I have actually had a little sit with my good old laptop for editing and writing after nearly two months.Phew ! A batalion of drafts was lined up to keep my blog up from December until now. There is soo much to share, soo much write , so much to ramble and more but there was hardly any zeal left with within me to pick my camera and do the pictures. A fantastic and an extremely buzy India trip, much more than I imagined !! A collection of props and fabrics - from here & there and I am all excited to share it with all..

Props ! Chutney Dip Serve ware set  was a present from my dear friend Anu when I visited her in Netherlands , last October. The brown tea cups are my picks from an Delhi Haat, few years ago but I just managed to wrap them safe and bring it along.  The wooden board used in one of the pictures below has a history and is 150 years old. Truly a heritage piece. It’s called Ammai Palahai .In olden days, people used to sit over it, while having their meal. My granny was kind enough to add it to my treasure chest!

 

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday in our traditional south indian way - Sastiapthmoorthi. Along with the birthday celebration, the function also included a remarriage ceremony for my parents. That is such a cute and an auspicious moment. Very few people get to witness this ceremony in their lifetime and we were all blessed.
More than just visiting homes and catching up , we decided to do two resort trips with family and cousins. There is a lot of time and enjoyment in the process of planning, journey and then finally when you reach the destination. No cooking involved , no clearing the mess and no time for post tiring !  Perfectly recommended is a place called Mango Mist, where one can choose your day trips or half day trips. We did a three quarter that included a lavish ala carte breakfast ,lunch and tea time . This package also included tickets to a few adventure sports , a coupon for a mocktail ( worth it) - I skipped my tea for it!! , fish spa and Rain dance.  Ooo lala.. This place is located about 30 km or so from Bangalore , in a place called Anekal.



The second trip was to a resort in our ever green Nandi Hills. Still serene, calm and the atmosphere is much cooler than in the city . Highlight was our visit to Bhoganadishwara temple , right in Nandi Hills.  A highly recommended place for its beauty and serenity. Its still clean and mainitained even after its built in 1100AD , I believe. There is absolutely no entrance fee ..! Had such a place existed in UK, it would have been classified under the world heritage site with a heafty ticket for entry. Why dont we work on it and get a status for our heritage sites ???



Before I get writing any further travel stories, let me head straight to the post .. This writeup today is about super easy plain bread pakora's . All it takes is under 30 minutes. When you heat up the oil for frying , you get all your other ingredients mixed and ready. This is exactly what I did too !

BREAD PAKORA WITH CORIANDER SPINACH CHUTNEY Recipe Type:Snack/Starter | Prep Time: 10 Min | Cooking Time: 20 minutes INGREDIENTS:  For Bread Pakora 1 Cup Gram Flour ½ Tsp Garam masala ¼ Tsp Chilli Powder ½ Tsp Carom Seeds ( Ajwain) ¼ Tsp Turmeric Powder ¾ Tsp Salt ( Approx) Oil for frying + ½ tsp for the batter 3 Bread slices – Farm house bread For Coriander Spinach Chutney Recipe adapted from the book Food of the Grand Trunk Road ½ Bunch Coriander Leaves 10 Spinach Leaves or handful ½ “ Ginger 1 Clove of Garlic 1 Green chilli 4 Tsp Yogurt ½ Tsp Dried Mango Powder ( Amchur ) ½ Tsp Cumin Powder A squeeze of Lemon Juice Salt to taste    DIRECTIONS:  For Bread Pakora:  Heat the oil in a kadai or a non-stick pan.   In a large deep vessel, mix all the dry ingredients for bread pakora except for bread . Add water slowly, giving the batter a good stir until desired consistency is achieved. The batter should be neither too thick, nor too thin.    Slice the bread in to 4-6 pieces triangle. Dip each slice into the batter and slide it in the heated oil. Fry on medium flame until they are crispy and golden brown. Drain the pakora’s on a tissue paper to ensure all the extra oil is absorbed. Repeat the process for the rest of bread triangles.   Enjoy your hot bread pakora’s this winter with green chutney and some masala chai.  For greens packed Chutney Wash the greens, ginger - garlic under running tap water. Chop them roughly and place them in a blender along with yogurt and green chilli. Add water just enough, if necessary to achieve a suitable consistency. Add amchur powder, required salt and a squeeze of lemon juice to the chutney. Give it a good mix and transfer it to container to be served. This chutney can be freezed and will still stay fresh up to a week for sure.