabebuia rosea / basant rani / pink trumpet tree

A letter from Amma

2010-03-10T16:02:00.001+05:30

Receiving a hand-written letter from my mom brought me such happiness this morning - the main intent of the post was to send me 'sharadu' for Karadayan Nonbu - so she decided to send me a letter with some loving words and the recipe for Nonbu adai.
An informative post on this festival on the Hindu Devotional Blog

Have a...

2010-03-09T15:59:00.008+05:30

100% Multivitamin juice :)

Soaking up the sun

2010-03-08T14:05:00.002+05:30

Manisha's No oil Lemon pickle

Updated with another pic -

Lotus Pond

2010-03-07T23:00:00.001+05:30

This pond in a cement tank of a local temple made a pretty sight - I remembered such lotuses that I saw a few years ago in KL's Orchid Park - would have loved a close-up, but this is all I could capture on my zoom.

Hangout

2010-03-06T14:34:00.000+05:30

We've been having a gala time with our friend from Bombay and we went searching for an ice cream early in the evening. This place called Oranges N Lemons had caught my attention for its bright and spacious interiors on one of my drives and we took off in search of this.
Sadly they didn't have much of a variety on ice creams, but the long juices and shakes menu, with interesting bye-lines more than made up for that. The three of us made ample fun of their descriptions and laughed hard. The had most of the board games stacked up for people who wanted to play, wi-fi for the facebook addicts :) - not having too much time on hand, we played a game of Snakes and Ladders - and we laughed so much, we had forgotten how much fun this game was, especially when your opponents come down long snakes :)
Over-all the evening was great fun!

A nice weekend

2010-03-05T08:03:00.000+05:30

Enjoying the Friday with a nice cup of mid morning lemongrass tea
I don't find lemongrass or chai patti in Hyderabad as easily as I'd find them in Bombay, so managed to find some bulbs in Ruci & Idoni - kept them in a jar of water for a few days and planted them - now a couple of snips & they brighten up my mornings with their fresh flavour :)

Bought a set of three orange plastic strainers from Hypercity - love their cheery colours :)

This is turning out to be a fun weekend as we have a friend who engages us with great conversations staying over with us :)

Anything goes

2010-03-04T14:37:00.001+05:30

I remember that a few years ago, a law was passed in Mumbai that all license plates should have uniform fonts and they be in English, not that too many followed the rule. But here in Hyd, everyday I am amazed by the funny (illegal) license plates I spot in front of our car. The commonest rule breaker being - replacing the AP with TG - initially I even tried to figure if that was an abbreviation for any other Indian state I couldn't remember - after a while realised it was the yet-to-be-formed state Telangana and no traffic cop dare stop such a car with illegal license plates!

Yesterday was another crazy license plate spotting - writing 8055 as BOSS, while it is creative, i'd rather people left their creativity to do better jobs that trying stunts with official stuff like car license plates!

Pretty homes

2010-03-03T14:30:00.011+05:30

One would think these cottages are in some kind of holiday resort - but they are bang in the middle of Banjara Hills - went visiting a friend in this campus and these stone-brick houses with the glorious golden tabaebuias (thank you d) had to be my pic of the day.

A close-up of the trees

Heya!

2010-03-02T20:34:00.002+05:30

Finally, a movie in the movie hall - after 16 months

After singing along, dancing along to the fabulous music of Karthik Calling Karthik, I finally got to see the movie - breaking my movie hall exile!

Am so excited that I had to share this right away...

Rediscovering the simple pleasures of life sure feels good

Farhan Akhtar - I'm sure you know it, but you are superb!

First day of spring

2010-03-01T13:06:00.000+05:30

Liked the colours of this climber growing wild in my friend's compound, so brought a cutting home and stuck it in an empty wine bottle, not knowing if it will shoot and after almost ten days of sitting in water, shoot it did - I was just happy to spot a new little green shoot on the first day of spring.

Here's a shot of the whole thing...

General bazaar for just about everything

2010-02-28T13:30:00.005+05:30

Atri and me visited this famous lane near MG Road which sells just about everything, in old fashioned shops. After some heavy duty exposure to mall culture, this felt so refreshing. Except that it was after noon and the sun was on our heads - I came here accompanying my aunt who wanted to get some shopping done here. I bought a box of the ready frankincense burning blocks, which luckily was in a shop right at the entrance of the lane, so I didn't have to walk much lugging Atri along. I intend to come here for some leisurely exploring and more colourful photos when my little one stays home with the hubby.

It's a pretty crowded narrow lane, so this picture was all I could manage as my son would keep trying to pull the camera while I tried hard to focus ;)

Edited to add another pic - showing some of the shops mentioned in the comments

6 AM coffee

2010-02-27T23:55:00.002+05:30

Saturday morning
Woke up around 6 AM
Waited for milkman to bring in the milk
Had kept decoction ready last night
Fresh milk, fresh decoction, 1 spoon sugar - lots of 'norai' (froth)
Served in steel tumbler
My favourite way to drink coffee

Taken in natural light from the kitchen window