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Guymag | Wheat & Butter Halva
Do you know what one of the best parts about winter is? It’s that special fragrance that comes from generous amounts of ghee or butter. It’s the heady aroma of paratha being roasted in ghee, the sizzle of the spices when they touch the hot makkhan (homemade butter), the hiss as a rainbow of vegetables slide into the butter for a winter-special stir fry. A mention of halva that has been painstakingly slow cooked for that perfect balance of flavours is a must. After all, winters are synonymous with halva! Gaajar ka halva, moong dal ka halva, badam halva, doodhi halva, matar halva… (types of Indian puddings made of carrots, green mung beans, almond, bottle gourd, green peas) Amid this list of lavish…
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Best Reasons to Travel with Friend VS Travel with Family
It’s the first week of the year and with all the discussions about the year gone by, I can’t not talk about mine! For all the personal & professional ups-and-downs in 2019, nothing can beat the drama and fun that was the trip to Sri Lanka. The thrill of visiting a country renowned for its beauty, the excitement of a first trip with the best friend, followed by the uncertainty and stress of travelling through a land hit under curfew – the week-long trip to Sri Lanka was adventurous to the hilt. To know why I use ‘drama’ and ‘fun’ together when talking about my Sri Lanka trip, read the…
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Of Birthdays and New Year!
Did you read that fancy article I was featured in? Do read I got featured! I got featured! I got featured! that talks about the ‘how and why’ of the Tripcrafters‘ article ‘Top Indian Food Bloggers & Their Favourite Places To Travel For Food’ and give me some more love. I’ve been rather excited about the feature. And the timing of the article was rather apt, coming around the completion of two years of From the Corner Table. Time flies. Or does it? I’ve always believed this to be a matter of perspective. There are phases in life that whiz by like the passing scenery on a high-speed motorway. And…
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I got featured! I got featured! I got featured!
Yes, I got featured. And being appreciated for work that is fuelled by your passion maters, a lot! It matters when a travel industry expert appreciates your work and provides a platform where you can share likes/dislikes. All of this while rubbing (virtual) shoulders with some of the most popular bloggers in town. “Top Indian Food Bloggers & Their Favourite Places to Travel for Food” is a compilation of thoughts shared by bloggers. As Team Tripcrafters says about food bloggers, “…they scourge, they cook, they plate, they travel, they eat; to satisfy their souls as well as their readers.” One of the main reasons I agreed to be a part…
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Cottage Cheese & Green Peas in Yoghurt Sauce | Dahi Matar Paneer
I had always found it odd that some of the best cooks around me wouldn’t eat some of the foods they made. For instance, an aunt of mine makes some amazing Thai non-vegetarian food but she never tastes any of it. Why? Because she gave up non-vegetarian food decades ago for health reasons. Then there is a friend’s mother who cooks the best biryani I’ve eaten; she makes all of it without even tasting the biryani to adjust seasoning. She doesn’t eat rice and non-vegetarian food. So there! I’d always wondered at the strangeness of the situation and how these women managed to cook without wanting to eat the food…
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15 Must-Visit Places in England #Part2
Me: What plans this weekend?She: Weather apps say it’ll be a sunny weekend, so we’ll probably do a bit of gardening.Me: Ah! That’s nice.She: And perhaps drive to the Bristol city center for a stroll along the bay and an early dinner.Me: Okay bye. And that, my dear friends, is just a sample of the kind of conversations I have with my elder sister – she lives in Bristol with her husband – during the English summers. Suffice to say I love and miss the English summers. That’s not to say I don’t love summers in Ahmedabad – give me the mango season, the late-night drives for ice creams et…
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15 Must-Visit Places in England #Part1
I am missing the English summer. There is something rather charming about the English summer, including the unpredictable showers. It is these unpredictable summers that made me realise why ‘weather’ is always a popular topic for conversation among the English. Until last year, England had been THE summer getaway place – it was where I could vanish to, switch off from connectivity and lose myself in an ambiance of choice. Over the years of visits, the urban landscape of most cities and towns has undergone a drastic change – as is expected of modernization. But there’s no changing the energy that makes each English city/town so unique! If you happen…
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Nutty Nutrition Powder
“To health drink or not” – this is the question that plagued my mother since the time a friend of hers raved about a nutrition drink, especially for senior citizens. While the friend claimed to have felt a difference after regular consumption of the drink, Maa was not convinced owing to the ‘chemicals’ and ‘sugar’ contents. Her concerns, when relayed to the family doctor, got us the response “Make a natural nutrition drink at home”. The doctor’s logic was rather simple. Why put chemicals into your body for nutrition when you can get the same from products already a part of the household? “Dried fruits & nuts are the perfect drink supplement.…
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High-Protein Millet Salad & a Conversation
A few months ago, I took part in an Instagram giveaway. Like always, I didn’t win that giveaway (I never do!) but I did start following the profile of the person who won it. I was awed by the photographs on their feed and the way they made salads look like such a breeze. Imagine my surprise then when I realised that the amazing photographs and tantalizing recipes were the work of someone I had studied with in high school and college! From being the topper in school and college to making a name for her in the advertising world, Bhumika has achieved a lot over the years. And Lime…
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Ginger Chilli Chai
I was looking through old photo albums a few days ago and unearthed the one of a family trip to Malaysia where the elder sister and brother-in-law were settled. This was roughly a decade ago when I was younger and was learning about food, always ready to try something new but still wary of the unknowns and unidentifiable on the plate. We never clicked photos of the food we were eating but a photograph reminded me of the trip to a chocolate factory and my first rendezvous with chilli beyond the way we use it in Indian recipes. I distinctly remember being floored by a bar of chilli-flavoured chocolate that my…
