It’s 3 months down the new year (well, not so new anymore) and everyone around you is already exhausted. From students to working adults, this March was not merry to all. But hey! Don't worry, we've got you covered.
With the mercury rising to an unprecedented high and probably an all-time low in your bank account (psst psst…'tis the season of taxation hohoho!) here is a list of few places you can visit to relax, without burning a hole in your pocket!
Kulcha Land…. Amritsar
If you're forever hungry like I, then well Amritsar is your calling. This city is a delight for all food lovers. Taste the best North Indian, Punjabi cuisine cooked in pure ghee with the right amount of tadka. The dhaba culture will definitely make you a food addict (if already not).
Moipot recommends: Lassi, flavored lassi, gud ka halwa (served hot), kulcha and paraanthe makkhan maarke.
Whether religious or not, one should pay a visit to the Golden Temple if in the city. The langar and Khara prasaad served at the temple sit just perfectly to make you feel satiated with simplicity.
Even as we’ve grown to reminisce our childhood foods, and build an array of foods that we’d never miss to serve at every party, and in the process discovered a lot of new dishes; some still continue to remain in our favourites for as long as we can remember.
These foods may be found in that one specific family restaurant you’d visit for every celebration, the drive-by fast-food place that you passed coming back from school, the street corner tapri (stall) you’d meet at during the tuition break or the dish at your grandparents place that would be made every time you visited.
Sometimes all you had to have to do is skip your daily routine and visit your childhood haunts and re-live those moments. A five-star restaurant may not prove a match to these foods with humble and nostalgic beginnings and may not provide the bountiful flavour of the food.
Street foods
No matter from which part of the country or the world you come from, the streets provide one of the first foods that you’d swear by, with delicacies at every corner. A true timeless staple of the Maharashtrians would be the humble Vadapav. With its affordable rates and simply wholesome flavours, it stands through time, as a go-to evening snack.
Whether it’s a cold winter evening comfort snack, or as a perfect accompaniment in the cinemas, Roasted peanuts warm the heart and soul.
Chaatin any form is an absolute trademark of street food in India for decades.
We think Summer is the coolest season! Yes, we meant that…do not get all bewildered and let us explain here. Imagine this, it's a hot hot hot summer morning, the only thing that saves you from all the heat is a cold, a very very cold bowl, we repeat BOWL of ice-cream or slushy or anything with "sugar and spice & all things nice!" & the constant sweating despite the non-stop comfort food consumption will work just as fine as your Summer-mania gym membership. But who are we kidding? That's definitely NOT how it works, right? & quoting the fittest individual we can recall, "once on the lips, forever on your hips" (read: in an annoyed tone) #JoeyDoesNotShareFood
So, summers are the coolest season ever, said no one ever!
But wait, why are you even worried about all this, we've got you sorted. Take a look at our little checklist here-
Without further ado, let's beat the heat together!
Yes, you read that right. It's 6:30 A.M on an April Monday morning…and its as hot at it would be at 12 noon…and no I did not wake up to catch the glimpse of my favorite, The Game of Thrones, S8E01 along with the U.S but because I promised myself to hit the gym and no better day than a Monday to start with it, right?
So here I am, waiting for all the spoiler spam to get over so that I can watch it peacefully, with my bowl of tomato+ cheese and caramel popcorn (weird combo right? Try it, thank me later!). After watching the most awaited episode of the series, like the geek I am...I started watching and following up with the various fan theory blogs and videos etc. only realizing that I have literally completed an entire big fat bowl of popcorn and even the uncooked corn kernels. My 3 weeks of cardio gone to waste in a span of what? 67 mins. Dayum….*sulking*
Getting all dramatic with my sudden craving for eating all the junk lying in the kitchen cabinet, the ninja inside of me gathers all the courage to search for healthy snacking alternatives. I didn't do this mindlessly but rather shorted down on types of food that I enjoy viz; crunchy, spicy, sweet and pfff…of course healthy (I'm in health-haven).
After rigorous searching for hours and hours (read 30 minutes at tops)…I came down with a list of the top 6 super foods that are easily available at any local shop and even if not, Hum hai na!
Flax seeds …
…..& no, I do not mean eat these seeds all alone, because hey! I'm not that cruel…but here I have a quick recipe for you-
Ingredients- Bread (I love my rye bread), Banana (favored fruit), Hero of the recipe---Flaxseeds, the spread of your liking or for all the health junkies— unsalted peanut butter. Toast the bread as per your liking + Spread the spread (Teehee :D)+ Place slices of the fruit on it + Sprinkle the flaxseeds (with love and generously).
Pickle, comes from a Dutch word pickel which means brine, while Achaar supposedly has its roots in Persian, meaning powdered or salted meat, fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar or syrup.
Archaeologists and anthropologists believe that pickling started way back in 2400BC in the Mesopotamian civilization.
A couple of centuries later our very own Kheera (cucumber) made its way up the ranks and was started to be pickled in the Tigris valley.
Saviour (Savoury) in Long Voyages!
In the Age of Exploration, long voyages were common, and so was a crisis of food and sea-sick diseases such as Scurvy (a Vitamin C deficiency disorder).
During his journey to the New World, pickles were rationed by Christopher Columbus for his sailors. So crucial was this Achaar for the trip, that he even went to the extent of growing cucumber in Haiti, to restock his supply of pickle for the trip ahead.
