Social Media & Antara!!

Social media is the only thing that is constant these days. And its a wonderful platform to meet and connect with individuals of similar interest. Now that I am busy writing this series upon depression, these social mediums suddenly gained more importance in my eye than ever. Its actually a great way to meet and interact with new people, controlling all the information that you would like to give or take. Blogging helps too, but Microblogging through your twitter Instagram and Facebook profiles are far easier and better. So, if you havent already, do subscribe onto my profiles to get many foodie updates. Feeling doubtful? Then check what all happened up there while you were not following me (and doubting me.. Sob* Sob*)...

To start with, lets start with this picture where I finished a whole handi of delectable biryani with the serving spoon.... Really I was that hungry!!!

And then the biggest #breakfaststories over a plate of Mushroom and cheese omlette and a potato hash tikki. 

And then the cheesy quesadilla or 

This spicy pickle of Bhut Jhalokia, which very sadly is missing out of my kitchen and I am desperately trying to find another one.... 

So you get the point right? There is a lot happening up there. Do LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW me on -

Twitter- AntaraZandC

Instagram- AntaraZandC

Facebook- Zouqh, the Taste of Being.

Equality & A Dinner Plate!!

Equality is a difficult thing to achieve in life. I almost always feel it’s utopian in nature. This month the new government celebrated #SaalEkShuruaatAnek on social media. I personally got 2 messages from our tech savvy Prime Minister’s office. Won’t lie, it did feel nice to see my name and his signature on a virtual piece of paper. But between all this shuruaat, have we got the basics right? Basics of equality, have we even got it in our heads right. I am not talking about the villages here. I am a hard-core urban girl, born and brought up in big capital cities. My family comes from a background of scientific research and education; and yet I don’t see an iota of equality anywhere I look around. Its saddening when I see a new age, educated couple not celebrating their first born girl child’s rice ceremony, but goes all out ga ga in celebrating their 2^nd born son’s special day, with gifts of silver showered on guests. It’s saddening to see an MNC employee trying for a 3^rd child after 2 daughters. It’s saddening to see a family break down over ego clashes where a wrongdoer doesn’t want to accept his mistake, as he is the first born son who wasn’t taught to be humble to his baby sister. These are the problems that plague the Indian society of today. Somewhere our education system has failed miserably, and there is no two ways about it.  When I look at my toddler, I see a new generation coming up. They need to know the truth, the bad and the ugly; so that in future they understand the “Right”.

Being equal is a right. And a right that has to be applied well. I can’t help but be saddened at whatever is happening to the girls around me. But, I can and I will preach and try to drill into you the importance of equality in your daily diet.

“When equality is found between food intake (calories taken in to the body) and physical exercise (caloric expenditure) a maintaining of body weight occurs.” Sourced

Equality doesn’t have to be socio-political in nature. In fact at times we need to be more open to the word than not. It’s a balance that we seek between all aspects of life. And food stands first on the order as that is what makes or breaks your health. Remember, we were taught health is your greatest wealth in life!

Personally I believe in keeping an equal balance between all nutritional content of my family's intake- carbohydrates, protein and fibres. But I know, at times it’s a difficult thing to achieve and that’s why I have a few pointers to help you out with. When you are out travelling on work for a month or so, or when you are constantly too busy to cook a healthy meal for yourself, it is these times of constraints when you need to practice the following points. Trust me, I write with experience. Recently I stayed 3.5 months in a hotel, and it was then that I came up with this plan for myself. I did not gain any weight, in fact lost some. But that didn’t mean I didn’t have calorie rich spaghetti in cream sauce with extra bacon on the side. Or my favorite biryani with a rich gravy. And I even got the chefs to make bong style cocktail samosa/shingara. I devoured it all with many glasses of wine, vodka and even some scotch. So you get the picture. I ate a lot, but intelligently so. And I want you to do the same as well.

1. The first on your list is to make sure u eat every 2 hours without fail, equally dividing your food intake throughout the day. Get a small jar full of walnuts, almonds and raisins. Munch on a handful of these once every day. I used to get the hotel staff to send in some nuts right in the morning with breakfast. It was the best way to ensure my family gets a handful of nutrition every now and then.
2. Soups are your best friend. Experiment with new kinds every now and then. Try to stay away from the cream soups. But if you absolutely have to have it, then have it as a full meal. I used to order a clear soup every evening at 8pm. It was to fill me up enough so that by 10 pm, when I sit for dinner I don’t over indulge.
3. Make sure that one of your meal is light and steamed at least in 2 days. Idly is my first choice, but a Chinese style steamed fish is great too.
4. Now comes the balance part of it. All your meals have to have equality in it. For a grown up sedentary life, you don’t really need a lot of carbohydrates, especially if you like to indulge in sweets now and then. So equality doesn’t mean equal amounts of every category, but that you need a good balance which should equal to your capability of spending it all. If you sit for longish periods of time, then all you need is food that burns down itself. A salad with a light vinaigrette or sprouts salad with every meal would do it. As a tip always have the salad first. When you are hungry, even the most tasteless of the lot will look as delectable as biryani. Tricking your mind into believing this would lead to a thankful body. And if you are too lazy in making a salad, then have 2 heaped spoon full of Isabgol- Fibre supplement. It would help as well, though it’s not as tasty as a salad maybe, but it would keep u at the right track.
5. Instead of rice or brown rice which is quite tasteless to me, have daliya no 4. Its long grain broken wheat, which goes wonderfully well with any curry of your choice. Some hotels give out the option to customize menus, especially when they know you are giving them revenue for a month. Use that to let them get a pack for you to have for the stay. And do the same in your house too. Replace rice from your daily diet, and have the healthier whole version of grains instead. This small step will lead you to a long step towards healthy balanced eating.
6. Now let’s tackle the bar. Here the equality is of the utmost importance. Equality between the liquor consumed and water taken during a period of time is really the key to be sane while drunk, and especially if you are prone to severe hangover. No one really likes to drink water midway having a drink. And I hear you, I myself don’t like it much. But, before you start drinking, have 2 glasses straight of water. Hear me out, hear me out. I am telling you it works! Have 2 glasses of water just before you start to have your drinks. And then there is no stopping you. To have more flavor as well as more water, take a lot of ice along with your drinks. Trust me that helps too. I at times have wine on rocks. I love it because it keeps my drink really cold and mellow at the same time. But it’s my taste and a lot of you might not even like to try it. So don’t! But have that couple of glasses of water before you start. You will definitely thank me the next morning.
7. Make your breakfast the biggest meal of your day. It should start with a bowl full of fruits but can end with anything really. Even a pc of cake had in breakfast would be much easily digested than a chapatti in dinner. So indulge as much as you want in the breakfast. Pancakes are my favourite indulgence. What’s yours?
8. Don’t get overly bitten by the WHOLEWHEAT bug. Trust me if the packet of your cookie or pasta tell you it’s whole-wheat, doesn’t mean it really is. It might just be 30% and rest be gluten rich all purpose flour mixed with many other preservatives and stabilizers and other artificial stuff. Instead eat your pasta at times but eat the real stuff. And have a big portion of salad with it. Trust me tats the only thing that will work.

Being equal in your perspective towards life is a good thing. A practice that will lead you up in your life. Socio politically, I really can’t do much. I can’t go up to those guys on the erring side and make them understand their deed. They are pretty much incorrigible in nature, and feel no guilt as they have absolved themselves off the wrong they committed. But I am more concerned about your plate of food instead. Maintaining an equality in what you eat and don’t, will really go a long way in keeping you away from health disorders. Even if one person feels and practices these little pointers mentioned up on the note, I will deem this article to be extremely successful.

Do let me know in a comment below how you keep your family healthy. Its always a pleasure to read your thoughts! Cheers!! 

Attention! Attention! Attention!

Its been a long time since I took to my screen. Had been really busy in setting up a new home in a new city. It is a tedious thing to set up everything from scratch. And all I have been doing is that, personally and professionally. So, in that regards, here I am announcing a few things I have been working on these past few months.

I have started writing for 2 new publications. Both of these e-magazines are wonderful reads and I would love for you to go through it on a daily basis.

Smart Indian Women- http://www.smartindianwomen.com/

And

Squapl- http://www.squapl.com


Along with that, I have also dabbled onto restaurant consulting, about which you would keep reading. Soon we will start a journey to find the perfect blend of tea to go with my ever so popular Multi-Grain Poha Cookies, recipe of which has been bought over by a reputed tea dealer in Delhi. And then we will go on a hunt to find the best street food in Kolkata. There are many such interesting projects lined up, and I intend to make all of you a part of it as well. I will keep documenting all that happens to me here, and I hope to keep receiving encouragements/suggestions from you. 

Cheers!!

Sri Lankan Travel Diaries- 2015!

I have shifted finally!! Months of planning and plotting later, here I am sitting with a cup of tea in front of a huge window overlooking the urban maze of Gurgaon. It’s a nice, quaint little place, but I don’t know how long would it take for me to embrace it as home. As I sit, relax and ponder about it; let me get you guys to see what I had been upto all these days, one meal at a time!

If you don’t follow me on Twitter and Instagram- AntaraZandC; you should do it right away. I had been out travelling on a road trip all around Sri Lanka, and had posted up some awesome pics that you must have missed then. I will put across a few of the highlights here and take you with me on the journey of this mythical land of masks and spices. But for future reference, do remember to click on the elusive 'follow' button on both my profiles so that you are always updated about my foodie journey! And on Facebook, you may follow the link here to like!

Sri Lanka is this clean tropical island, which took my breath out. Though people didn’t look much different than us Indians, the roads and buildings surely did. Spick and span- without a single upturned garbage can or a pothole on the road. It was truly a revelation when I realised that Indians are a class apart, even from our next door neighbours!! And that my friends, was a really unhappy thought of sorts!

Sri lankan food is quite a tasty combination of south Indian dishes, dashed with Ceylon spices. And mind you, the spices impart a really different flavour in itself! Their spices, unlike the ones of our country, is much mellow and sweeter in taste. The cinnamon really stands out, followed closely by cinnamon leaf and long cloves. However, I find the pepper and other spices better with a stronger aroma, wherein the Indian cousins should be preferred.

To start our photographic journey, we landed in Colombo with this awesome sunset, that we enjoyed while sipping through a refreshing cuppa of Ceylon tea.

Fresh and energised we left for Kandy (tea district), stopping midway to enjoy a late evening snack of Egg Hoppers, Kuttu Roti with Chicken and Sri Lankan coffee at the quaint little place called- Ceylon Hotels Corporation. This eatery falls on the way to the tea district. 

 The dinner was special. The romantic setting of Mount Havana was perfect for a moonlit, candle light dinner. And the food was equally enticing. Fresh Rawas grilled and a Sri Lankan Chicken Curry served with Rice. Pics follow...

The pretty setting!!

Sri Lankan Chicken with Rice

Rawas perfectly Grilled!

All in all, I have enjoyed pretty much all my meals down there. Their breakfast constitutes of a very spicy mutton stew called Elumas Curry and Kiri Bhat (thick glutinous rice cooked with milk). It seemed a weird combination, but tasted quite a thing of delight!

The Lunch thali looked quite similar to our Indian ones. Fried Poppadums always took a place of pride on the plate, surrounded with pork, vegetable and dal dishes.

A lunch thali, finished with Chutney and Poppadums. 

 The desserts definitely fail to impress. Somehow the ice creams I ate were all too frosty and a bit too sweet for my liking...

Frosty tamarind ice cream with Watalappam, a Sri Lankan dessert pudding made with jaggery and coconut milk.

Frosty chocolate icecream served with super sweet strawberry compote!

But all the sadness is quickly forgotten when you see this while travelling around the island. The beautiful, serene pics without any filter...

A village road, without a single pothole!

And the most pretty and serene Sunsets!

The Ceylon spices and the tea are a major shopping attractions!

And I couldn't help but lug back a load of these awesome treats for back home! 

The Most famous Ceylon Cinnamon!

Some delectable Ceylon tea!

Another major shopping attraction for me up there was fine bone china and porcelain tablewares, by Noritake. Noritake is one of the most famous companies which has a factory down in Sri Lanka, and yours truly lugged back two pretty tea sets from their certified showroom.

Another major point I noticed was the influence of Japanese cuisine on Colombo restaurants. I had the most beautiful sushi up there, coupled with these awesome Sake based cocktails at Taj Samudra, Colombo.

And a beautiful contemporary Sri Lankan meal at Kelma Sutra, about which there is a lot to write and say...

But hands down, the best meal that I had up in Sri lanka, is the one I had in Ministry of Crabs. I returned back with a huge foodie crush on Darshana Munidas (the chef and the owner), and his take on the fusion Sri Lankan fare that he wants to popularise! 

All in all, a must visit for every foodie looking for a relaxing holiday. The little island has clean big mountains and pristine beaches. Be assured you would lug a heavy tan and a brand new palette back from that country! Cheers!!

Paired- Cocktails & Malvani Food Festival

Husband has been out travelling weeks long at a stretch. Complaining about the rich hotel food. At least quality was a check in the 5 star property, but even the diet food would contain huge amounts of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. How much can a 30 something take in on a daily basis?

I start this article with a lot of personal rant. It’s no fun keeping away from home and home cooked fresh simple food. We realised it the hard way! And then, Sofitel decided to do something about it. It created a menu for the very first time that was curated by 2 homemakers, to be served in the Pondicherry café. I figured, it couldn’t have come in a better time as this. Being one of the two luxury hotels situated in a busy business park; it was a great initiative. It made perfect sense in my head as this would mean 2 things- foreign guests would be fortunate enough to taste authentic Indian food, while the Indian guests missing ghar ka khana would be able to taste that as well. I am all in for this concept by a business hotel of this virtue. And I hope many more such hotels; especially the one my husband has perched himself in, should as well.

I went on a busy Saturday of the Malvani Food Festival, and saw a jam packed café. The ladies who curated the menu were sweet, polite and quite proud of their achievement. The smiling chef who got this idea and helped them with this rather impressive feat was beside himself with joy. The food was done exactly as the ladies liked; and after tasting, I knew they liked their vegetables more than the meats. It was simple yet hot and rather tasty. All in all a great evening spent.

But I went there with an agenda. To find the perfect pairing cocktail to the awesome malvani spread that we ate. The newly appointed star sommelier, Sagar Nath; took it as a challenge, and devised three perfect cocktails for the evening which went awesome with the spicy fare as the malvani food boasts of. He kept the flavours clean, sweet and spicy together. These drinks will go very well with any of our Indian cuisines, especially the dishes with heavy amounts of coconut and spices.

Pineapple-Velchi Martini

45 ml ketel one (vodka)

3 pcs of cardamom crushed

10 to 12 fresh pineapple pieces

Muddle the crushed cardamom and pineapple well. Top it with ice and shake well.

Pour the vodka in a chilled rimmed martini glass. Double strain the muddled mix in the glass.

Stir and serve!

Was perfectly paired with the spicy vegetarian food that was served. The cardamom (velchi) was a wonderful addition and complimented the flavours of the food well. And the addition of sweet pineapple cut down on the hot quotient of the food pretty well. This cocktail would pair well with Punjabi hot tandoori kababs or spicy goan sausages as well.

Rum Zuniper

45 ml Dark Rum

15 ml Amaretto

10 ml Simple Syrup

15 ml fresh lime

1 hot green chilly slit, depending on the hotness-the seeds could be removed.

Muddle half the chilly in a shaker and add all the rest of the ingredients in.

Shake well and serve on the rocks, decorated with the other half of the chilly.

This goes well with Puri/Wade/Luchi and red meat curry; a combination that Indians love from the bottom of their hearts. It’s a warm hearty drink on ice, served to chill your palettes. The sweetness can be adjusted according to taste.

Espresso shots

1 shot of espresso coffee

45 ml Gin

15 ml chocolate syrup

Put all things in a shaker full of ice, and shake it well.  

Serve in a chilled sherry glass.

What a perfect way to end your rather heavy and spicy Indian dinner. Who could have thought gin could be transformed into a liqueur so well.

All these cocktails would be a great addition to your Indian themed Christmas parties. Cheers!!

Holiday In Style- Nikko Bali Resort and Spa

Living in style is for a select few, but holidaying in style is for everyone.

Living in style is decided by your bank balance, but holidaying in style is decided by your will power.

So here I go with a series of “perfect holiday of style” reviews and/or ideas… Very important to note that the views captured here are of a foodie traveler, always in search of a perfectly romantic setting; in a comfortable, yet restrained budget of an upper- Middle class couple. Hope you enjoy the journey here in…

Place: Bali is wonderfully touristy! It’s got sea, greenery, an active volcano and a vibrant culture full of all kinds of performing arts. The Balinese paintings and dance are obviously something not to be missed in this island.

Nikko Hotel, Nusa Dua
Bali, Indonesia

Overall: To find the lap of luxury, I feel privacy is a must. And that’s what you will get in abundance in Nikko Hotel, Nusa Dua. Located a little distance away from a strip containing all the rest of hotels in Nusa Dua, it’s got a serene beach exclusive to the guests of the hotel. The hotel stands on a cliff, wherein, you enter from top and travel down to your room, a unique design I say!! The maze of rooms in every wing of the “cliff construction” can be a bit difficult to fathom, and so getting lost in the search of your own room may be packaged along with your trip.

Dining experience: I don’t think a luxury resort is a good place to dine and boast. And Nikko Hotel was not any different than that. The breakfast spread and service was good. It catered to all sorts of popular oriental and occidental dishes. For the meals, ‘Benkay’ and ‘The Shore’ have great options. The Japanese dominated Benkay offers a lot of oriental fares along with sushi and sashimi. We had the pecking duck and loved the fact that the host gave us a bit of info about the dish and the way to eat it traditionally. But again, we went in a time when the crowds were gone, the host had a lot of time on his hand to make us understand their food!!

‘The Shore’, is the perfect place to plan a romantic dinner on the beach. The wooden plank with lounging couches, which goes on the beach overlooking the sea… Sigh!! Heaven!! Its designed perfectly for a romantic time away from the crowd. Though the food is unimpressive, the extensive wine list is the best on the menu.

Nikko bali doesn’t specialise in local favourites, so I highly recommend going out for a meal or two. All the big restaurants and spa facilities do pick-ups and drops and so staying away from the city doesn’t really pinch that much.

Positives: the pool is one of the cleanest that I have seen, complete with a water slide and a bar. They also offer a jacuzzi kind of pool which is an amazing place to relax. The rooms are spacious with all amenities, and the in room service is great too.

Negatives: I found the spa and the food to be really unimpressive. Balinese massage is a must, so I recommend going to other places for a couple or single massages.

Cheers!