Weekend trip to Rice Paradise

Weekends are meant to take a break from the ordinary, mundane and I just do exactly that. Dive in to the weekend with an enthusiasm of a child having fun in his first fun fair. I love doing things that bring peace and happiness to my heart, travelling and nature rank in the first few.

So here we were travelling with a bunch of friends to the rain soaked Rice paradise lying in the backyards of Pune. No more puzzles and for those who have already guessed - Yes Mulshi it is. This small beautiful town glows and basks in its beauty like a dazzling peacock dancing in the rain. Mesmerising one and all with its splendid grandeur and Natures beauty.

It was a triple celebration - Friends Birthday, Friendship day and a good old weekend - Jackpot don't you think.

What with a big over enthusiastic bunch we had, we booked a quaint rustic bungalow in Mulshi (there are many available for stay). Very basic dormitory type setting like camping together with gorgeous nature surrounding us. Home cooked, rustic hot food.

It was an amazing weekend what with such gorgeous set of people in beautiful surrounding, gurgling streams, rustic home cooked meals, non stop pitter patter of rain, getting drenched and hot smoking bbq all done by us - heavenly.

All Ready !!

Lets go .. Candid

pic credit - Ashish P

The journey itself is so beautiful.

such a rustic old property, Zahir and me completely fell in love.

It had a small pond pool, Victorian old age statues, a lovely guava garden. It even had its very own weather vane on the highest point of the roof.

No sooner than we reached and settled we were served hot poha and pakoras along with chai. I digged in hot Bhakari along with chutney. Once we were well fed we decided to explore the place and head out for a small hike in the Rain.

Rice fields everywhere, they are so pretty, swaying in the wind and dancing in the rain.

This guy though is the best thing of the entire package ;p

We found this stream gurgling along. It was so therapeutic to just let the water flow over your feet, the light drizzle of rain and the fresh fragrance of the rain washed mud, foliage and farms with scent of wild flowers and blue canopy of the sky  dotted with specs of clouds.

Enjoying like a child

Nature and its beauty. These wild flowers are so pretty and cheerful.

Pc - Ashish

P C - Ashish

Never to leave and always to behold and protect.

oh btw a small accident, one of our friend dropped his camera lens right in the stream. We all were so worried but Thank goodness nothing happened to it. Immediately cleaned it with a cloth and after going home kept it in a pot of rice grains to soak all the moisture off..

Credit - Ashish

On our way back to the cottage after a nice excursion.

Pic credit - Ashish

Credit - Preet C

courtesy - Ashish P

First glimpse of the cottage on returning from the hike..

so inviting ..

we jumped into preparing bbq and lighting a slow fire, so magical. We were served gavran chicken curry, bhakari, rice and some vegetables too.  

The food was so amazing, we digged in. danced the night away. Beautiful memories, that's what the journey is about.

this candid snap, I am in love with this..

Pic credit - Preet C

Magical nights like these - dancing in the moon light in the rain.

Life is all about living and not just being alive.

on that note hope you liked  the post, let me know ...

until we meet again

Stay Happy and Cheerful

xoxo

Bhakti

P.S - Some pictures belong to Preet. C and Ashish .P, I have already given the credits in case I have missed any.

Easy Veg Cutlets

Firstly I am so sorry for being away from all you guys for so long. The weather was playing up and I had an active dengue in the house with other viral and cold and coughs making their presence felt as well. Thankfully things are much better and here I am doing what I love - nonstop banter with you all.

Monsoon = comfort food , sick days in  = comfort food and that's what I have been doing this entire while (in my defence)
So here goes an easy veg cutlet recipe to cheer one up instantly. Its healthy too (if you don't count the cheese). I had this at one of my friends place and loved it and came up with some tweaks here and there.

Vegetable Cutlets

Adjust the vegetables according to preference and taste.

1/2 cup finely chopped capsicum
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
1 cup green peas
1/2 cup paneer grated
1/2 cup cheese grated
2 big potatoes boiled and smashed
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 cup cabbage finely chopped
1/2 cup French beans finely chopped
salt
pepper
2 tspn ginger garlic paste
paprika (optional)
bread crumbs to coat
oil for frying
flour paste

Method

Mix all ingredients and seasoning together and mash properly.
You can mix a small quantity of bread or bread crumbs to hold the consistency.
Once the mixture is ready make small patties and dip them in the flour paste (optional) and then coat them with bread crumbs.
Deep fry or shallow fry according to your choice.
Enjoy piping hot with your choice of dip.
Excellent starter for get together and parties.

Enjoy Your Veg Cutlets, share your pics and let me know how they were.

Until we meet again.

Stay Happy and Cheerful !!

Lots of Love

xoxo

Bhakti

The Conspiracy at Meru (Vikramaditya Veergatha # 2)

VICTORY IS TEMPORARY. THE BATTLE IS ETERNAL.

Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine have fought valiantly to repel the rampaging hordes from Devaloka and Patala – but Avanti has been brought to its knees. Ujjayini lies battered its citizens are scared and morale is badly shaken. Meanwhile, the barbaric Hunas and Sakas are gathering on the horizon and cracks are emerging between the allied kingdoms of Sindhuvarta.

The only silver lining is that the deadly Halahala is safe. For now.

Bent on vengeance, Indra is already scheming to destroy Vikramaditya, while Shukracharya has a plan that can spell the doom for the Guardians of the Halahala. How long can the human army hold out against the ferocity and cunning of the devas and asuras? And will Vikramaditya’s love for his queen come in the way of his promise to Shiva?

Goodreads * Amazon

The deadly Halahala, the all-devouring poison churned from the depths of the White Lake by the devas and asuras, was swallowed by Shiva to save the universe from extinction.

But was the Halahala truly destroyed?

A small portion still remains – a weapon powerful enough to guarantee victory to whoever possesses it. And both asuras and devas, locked in battle for supremacy, will stop at nothing to claim it.

As the forces of Devaloka and Patala, led by Indra and Shukracharya, plot to possess the Halahala, Shiva turns to mankind to guard it from their murderous clutches. It is now up to Samrat Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine to quell the supernatural hordes – and prevent the universe from tumbling into chaos!

A sweeping tale of honour and courage in the face of infinite danger, greed and deceit, The Guardians of the Halahala is a fantastical journey into a time of myth and legend.

Goodreads * Amazon 

About the Author

Door-to-door salesman, copywriter, business journalist & assistant editor at The Economic Times; Shatrujeet Nath was all this before he took to writing fiction full-time. He debuted with The Karachi Deception in 2013, followed by The Guardians of the Halahala and The Conspiracy at Meru, the first two books in the Vikramaditya Veergatha series. At present, he is writing volume three of the series. Shatrujeet lives in Mumbai, but spends much of his time in the fantasy worlds of his stories.

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Also by the Author:

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Shizusan -The Ramen Diaries

Its Ramen time for Pune as the hipster mascot Shizusan after the success of his 'Around the world in 9 Sushi' has got us some ( to be precise 5 each of veg and non veg bowls) tasty slurpy Ramen with

'The Ramen Diaries'

pic courtesy - Shizusan

Now Wait a minute it is not your ordinary traditional ramen but Shizusan has lived upto his true signature pop style inspired by his travels and created unique ones.

These off the beaten path ramen bowls have the all the traditional compositions but with a twist making them extra special.

why don't you hear it from the man himself - Kartik Ganesh.

I was invited for the pre tasting of the menu and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was one fun night with good company slurping on yummy Ramen.

10 Bowls of Goodness.

Look at these fun facts, quite amazed myself.
:P

Refreshing Virgin Mojitos
I always love these at Shizusan.

Did you know according to the Ramen culture the louder you slurp the tastier is the Ramen.

Lets just slurping loudly without further delay, should we ? ;p

Kimchi Ramen

The Kimchi Ramen is made with rice noodles submerged in a broth made from gochujang stock and is topped with beans, roasted corn and kimchi. This was definitely one of my favourites, the broth was so good went down with an aghhhh appreciation and endless slurps.

Must Try !!

Shanghai Chilli Chicken Ramen

For those who enjoy the ‘Chindian’ fare, there’s the Shanghai Chilli Chicken Ramen – a bowlful of your favourite hakka noodles in a spicy garlicky chilli chicken broth topped with cubes of chicken, peppers, pokchoy and cilantro. I loved this too however it could have been more flavourful found it a bit bland for its ingredients missed the punch of the chilli. However this is the only ramen for the chicken lovers. Must Try again !!

Tom Yum Ramen

So colourful isn't it.

transformation from the hearty soup to pop ramen with a good kick from the bird eye chillies and tanginess from the kaffir lime. 

Seafood Ramen

Loaded with Squid, Jumbo Prawns, Tuna, Basa- Feast for the sea food lovers.

Miso and Shitake Ramen

This was good especially those who love the shitake mushrooms, the broth was flavourful and overall it was very comforting and nice. Must Try !

Peking Duck Ramen

For the Duck lovers soul. This one left everyone wanting for more.

Peking Duck Ramen is a ramen version of the famous Peking Duck from China and has a sweet & salty hoisin broth with egg noodles topped with crispy sliced Peking duck (of course), fried wonton noodles and spinach. 

Must try!!

Malaysian Laksa Ramen

This one is my most favourite, creamy and so flavourful.

It Reminded me of Burmese Khowsuey with a twist here and there.

All the ingredients in the bowl went so well together complimenting each other.

Comfort food at its best especially in Rainy season.

Must Must try!!

Laksa Ramen – a bowl of creamy laksa broth with al dente eggless noodles topped with mushrooms, mustard cress, tofu, red radish, crushed peanuts and crunchy fried noodles.

Bangkok Ramen

Thai Green Curry with rice noodles and tenderloin.

Some at the table really loved this.

Shanghai Ramen

This came with bamboo shoots and shitake mushrooms. (not my favourite exactly)

Classic Ramen

The Classic Ramen with udon noodles in a velvety, fatty, umami tonkotsu broth topped with sliced pork belly, crispy bacon bits and nori squares. (failed to impress)

Ended this feast with some desserts for the soul. I never can get enough of their chocolate mud pie - soul satisfying and so sinful.

pic credits - Shizusan

It was indeed an amazing time with great company and some yummy food.

Thanks for the Shizusan Team and Carpe diem for an amazing evening and having me.

Its pouring outside and what a great time to slurp on these brothy noodles. So head over to Shizusan this weekend, that's where you might find me too.

Have a Great weekend !

Until we meet again.

Stay happy and Stay Cheerful!!

Much Love

xoxo

Bhakti