Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2015

Tuna Fried Rice


Ingredients

Canned Tuna (in Olive Oil) - 1 can
Potatoes - 4 Medium, boiled and coarsely mashed
Onion - 1 Large, chopped
Green Chilli - 3/4, chopped (if not available, 1 dry red chilli will do!)
Dry Bay Leaf - 2

Cooked Rice - 2 cups (or more, if you want more Rice compared to Fish!)
Eggs - 4

Shan Egg Fried Rice Spice Mix - 1/2 packet (optional)
Salt, as per taste
Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp (or lesser, optional)
Cumin Seeds - 2 to 3 pinches

Canola Oil - 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp



Method

Use Paper towel to squeeze out the olive oil from the canned Tuna. The Tuna should eventually fall apart.
Mix it with Turmeric Powder, Chilli Powder and Salt.
Add the mashed Potato to the above and mix it together.

Heat 2 tbsp Canola oil in a flat pan.
Add Cumin Seeds, dry Bay Leaf and Green Chilli (or Dry Red Chilli). Let it sizzle and temper the oil.
Add chopped Onions. Stir and let it cook in medium heat for 5 mins till the Onion is translucent.
Add the already prepared Tuna-Potato mixture and mix it well.
Add little water if the mixture is sticking to the sides of the container. Keep stirring and let it mix till the raw smell is gone. Takes about 5-10 mins.
Keep this mixture aside. We will add it to the cooked Rice later.

Heat 1 tbsp Canola oil in a flat pan.
Once the oil is warm, add the eggs and let it cook. Stir it so that you have well cooked pieces of eggs.
Add Salt and Black Pepper for flavor.
Add the cooked Rice (room temperature is preferred for the Rice). Mix it well.
Add the Shan Egg Fried Rice Spice Mix, if you are planning to use it. Mix it well.
Add the prepared Tuna mix and combine them all together. This takes about another 5 mins.

I usually cover it and let it sit for 10-15 mins before serving. It goes well with a slice of Onion and Tomato or Raita or just Tomato Ketchup!

Bon Appetit! :)

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Jungfrau, Switzerland and Traveller's Khichdi!

Note - This post was in draft for more than 2 years now! :)

Day 3

We stayed over in Interlaken to take the morning train to Jungfrau. We went via Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg. This ride is also scenic - picture postcard like!

Lauterbrunnen valley - oh so scenic!

Near Wengen - looks like a painting, is n't it?

Kleine Scheidegg - where we change trains to catch the luxury special train to Jungfrau!

Jungfrau view

Jungfrau view - the tour ends there where you can see the tiny people below..we did not realize that we will also reach there! :)

View from Jungfrau

Jungrau range

View from where the tiny people in the picture above were being seen.

As we walks towards the ice sculpture exhibition

Ice Sculptures...just wow!

Up in Jungfrau we found this Indian restaurant - Bollywood
Indian restaurant in Jungfrau...
Chicken Curry, Rice and Papadum in Jungfrau Restaurant
Chocolates in Jungfrau Restaurant
View on our return ride to Kleine Scheidegg - a surprisingly beautiful ride comes to an end!

My desire to see a film shoot in Switzerland came true! What if it is not a Bollywood movie, it was an Asian movie. If anyone knows which movie this is, please share.

Pretty, ain't it? I can almost imagine a Bollywood song being shot here with the heroine is a soft-colored Chiffon saree serenading the heroe! :)))

Ingredients

Rice - 1.5 cups
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - few pinches

Mix them all together in a zip-loc bag and seal it.
If you can, I recommend to carry a small bottle of hot pickle to serve as a side-item with this Khichdi.Or Papads can be roasted on the stove!

In your destination, remember to add the following to your grocery list as well as some pickle if you did not carry it.

Canned\Frozen Vegetables - 1 to 2 cups
Butter - 2-3 tbsp(You can use Canola Oil if you have that available - when traveling, I usually buy Butter only since we need that for breakfast - serves double purpose.)


Method

Heat a pan and add Butter.
As it melts, add the veggies and cook them in Medium heat.

When the veggie is cooked, add the Rice-mix and mix well. Cook the Rice and Veggie mix like this for another 5-10 mins till the Rice looks translucent.

Add about 4 cups of water and let it boil in High heat.
After the water boils, reduce the heat to Medium and cover the dish. It should be done in the next 5-10 mins. Serve hot with Pickle\Papad. Add a dash of butter on top if you like.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Cherry Blossom 2013 .. how could I miss it!

Hello Everyone -

Finally spring is upon us! Spring onset means arrival of the Cherry blossom season in DC metro area. This was my 10th year - don't think I will ever want to give it a miss. With the weather being very random this year, the blossoms were also short-lived. They peaked on a Wednesday and since there was heavy rain on Thursday night, the blossoms did not last long. I went along with my friend and her two adorable sons one weekend - it was lot of fun catching up and experiencing the spirit of DC during this time of year! Enjoy some of the pics from this trip...

Tidal Basin - Jefferson Memorial

Drawing wall for kids to write and draw sending their message to kids of Japan - nice idea!

Few of the remaining blossoms...a close shot!

Cherry blossoms..lovely pink!

Tulip Garden @ National Mall...amazing colors and what a range...

Gorgeous..this is it!

Soothing...

Dainty...

Simply superb...

Beauties..such a lovely mix of color...

Japanese Lantern - saw it in the Junior Park Ranger book handed to kids. We went looking for it to complete the Bingo game in the book of my friend's son! :)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I still exist!

Before everyone gives up on me, I have to make a random post to make sure you all don't give up on me (yet!) and my sudden disappearances...

Life takes on and blogging takes a backseat! Have been busy with lot of get-togethers, travels and happy times! 2013 has been good - I am quite optimistic..even in my toughest times, I have survived through it thinking it can't get worse than this, so sail through it! Had multiple bad news in 2011 and 2012 but yet kept going..as Karan Johan (yes, I am a fan!) proudly proclaims "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham".

Let me share some of my recent food pics for you to drool and enjoy..have a great day, everyone!

Lunch @ Athenian, Pike Place Market, Seattle - loved the view from in there!

Prawn and Chips @ Athenian, Pike Place Market, Seattle - Delicious food and awesome service!

Veggie Sandwich @ Athenian, Pike Place Market, Seattle - my friend loved the flavors!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Bonsai & Penjing Museum, National Arboretum, DC

The Bonsai tree is an art-form which originated in China centuries ago. Japan grew this art and spread all across the world. I was first exposed to it when my Maiin (Odiya word for Mami, maternal Uncle's wife) who is an avid gardener had a Lemon Bonsai tree with tiny Lemon's growing on them. How delightful! Down the years, my mom also had a beautiful Banyan Bonsai tree.I should look in my past India trip pics and find a pic of my Aunt's Orange Bonsai.

During the weekend of July 21st, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum @ Washington, D.C. had a "Bonsai Basics with Tropicals" class scheduled for the entire day. Prior to this event, I was not aware of this place - so it was quite a discovery for me. I have definitely added it to places to visit when friends and family are visiting us next, particularly my dad who most enjoys this type of places.

My friend Raji at work informed me of the class and since she had already enrolled for the same, I also went ahead and signed up. Our morning ride to DC was an adventure enough - what with the day starting off with my alarm cheating on me! I overslept but managed to meet her and also reach there just in time! Before I show you the wonderful exhibits they have, let me first show you the Ficus which I worked on and am now responsible to look after.

BeforeAfter
The class gives a good introduction to Bonsai basics and their care. Thanks to our instructor Jim for making the class so interesting with anecdotes from his experiences of over 20 years. We were each given a Ficus, a tropical tree to work on and apply all the different concepts such as tree design, pruning, wiring, root adjustment and re-potting. It was quite an experience and I look forward to learning more and growing these skills. Feel like I have a pet now which needs daily care and maintenance - for some strange reason have never felt this for the other plants I have owned in the past and present! Strange!


I so missed not having my SLR with me that day to capture these beauties. Enjoy the lovely exhibits from the museum - hope to someday have these types of trees in my collection and created by me. Long long way to go.. but proud that atleast I have made a start! :)

Different arrangements of multiple Bonsai trees are such an eye-pleased sight. They made me feel so peaceful. Needs such clarity and care in designing and executing the trims to result in an end-product such as these. Just wow.

They have divided the entire exhibition area into three separate areas and have plentiful of exhibits in each - Japanese Pavilion, Chinese Pavilion and International Pavilion. You should keep aside atleast an hour to view each of the exhibits and enjoy them in display.

Apart from the Bonsai Garden, there are quite a few other parks within the Arboretum such as the Herb Garden. It seems like a place to spend the entire day walking around and being with nature. Look forward to spending a day there in serenity...

Monday, July 23, 2012

Steinbock restaurant@Lauterbrunnen, Isenfluh and Interlaken..Day 2 Continuation

(Continuation from an earlier post related to Day 2 - Switzerland trip)

After we got back from the falls to Lauterbrunnen, we were very hungry and hit the warm and inviting Steinbock Restaurant right across the station. It took us some time to find someone to seat us - since it was quite warm outside, we ordered a veggie pizza to keep us light for the rest of the day. It was quite tasty though on first look, to be honest, it did not look as inviting.

View outside!
Food click!

Veggie Galore...

After this, we decided to try the cable car ride from an adjoining scenic village Isenfluh. The bus driver was quite grumpy - maybe the only grumpy soul of Switzerland. But the person manning the cable car ride was a cheerful soul - he volunteered to check if the connecting bus back to Lauterbrunnen was still on and confirmed the same for us.


These odd-looking scooters called "Monster-Trotti" are available for rent (at Sulwald) to ride on and get back to Isenfluh. They use the cable car to transport the scooters back to Sulwald - a neat little arrangement they got there! Definitely one of the things I want to try next time..not sure how much my fear of heights will co-operate - we will see!


This is the gorgeous view from up in the mountains of Sulwald. They have a nice little coffee-shop where you can hang-out and relax. I took a stroll down the hiking pathway near the coffee-shop and got these scenic clicks. It was just gorgeous. Reminded me of the New Year cards we used to exchange as kids and they used to have these scenic clicks or some flowers! :) Wonder if anyone lives in the house in this pic - how lucky to live among nature like this!


Coffee shop @ Sulwald, up in the mountains

Cable car on it's way down to Isenfluh - the click was taken from Sulwald!
On our ride back we had a funny experience. Me and my friend got into the cable car alongwith two other people and we closed the door. We are waiting for the person in Isenfluh to trigger the ride back. Nothing happens. A couple come rushing and we open the door for them. They also step in and we close the door. All of waiting uncomfortably in the car - nothing happens. As we start reading the instructions to click the green button, the German couple start laughing. To let us in into their funny moment, they tell us that the instruction in German tells to click the red button. So we are now in a fix and we click one of the two - someone answers from the other end and we are on our way down finally! :)

Lovely mountain wild flowers near the bus stop at Isenfluh

Wilderswil Station on our ride back to Interlaken
Beautiful cuckoo clocks

Some more cuckoo clocks


A good number of Indian restaurants are in Interlaken - quite a surprise for me! There is one "Spice Club of India" about which we heard good reviews from a number of Indian tourists. These are the other ones we found while walking around the downtown in the evening! :) We ended up in a Thai restaurant in an alley-way - don't ask me about it! The hostess behavior was pretty odd - no matter how much I want to blame that on her lack of English-speaking skills, I am not able to! This was the second and last distasteful experience during the entire trip! I wish I remembered that restaurant name and could slam her in Tripadvisor reviews! Anyways, let's keep going with the good memories only.

 

After the Thai dinner, we treated ourselves to some nice ice-cream and headed to the room. Again, back to the chalkboard on our plans for the next day! :) Oh, I also realized that my bank account was blocked for fraud-alert due to access from foreign country (inspite of my informing them in advance!) - so you can imagine how disgusted I was - anyway, managed through the next two days before it was resolved after a number of frantic international calls to my bank! So this was some drama .. but I am proud that I refused let it spoil my vacation mood! Took some conscious effort ... :)

Day 1 - Geneva to Resort in Ovronnaz, Valais
Day 2 - Trummelbach Falls and Isenfluh, Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken (Day 2 Morning)
Day 3 - Wengen, Klein Scheidegg, Jungfrau and Grindelwald
Day 4 - Basel and Bern
Day 5 - Lucerne, Golden Pass Tour through Zweissimen, Saanen, Gstaad, Montbovon, Montreux
Day 6 - Zermatt and Glacier Express to Andermatt
Day 7 - Back to Geneva and home

Day 2 Afternoon Travel was primarily this:


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