FOOD : Break.. fast : Methi'de Paranthe

So its Methi Parathas,,, the 'greek hay' is supposed be more of a herb than just a green veggie!! People at home are sooo fond of this that they swear by it and can vouch for its taste! :-)

so here it goes, im giving you 2 ways of doing it, so pick your choice


01. methi leaves, cut finely, 1 cup curd, garlic and ginger pounded, 1 green chilly finely cut, coriander leaves finely cut
mix all of this with the flour, (add a little maida if u like it) and make a dough. (Keep a watch on the water that you add, cause the curd is already in there) Add the curd, it gives a nice, soft and a rich taste to these parathas. Roll it out and shallow fry.

02. methi leaves, finely cut onions, garlic and ginger, green chilli, red chilli powder, jeera, coriander powder, haldi, kasuri methi, and butter
take some butter in the kadai and fry all of the above (garlic and ginger, green chilli, jeera go in first) and make a sabji.
Mix this with the flour and make a dough. Roll it out and Shallow fry.
Best with a dollop of butter and some chutney

PENNED DOWN : Dandiya Raas

The time of the year i always wait for :-) Navarathri..I just love this festival. I dont really celebrate Navarathri, but i make it a point to attend the Dandiya Raas, where ever and with who ever. Dance, I believe runs through my blood, its my stressbuster.

Palace Grounds was the venue... its soo surprising how the Gujju community comes together for this festival. I havent seen our own community people gathering up to celebrate something, ever. I mean, it was soo magnetic.

There were people from all age groups. Little tots to the teeth shivering mature crowd, all clothed in multihues, and adorned with jewellery. The color palette was large... there were a million shades in every other color. My soul was dyed with all the colors. and then there was music, which was scintillating. The very sound of the drums would put ur legs to shake and body to swing. I just couldnt wait for them to announce the time of the dandiya-raas. and when it did, woahhh.. the Crowd couldnt hold onto their own soul and mind. each individual had his own style of dance... For me, Dance is my Divinity.

as Albert Einstein said 'Dancers are the Athletes fo God!!'

The magical rhythm of the drums, with the alternate tapping of the sticks, the Gujju songs, and the echoes of the ghungroos, was mesmerising. The crowd never seemed to get tired at all. Swaps between Garba and Dandiya were constantly seen. But i must admit, it is the Garba which is more tiring than the Dandiya. The music took off with the moderate Pace, and after every 45 min, the speed would increase, and so would be the energy of the dancers. The vigor and the verve were on a constant rise, and after more than 2 hours of dance, we were given a break. We decided to head out, Had i stayed there for another 2 hours, i would have also managed to see the sunrise!!

whatta night to remember.. a night i wait for every year!

PENNED DOWN : The journey

I fondly remember the time last year, when i was walking in paradise. This year, lots of memories are flashing across.. A country where autumn is at its peak, winters are frozen and summers are invincible


I wish Iwere a bird, flying in the sky,
To seek the Blessed Land
Trees reaching the blues, Leaves dancing with grace,
Sunshine spreading its Blanket and everything seems Grand..


As August draws closer, the leaves turn towards death,
But celebrate their life, til their last breath
Before they fall to the etched iciness
And come back to life again with all the happiness..


Each leaf beings to seem like a petal,
the Wine Reds, the Papaya Oranges
the Lemon Yellows, the Lava Gold,
All seem to have burst out in climax...


All of it will be shortlived
Soon it will be time to walk over the wilted leaves
The earth will turn into a montage of Hues
The cold Winds will blow everything away
Life would go into hibernation, till again
Everything would like a painting and Summer would make its way...


~Divya Hegde

PENNED DOWN : The Sea Deep Dew Drop

The day passes by and the night comes,

The night calls out for you..

She flies across the sky spreading the shine

And the stars line up the que.

Standing in the frosty skies,

Drowning in her miseries,

Holding her tears back,

Oh Angel, Let it all go...

And the morning comes,

The grass is flooded with dew

Hiding a sea of Grief

The morning Glory Shines,

and the angel continues to whine

Oh Angel, let it all go

The dew rests on the blade

Hiding from the sun, Seeking some shade,

Wants to dance under the blue skies,

It has to slip away, no matter how much it tries.

Through the sunrise to sunset

Her eyes still remain wet,

The darkness fills the sky,

Yet again Tear drops fall, I wonder why !!

-Divya Hegde

FOOD : ooSSome Gravies : Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is such a popular dish in India, but did you know that Palak/Spinach was of Persian origin and woz the first ever frozen vegetable!! I love spinach, cause its soo versatile, you could just stuff it in Bread, or make soups out of it, Salads, Pastas, Parathas, make Rice/Pilafs, grind it and use it a base anywhere, or simply take a broad leaf of spinach and deep fry with Besan/Gram Flour till crisp.. or even simpler,,, saute it with butter and Brocolli

So this is my way of making Palak Paneer.. for 2 people.. you will need

01. 2-3 spinach bunch boiled

02. cut cubes of Paneer and lightly fry them on both sides in a flat pan/any pan (flat pan will give u the advantage of letting each paneer cube turn light gold and the shape stays intact, otherwise they all get mixed up)

03. in a pan, fry onion (Medium sized 1/2), chop the remaining half finely and keep aside, 1 small tomato, 6-7 pods of garlic, small piece of ginger, 1 clove, 2 green chillies, 7-8 cashewnuts, a little Cumin.

once both 01 and 3have cooled down, grind them in a blender till a fine paste.

- take some oil in a pan (even better would be some butter!! ) fry the finely chopped onions, add the Palak base, throw in the Paneer, add salt, give it a light mix and one boil. In the end, if you have some cream, then spoon in some. I personally like the fresh cream of milk.

Yummy with some Hot Phulkas.. Keep the count tho! :-)