Things to Do in Mahabalipuram
Mamallapuram, also called Mahabalipuram is best known for the UNESCO World Heritage for the Hindu Group of Monuments.
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Buttery Garlic Shrimp and Zucchini
Tried out a new dish today which I saw somewhere but added some little tweaks. Pretty easy and quick to make for the non-vegetarians.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Shrimp
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Cooking Butter
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Turmeric Powder (Optional)
- Kashmiri Chilli Powder (can replace it with Paprika powder as well) (Optional)
Steps:
- Peel and de-tail the shrimps
- Marinate it with a little oil, Kashmiri Chilli Powder or Paprika powder, turmeric powder, black pepper and a little salt. You can skip this step as well. Keep it aside for few minutes
- In a heated pan add some cooking butter and olive oil
- Next add the shrimps to the pan and cook through and then transfer to a plate
- In the same pan add a little more oil and saute sliced zucchini
- Before the zucchini is done add the shrimp back to the pan, with fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper (as needed if you have marinated before) and then saute together for another minute or two.
Road Trip from Manali to Srinagar via Ladakh and Leh
I always wanted to do a road-trip to Ladakh with friends. But when it finally came to being there for a holiday, I had but a chance to fly half way and go up there. So I took it. From Hyderabad to New Delhi in couple of hours and almost 24 hours of local bus journey from Delhi to Manali through the longest traffic jam of my life due to rock sliding (our bus had to cross over 1000 trucks) to start off on a 10 days long , 1500 Kms bike ride. Crazy ? I’d say completely worth it. :)
This wasn’t just about riding/travelling on a bike to Ladakh and Leh. But of the Lamas and monasteries, butter tea and gently grunting yaks, there's much more to Ladakh than just spectacular scenery and deep blue lakes.
Most of Ladakh still remains largely unexplored. So covering its gompas and stupas, riding to the confluence of turquoise Indus and the muddy Zanskar rivers and for its lovely silences that just don't need to be filled. Spending a morning in prayer with monks at Thiksey Monastery or horse riding beside Pangong Tso and come back with equally memorable photographs.
While the blue shades of Pangong Tso allures, riding via The mighty Khardungla Pass at 18000+ feet altitude (One of the highest motorable roads in the world) and some more high altitude motorable passes with low oxygen levels and equally low power in your 500 CC bike, it still does give you an adventure high. While the mystic monasteries amaze you, the Nubra Valley awaits to welcomes you with an unexpected Sand storm (if you’re lucky enough) with double hump back camels gazing silently in the scintillating sand dunes.
The mesmerizing Star gazing at night, spent in Batalik and Aryan valley during the ride before paying tribute to the Soldiers at Kargil war memorial and move towards Kashmir, A valley between the Great Himalayan range and the Pir Panjal mountain range, a place of beautiful simplicity and pristine natural beauty to end the ride. An extra day spent in Srinagar by the Beauty of Dal Lake with incredible backdrops and the sight of primitive boats traversing a mirror like lake with reflections of snow covered mountains before heading back home….
All in all, Felt like being tossed off a frying pan directly into a refrigerator. I was suddenly 7000 – 19000 feet closer to the sun amid severe cold, and mountains alien to the concept of our everyday hustle and bustle of the city. Barren mountains, that cold expansiveness, a beautiful calm broken only by frigid winds whistling past my ears, and the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere is unforgettable !!!
Lingeshwar Reddy
About the Guest Author:
This article is a Guest Post by Lingeshwar Reddy. Lingeshwar is a self motivated adrenaline junkie. Worked in the IT industry as a Project Manager in the Support Industry and now as a Customer Success Manager, takes interest in occasional offbeat trips.
This article is a Guest Post by Lingeshwar Reddy. Lingeshwar is a self motivated adrenaline junkie. Worked in the IT industry as a Project Manager in the Support Industry and now as a Customer Success Manager, takes interest in occasional offbeat trips.
Places to visit in Kolkata
Ask a localite on the best places to visit in any renowned place? You are bound to receive an answer which you will not be expecting. Ideally someone living in a place is so accustomed to the place that they would not find a specific place interesting even though it might be an attraction to someone who has the eye of an explorer.
Me, being someone who is very close to Kolkata fall in the same category. Nevertheless putting myself at least once in the eye of an explorer have tried to collect all the areas of interest of Kolkata.
Kolkata formerly known as Calcutta was initially a colonial city developed by East India Company and was also the capital of British India. As a result Kolkata has lot of historical structures from the British era which still stand strong.
Some of the prominent are as below:
Kolkata is known for its Art and Culture. There are several places which attracts the culture lovers.
Few of them are below:
Kolkata also has a lot of renowned places for worships:
Me, being someone who is very close to Kolkata fall in the same category. Nevertheless putting myself at least once in the eye of an explorer have tried to collect all the areas of interest of Kolkata.
Kolkata formerly known as Calcutta was initially a colonial city developed by East India Company and was also the capital of British India. As a result Kolkata has lot of historical structures from the British era which still stand strong.
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| Vidyasagar Setu, - Second Hooghly Bridge |
Some of the prominent are as below:
- Victoria memorial
- Cathedral Church
- Fort William - Entry restricted but there's an incredible view from the ghats of the Hooghly
- Prinsep Ghat
- Birla Planetarium
- Birla Mandir
Kolkata is known for its Art and Culture. There are several places which attracts the culture lovers.
Few of them are below:
- Academy of Fine Arts
- The Asiatic Society
- Indian Museum
- Nandan - Rabindra Sadan
- Jorasanko Thakur Bari - Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral home Sobhabazar Rajbari
- Marble Palace Kolkata
Kolkata also has a lot of renowned places for worships:
- Kalighat Temple
- Thanthania Kalibari
- Dakhshineshwar Kali Temple
- Belur Math
- ISKCON Kolkata, Sri Sri Radha Govind Temple
- Mother House
- Alipore Zoo
- Eden Gardens
- Mother Wax Museum
- Science City
- Nicco Park
- Aquatica
- Eco Park - Specially the Seven Wonders of the World
If you have some time to spare and if you are book addict, do visit College street or Boi Para. It is the largest second hand book market in the world where you can purchase rare collections at a very cheap price.
There are lot of other places which I might have forgotten but truly it is the City of Joy as it is being termed.
Howrah - The twin city of Kolkata also has places which are worth mentioning and if you are at Kolkata, make sure to visit the below.
There are lot of other places which I might have forgotten but truly it is the City of Joy as it is being termed.
Howrah - The twin city of Kolkata also has places which are worth mentioning and if you are at Kolkata, make sure to visit the below.
- Howrah Bridge
- Howrah Station
- Botanical Garden, Howrah
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| Howrah Bridge |
Trust me, I have not visited all of them till date, but will definitely try to visit them along with my wife and kid once I get some time out of the regular schedule.
Super Quick Homemade Pizza
If you kid is back from play hungry and pestering you for quick snacks and you feel that maggi is too boring everyday, then I have a quick recipe of a different variety. Trust me they would love it too and it would be ready in no more than 5 mins.
YES!!! It is Homemade PIZZA...
Ingredients:
1. Ready made Pizza Base
2. Onion
3. Capsicum
4. Tomato
5. Pinch of Oil
6. Cheese Slice
7. Butter or Cheese Spread
8. Oregano (Optional)
9. Chili Flakes (Optional)
Preparation:
1. Chop one onion and capsicum into pieces. Also slice tomato into small pieces.
2. Fry the chopped onions, capsicum and tomatoes in a little oil to make it crispy. Add salt for taste.
3. Take a non-stick pan and roast the side of the ready made Pizza base which you want to make upper crust.
4. Once that is roaster, spread the butter or cheese spread on the roasted upper crust.
6. Cut 1-2 cheese slices into small pieces and place it all over the pizza base. You can also replace this with grated mozzarella cheese.
7. Spread the fried veggie mix on top of the cheese crust and roast it for 2-3 minutes.
8. Your pizza is ready. You can garnish this with Oregano and chili flakes.
Of course, you can customize and add more varieties/flavour. Try this at home and provide your feedback or comments on how you feel.
YES!!! It is Homemade PIZZA...
Ingredients:
1. Ready made Pizza Base
2. Onion
3. Capsicum
4. Tomato
5. Pinch of Oil
6. Cheese Slice
7. Butter or Cheese Spread
8. Oregano (Optional)
9. Chili Flakes (Optional)
Preparation:
1. Chop one onion and capsicum into pieces. Also slice tomato into small pieces.
2. Fry the chopped onions, capsicum and tomatoes in a little oil to make it crispy. Add salt for taste.
3. Take a non-stick pan and roast the side of the ready made Pizza base which you want to make upper crust.
4. Once that is roaster, spread the butter or cheese spread on the roasted upper crust.
6. Cut 1-2 cheese slices into small pieces and place it all over the pizza base. You can also replace this with grated mozzarella cheese.
7. Spread the fried veggie mix on top of the cheese crust and roast it for 2-3 minutes.
8. Your pizza is ready. You can garnish this with Oregano and chili flakes.
Of course, you can customize and add more varieties/flavour. Try this at home and provide your feedback or comments on how you feel.
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50% off on pizza |
Being Local 7
The shopkeeper who poses like a girl while displaying the colorful sarees at the Lakshal Saree Centre at Sarnath besides the Thai Temple. Handlooms prepared by the local weavers inside the Sarnath Temple area is sold here. They have huge varieties of Banarasi sarees and offer very good prices compared to the market price.
'Being Local' is a series where I post the different characters who I feel is interesting enough to have a mention during my travels. You can find others in the series here.
Being Local 6
A candid shot of a priest collecting money in return of the blessings at the Dashashwamedh Ghat just prior to the Ganga Arati.
'Being Local' is a series where I post the different characters who I feel is interesting enough to have a mention during my travels. You can find others in the series here.
Simple Homemade Chicken Clear Soup
Soups are a good way to start a meal. It's Sunday when we try to experiment new dishes at home and it turned out that preparation of Chicken Clear Soup had its turn this Sunday - a simple but healthy food.
Ingredients:
1. Bone less chicken 100 grams (cut into small pieces)
2. Onions (Use spring onion with stalk is available)
3. Garlic 4 cloves
4. Ground Pepper
6. Butter 2 tablespoons
7. Salt to taste
Preparation:
1. First of all, boil the boneless chicken pieces with 2 cloves of garlic and onion in a pressure cooker. If you have spring onions, you can give that as well.
2. Strain the chicken stock and keep it aside for using later.
4. Chop the remaining bulbs of the spring onions and garlic cloves. Chop the stalks of the spring onions separately.
5. Melt the butter in a deep pan. Add the chopped onion bulbs first. When they start melting and acquire an auburn color, add the chopped garlic and stalks. Stir fry it for about 3 minutes.
6. Now add the shredded chicken and stir fry for a minute.
7. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and mix well. Add about 2 cups of water to this and simmer it for 15 minutes.
8. Just before you remove the soup from the flame sprinkle ground pepper and salt on it as per your taste. You can garnish it with parsley stalks and leaves and your Chicken Clear Soup is ready.
After preparation, I realized that I had put more pieces of chicken than needed. But the taste was really yummy and my kid liked it very much.
You can try this too and experiment with little variations according to your taste. Good Luck!!!
Ingredients:
1. Bone less chicken 100 grams (cut into small pieces)
2. Onions (Use spring onion with stalk is available)
3. Garlic 4 cloves
4. Ground Pepper
6. Butter 2 tablespoons
7. Salt to taste
Preparation:
1. First of all, boil the boneless chicken pieces with 2 cloves of garlic and onion in a pressure cooker. If you have spring onions, you can give that as well.
2. Strain the chicken stock and keep it aside for using later.
 |
| Chicken Stock |
3. Shred the boiled chicken with your fingers. It will come of easily.
 |
| Shredded Chicken |
4. Chop the remaining bulbs of the spring onions and garlic cloves. Chop the stalks of the spring onions separately.
5. Melt the butter in a deep pan. Add the chopped onion bulbs first. When they start melting and acquire an auburn color, add the chopped garlic and stalks. Stir fry it for about 3 minutes.
6. Now add the shredded chicken and stir fry for a minute.
7. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and mix well. Add about 2 cups of water to this and simmer it for 15 minutes.
 |
| Ready Chicken Clear Soup |
After preparation, I realized that I had put more pieces of chicken than needed. But the taste was really yummy and my kid liked it very much.
You can try this too and experiment with little variations according to your taste. Good Luck!!!
List of World Heritage Sites in India visited
Charity Begins at Home!!! In order to fulfill one of my wishlist - "Visit the top UNESCO World Heritage sites", it is always apt to first visit the ones which are in my home country.
There are 40 World Heritage Sites in India that are recognized by UNESCO as of today. Of these, 32 are cultural sites, 7 are natural sites and 1 is mixed (meeting both cultural and natural criteria).
So far, I have had the privilege of visiting only 15 of them as below:
You can find the rest from the link below.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_India
There are 40 World Heritage Sites in India that are recognized by UNESCO as of today. Of these, 32 are cultural sites, 7 are natural sites and 1 is mixed (meeting both cultural and natural criteria).
So far, I have had the privilege of visiting only 15 of them as below:
- Ajanta Caves
- Ellora Caves
- Agra Fort, Uttar Pradesh
- Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh
- Sun Temple, Konarak
- Hampi, Karnataka
- Elephanta Caves
- Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi
- Mountain Railways of India (Visited 2/3 - Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Nilgiri Mountain Railway)
- Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya, Bihar
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus)
- Red Fort Complex
- Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda
- Historic City of Ahmadabad
- Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple
You can find the rest from the link below.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_India
Idly Chaat
Monday mornings are always lazy and we woke up late. With Maggi others being banned, needed a quick and tasty snack to fill our stomach. Ideas started coming to my mind on what to make.
Ingredients:
Idly (2 pieces)
Sev (Fine and course)
Chanachur
1 small onion finely chopped (optional)
1 small tomato finely chopped (optional)
Chat Masala
Tomato sauce
Chilly sauce
2 to 3 tsp oil for frying the idlis
Preparation:
Cut the idly into small pieces and light fry in 2 to 3 tsp of oil in a non-sticky pan. You might also want to add butter instead of oil.
Add Sev, chanachur, chat masala to the fried idly chunks. You might also want to add chopped onions and tomatoes.
Add tomato and chilly sauces if you want. You might also want to add Coriander chutney or Tamarind chutney. I like sukha and hence do not prefer to add sauces. Rest I will leave it upto your imagination and taste.
Ideal replacement for 2 minutes Maggi. Chala Bagunda...
Ingredients:
Idly (2 pieces)
Sev (Fine and course)
Chanachur
1 small onion finely chopped (optional)
1 small tomato finely chopped (optional)
Chat Masala
Tomato sauce
Chilly sauce
2 to 3 tsp oil for frying the idlis
Preparation:
Cut the idly into small pieces and light fry in 2 to 3 tsp of oil in a non-sticky pan. You might also want to add butter instead of oil.
Add Sev, chanachur, chat masala to the fried idly chunks. You might also want to add chopped onions and tomatoes.
Add tomato and chilly sauces if you want. You might also want to add Coriander chutney or Tamarind chutney. I like sukha and hence do not prefer to add sauces. Rest I will leave it upto your imagination and taste.
Ideal replacement for 2 minutes Maggi. Chala Bagunda...
Gearing up for a weekend fun
Monsoon have set in and I am gearing for the first family trip of the season. And how fun it would be to go on a long drive with the overcast skies and showers of rain here and there.
If you are also gearing up for a weekend fun and have a passion for driving, car is not a problem at all with the newly started services of Zoom Car. Zoom Car provides self-drive cars on a rental service. I got to know this from a friend and quickly booked a luxurious Scorpio for the upcoming trip.
One would need to be a member for booking the services which includes car including fuel, insurance and taxes. There is a referral scheme as well which would mean the referrer and referral would gain Rs 300 on their next drive. You can click on the link to get some benefit of this.
The services have started in Bangalore, Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. Even if you are not staying in those cities you can book one from the above cities and drop it before you leave. I found this really cool and the cost including fuel is good enough to afford this for a 3-4 days trip.
Points to Note:
Will share more feedback once I complete the trip.
Note: This is not a paid post but posted for informative purpose.
If you are also gearing up for a weekend fun and have a passion for driving, car is not a problem at all with the newly started services of Zoom Car. Zoom Car provides self-drive cars on a rental service. I got to know this from a friend and quickly booked a luxurious Scorpio for the upcoming trip.
One would need to be a member for booking the services which includes car including fuel, insurance and taxes. There is a referral scheme as well which would mean the referrer and referral would gain Rs 300 on their next drive. You can click on the link to get some benefit of this.
The services have started in Bangalore, Pune, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. Even if you are not staying in those cities you can book one from the above cities and drop it before you leave. I found this really cool and the cost including fuel is good enough to afford this for a 3-4 days trip.
Points to Note:
- Pets are not allowed
- Drug/Alcohols are not allowed
- Smoking is not allowed
- Driver cannot overspeed more than 125 kms/hour
- Hyderabad travelers book in advance as there are limited Scorpio's, XUV's and Ecosports in each of the pick up points.
Will share more feedback once I complete the trip.
Note: This is not a paid post but posted for informative purpose.
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