Fettuccine pasta

I had learning to make fresh pasta as one thing in my 17 on seventeen blog. So I finally learnt to make fresh vegetarian (no egg) pasta

Ingredients :
Flour              60 grams
Oil                   3/4 tbs
Water             5 tbs approx.
Salt                a pinch

Method :
Sieve the flour and salt in a clean bowl.
Add oil and mix well, add water knead a dough.
Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes

Roll the dough to 0.5 cm thick and cut into strips.

Boil water and put the strips in the boiling water.Boil the strips till it's soft.

Drain out the pasta and apply oil on the pasta.

Put this in your favourite sauce.

And enjoy

NICHOLSON CEMETRY

In the hustle and bustle of Kashmiri Gate hidden behind some food lorries is the simple gate of the Nicholson Cemetery.
Dotted by hundreds of graves which are  shadowed by pomegranate, tamarind and  neem trees and bougainvilleas. It is named after Brigadier General John Nicholson whose grave is among the first few graves, he was brutally wounded in the 1857 munity and died at the age of 35. He was infamous for his cruelty.

The Maingate

The first look

Nicholson Grave 

There we met a gentleman maybe in his sixties we asked him whether the stories about Nicholson's ghost are true and he said that if you believe in it then yes, you might even be scared of your shadow  and if you do not believe than nothing can scare you.

 He added that this places is not about the devil who is buried but about all the loved souls. He said that a few years back there was a research held here to find about the authenticity of the stories which bought scientists and religious diplomats with all their fancy tools and they didn't reach an good result but this place started becoming a hot spot for young people and that's why they had to get the research stopped because it's a cemetery not a college canteen. 

He also told us that the cemetery is a first burial cemetery only few second burials have been done of the deceased family member and that can be done at least after 6 or more years of first burial.Getting a second  burial requires a number of official documents.He also added that people were very happy that Group4  was given the renovation work but they didn't do the required work leaving  everyone dissapointed .When I asked his name he gave a very diplomatic answer, "you people know Gandhi's name but you just know his name" and then he went on about todays political world. 

Some graves had epitaph written in foreign language ,some had angels looking over the resting soul,some had verses from the holy bible some had nothing but the registration number the old cracked gravestone trail to the back of the graveyard where post colonial departed souls rest with freshly layed flowers on few, unlike the colonial ones who don't have frequent visitors except Nicholson because his reputated ghost

Seventeen on 17th

So I turn 17 !!!

And I decided to make a list of things which I would try to complete until my next birthday.

1. Complete school.
2. Travel to someplace all by myself.
I have never travelled alone I am always supervised by some elder and now I think I am old enough to travel alone
3. Get into college.
4. Apply for driving licence.
5. Grow a herb.
6. Learn to make fresh pasta
7. Travel to some place new
8 . Travel to some place old
Go back to recollect memories and make some new.
9 . Try and read more.
10. Go to a music concert
11. Get a barbecue grill
12. Make smores on that grill
13. Try expresso
Never had the courage to try it but I am pretty determined I will do it.
14. Cook something cooked using liquid  smoke.
I love the smokey flavour which get from food cooked in wood fired oven and I liquid smoke gives the same taste without an wood fire oven.
15.Do an internship.
16. Think of the sixteenth thing :p
17.Be a better person!

Market on Choti Diwali

Diwali being one of greatest festival celebrated around our country and which such greatness comes greater madness.
The markets are overly crowded, and because of the traffic jam if you choose to walk then no one can stop u from gaining your goal weight. Travelling in metro will surely give you a few bruises (I actually have 2 at the moment thanks to the impatient crowd). All this will give you a new level of tolerance.

I went to Chandani Chowk (Dariba kalan)
But the crowd was less then last year unlike the day time when the crowd aseemed to be hundred times more.p

Diyas!!

More diyas!!

Bandhanvars and wall hangings

The aso palav leaves considered auspicious. 

Food!!!

Idols of godess Lakshmi and god Ganesh.

Firecrackers.

But  I pledged to have a diwali with out crackers but I did buy a few sky lanterns 

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL!!

Pear and Caramel Tartlets

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/5 cup butter
4 medium size pear
Caramel sauce (Read previous post 'caramel sauce' for recipe)http://exploreeat.blogspot.in/2014/09/caramel-sauce.html

Method:
Mix flour, butter and mix to a crumbly constancy. Add water and knead.
Rest this in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 0.5 cm thick and place in the pre dusted baking tins.Put a handful of beans in the tin while baking. 

 Bake at 180°F for fifteen minutes.Let it cool before demoulding.

For the filling:Mixed the chopped pear in the caramel sauce.
Put the filling in the tartlets and bake for 5 minutes.

Living in COASTAL v/s Living in PLAINS

I have lived in a coastal town of Gujarat for 6 years and have been living in the plains (New Delhi) for the past 6 years and here are a few difference that one surely observes.

1. Coastal have monsoon but Plains have mere rain.

2. Delhiwalas call winter cold when the temperature dips to 3°C-4°C but coastalites cover up themselves in layers of sweaters, shawls, scarfs, mittens,etc when it's hardly 18° Celsius.

3. Fruits like leeches, and inca berry commonly available here were a rarity in the coasts but water apple a fruit much like leeches in taste is very common there.
The freshest of strawberries, cheekos, grapes, kesar mangoes and coconut are some gems of coastal but aren't as good in Delhi.

4.BEACHES!! Do I have to say anymore?

5. There is way more greenery and way less pollution as compared to Delhi.

6.  Freshest seafood is available there due to obvious reasons.

7. There were no cycle rikshaws.

RAMLILA

I went to the famous Ramlila of Chandani Chowk during Navratre and I couldn't stop my self from indulging in the variety of food the venue had to offer.

(A view from the top of ferries wheel.)

These toy seller sell masks, bow and arrows, swords and are reasons of smiles on faces of kids but alas most of the sellers are children themselves. 

Ferries wheel :)

This is a picture of the main attraction at

the event Romali Roti; thin, soft, made with refined flour, baked on an inverted

skillet. It was amazing and was accompanied by a Kathi kababs.

 The Kathi kababs are soybean chunks and cottage cheese skewers dipped in a batter and fried then put in a favorful tomato gravy. A must try .

Aloo tikki(mashed and spiced and potato)and tava aloo. The radius of the pan was 1 metre.

This was my favourite out of all I have had this ice cream with fresh fruits in Gujarat but this one had mango and rose syrup rolled and scraped off the roller. 

And the night ended with fireworks

The fault in our ROADS

Roads have  some amazing drivers and some hooligans.Sadly the number of hooligans outnumber the good drivers.

THE FAULT IN OUR ROADS

(Every hooligan driver)
I am a grenade.

(Condition of the Roads)
Some potholes are bigger than other potholes.

(Using high beam headlights instead of low beam headlights)
My car headlamps lit up like a Christmas tree.

(This is how people jumped a red light) First slowly and then all at once.

(Most people who drive)
I am a bad driver and a good navigator, I am a good driver but a pathetic navigator.

(Advising to use seat belt/ helmets)
Sane person:I wish you would fasten your seat belt /helmet.
Other person:I can't believe I am in this vehicle  with a person who has such cliché wishes.

(Tu janta nai mera baap kon hai)
Traffic controller:OKAY you may go
Driver: OKAY

(When asked for driving licence)
Traffic controller:How is your driving licence?
Driver: Oh it's great but the only problem is I don't have it.

(Holligans while driving )
Let's drive with Isaac's point of view!        

The fault is not in our roads but in ourselves!!!

Caramel sauce

This is an amazing sauce and quite simple to make.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15-18 minutes

Ingredients
1.200 grams sugar
2.3-4 tbs milk
3.A pinch of salt

Method:
In a pan, heat sugar and stir it till it melts. When a pretty golden colour is obtained, add milk and let it thicken for a couple of minutes, add salt and stir well.

This can be refrigerated for a week.

I

And that's it!

Things to do when sick!

When you are sick you can't go out so you miss school and stay at home but you are better than you were yesterday and you don't feel like sleeping for 18 hours.
So here is a list of things you can do

1. Throw a tantrum.
Because this is one of those chances when you would not be yelled at for doing so :p

2. Play Quiz up.
It's a great way to kill time.

3. Watch Masterchef.
You are forced to eat bland, boiled food but you can at least look at great food.

4. Watch Grey's Anatomy.
You are sick and thinking that why did  this happened to you and the answer is your low immunity. Watching people more sick than you makes you feel way better
(Just giving an crappy excuse to put my favourite show in the list)

5. Sleep.
Because that is your all time favourite thing.

6. Write a blog about it.

VIRAL FEVER

The saddest thing that can happen to a person is viral fever(exaggeration intended) specially when Malaria and Dengue fever are spreading really fast and people scare the shit out of you. On top of that the doctor says that if you don't get well soon ( in a day or two)they will tell you to get some tests done for the above mentioned diseases.For a person who had had dengue before hearing that is a nightmare and that wasn't enough
you have to stay at home and miss the test of the only subject that you are good at.
Viral fever doesn't come alone, it brings cold,headache, weakness along with it. A minute you feel really cold and after an hour would world be sweating.
Luckily the fever fades off but you are not strong enough to get your ass off the bed.
With fever come the fever food. Bland, boiled and tasteless, but you have no other choice other than eating because you want to get up and you need energy from that fever food.
I never thought that a viral fever would let me explore out so many emotions in me and make me feel so helpless.

Ugrasen Ki Baoli

Today I and two of my friends visited the hidden gem Ugrasen Ki Baoli on Hailey Lane, hidden among tall buildings. It's a step well made  out of  red stone with 103 steps. Its a well from Tuglaq era.
When we decided to go there we had no clue where it is or what it would be and that for me is a true exploration. I read about it on a blog and that inspired me to write a blog myself
This is what I saw when we first turned into Hailey Lane street art by Brinda project.(picture1 )
I did have a cold feet before going inside because there are lot of stories on the internet about this place being haunted but I went in.
This is the first look of the place.(picture2)
I didn't find it scary but there were a lot of pigeons cooing and bats squealing did give it a eerie feel.
It is a pretty place and I would love to go there again.
Few more pictures from the Ugrasen Ki Baoli.

Monuments like these were made by kings to brag about their power and riches they had.This reminds me of Sonnet 55 by Shakespeare

 |Nor marble Nor gilded stone|.

 Places no matter how small are a part of our history and are like pieces of jigsaw puzzle and history can not be completed with out them.Alas Ugrasen Ki Baoli does have a place in archaeological sites but are not maintained. I hope that increasing popularity of this place does attract Government's attention too