A Trek To Karnala Fort

Hey, I'm back after a really long break. Have been very busy with work - cooking shows, talks and presentations! Besides, I had been advised rest for a bicep tear and neck injury. It’s still healing and I have to be ultra careful. So, writing is very restricted.

Anyway, let’s get on with life. I cannot recollect when I had gone trekking last in so many years. Yesterday was a good break with a one-day trek to Karnala Fort with my trekking partner Sanjana Kodical. Now, this is something I strongly recommend to all nature lovers. Escape from the concrete jungle, at least once in a while, especially if you are a nature lover. It’s great for your sanity.

Adventure Begins

Let me start from the very beginning. A train journey to Panvel followed by a bus ride to Pen from where we had to go to Karnala Bird Sanctuary. This was the instruction given to us! There! Our adventure began from the time we got on to the bus to Pen. In the bus, we discovered that the sanctuary was much before Pen. A lot of pleading with the bus conductor had him stop the bus close to the sanctuary. Relief!

It was 8.30 am. Entering the sanctuary, especially on a weekday, is getting into a peaceful zone with only birds or rather their chirping for company. Now this is not exactly the right time to catch the birds in action. One has to be there at sunrise. We had to be quiet and really look out for the few birds that were around. We spotted a couple of Kingfishers and Black Indigos. There were lots of spider webs with huge spiders.

The walk around is blissful, to say the least. We spotted few tiny birds perched high up on trees. We could hear a peacock. How we wished it would emerge from its hiding. But no such luck! We stopped to take eat a sandwich. Suddenly, we heard a sound above us. It was a Langoor. We ran. Now, we were eager to get on to the fort.

Less Travelled Path

Soon we came to a bifurcation in the path. One was the easy track (easy, only when compared to the difficult one). We chose the difficult path. We regretted our choice when the climb kept getting tougher. More than anything, we were worried if we were going the right way. There was no sign or directions. We were on the verge of climbing down and going back the same way (a scary thought, considering the fact that it had been a steep climb), we heard voices.

What a relief! It felt good to know that there were people around. 

Mission Accomplished

We were just 800 m away from our destination. I would have never forgiven myself if I had turned and gone back then. With renewed energy, we continued our climb. Soon we caught a glimpse of the fort. It had all been worth it. Like all of Shivaji's forts, it has a regal bearing. We climbed as close to the fort as was possible.

Scared Duo

Suddenly we got a little scared - it was just the two of us. A few minutes later, we saw a group of boys heading to the fort. We started our trek down the easy path. We kept bumping into a lot of college kids on our way down. That was reassuring. Down, there are a few caged birds – peacock and peahen, lovebirds. We also saw lots of monkeys in this area. 

We spotted a small dhaba down. It looked welcoming. That day, they just had Jhunka Bhakar and piping hot tea. Wow, the perfect ending to a memorable trek! On weekends, they serve chicken, mutton, dal, rice and some more dishes. One can even call them a day in advance and order fish curry or fry. Call Gitabai on 9422489609.
The ride back to Panvel Station in a goods carrier was fun though it was preceded by a lot of tension. This has been one of my best treks ever. Unplanned and directionless. Looking back, it feels good that we dared to trek up the difficult path without a guide. I want to go again!

Pics: Sanjana Kodical

Yes, It's A Feast

Yes, It's A Feast

A mini one, at that! But it's the 9th Day of Navratri. A confession - I'm tired with the non-stop cooking.. and tomorrow I have a trial demo cooking session at the clinic. This is a preparation for our cookery show on October15.

Anyway, coming back to our feast. I wanted to try out some of the vrat recipes I had been reading on various food sites. So I made Singhara Atte Ka Poori and Aloo Sabzi. Then made my favourite Sooji Ka Halwa. 

I had a bit of pumpkin. So I microwaved it for 10 minutes, added jaggery powder to the pulp and made dough with singhara atta and wheat flour. The idea was to make sweet pooris. It turned out yummy, a variation of the Mangalore Buns, which is made with ripe bananas. That's the big poori you see in the picture. 
Singhara atta cooks really quick and gets a nice dark brown colour. It gives a nice dark brown, burnt look. But be careful, if you fry it any longer, it will turn black.

The last item was Appe. 
Now hold your breath. I pureed sweet corn in the mixer, added sugar and jaggery and made a mixture with rawa and wheat flour. I had warned you about my fascination for buying sweet corn kernels.

So enough of this cooking details. Let's get on with our recipes. Except for these two vrat recipes, the rest have been prepared using approximation like an experienced chef.

Vratwale Aloo

Ingredients

Boiled Potato – 4

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Roasted Dhaniya powder  – 1 tbsp

Roasted Jeera Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp

Amchur – 2 tsp

Salt

Method

Boil, peel and chop potatoes. 

Heat oil and ghee

Add Jeera and let it splutter

Add dhaniya powder and mix

Add chopped potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes

Add chili powder, Jeera powder, Amchur, salt and mix everything well

Serve hot with singhara puri 

Singhara Puri

Ingredients

 Singhara Atta – 1 cup

Boiled potato – 1

Green Chili Paste  – 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt

Method

Boil, peel and mash potatoes.

 In a bowl add singhara flour, mashed potatoes, green chili paste, salt,  oil

Add water to make dough

Roll out carefully to make small poories 

Dahi Wonders

Dahi Wonders

Yes, the 8^th Day of Navratri today. Dahi Kebabs, is something I had always wanted to try out but have been too busy to look for its recipe for (read that as little lazy and forgetful too).  So finally when I had run out of ideas, Dahi Kebabs came back to me in a flash. I came across a few recipes. This one seemed to be the quickest. Of course, I don’t have to point out that curds are protein-rich.

It’s no-fuss affair except that you have to hang the curds to take out all the water. The longer you hang it, the better it is. I kept it for almost 7 hours.. next time, I will keep it for at least 10 hours.  I guess, the lesser the moisture, lesser will be the amount of besan you will have to use.

Next, I was wondering how it would hold together, after all it is curd. But I managed to shape it into cutlets, with a little care (something I’m not very good at) and transfer it to the non-stick pan. I was sure it would break and become messy. But no, I was surprised at the way it stayed. I could even flip it over to cook the other side.

Don’t get put off by the colour of the kebabs. This is an experimental chef at work. I had not estimated the cooking time to be so less.. also, my non-stick heats up really fast and maintains the heat well. The kebabs taste good nonetheless. So let’s go!

Ingredients

Hung Curd - 250 grams

Roasted Besan – 4 to 6 tbs

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Elaichi powder - 1 tsp

Cinnamon powder - ½ tsp

Black pepper powder - ½ tsp

Onion - 1 medium

Garlic – 2 cloves

Salt

Method

Roast besan. Cool

Slice onions thin

Add all the ingredients to hung curd

Divide into small portions and flatten with moist palms to form kebabs

Heat non-stick pan and spread ½ tbsp oil on it

Place the kebabs in it and fry on low flame

Flip over to other side and fry

Healthy Sweet Treat

Healthy Sweet Treat

The 7^th Day of Navratri and I am giving  you a healthy laddoo. It looked interesting when I came across the recipe. Its ingredients – oats and peanuts is full of health benefits. Jaggery, is a healthy alternative to sugar. So, much as I try not to, I end up trying out healthy recipes only. And yes, this is great as an in-between meal snack or just a tinge of meetha for those with a sweet tooth. It is extremely easy and quick to make. So let’s get on with it… 

Oats and peanuts laddoo

Ingredients

Peanuts - 2 cups

Oats - 2 cups

Powdered Jaggery - 1 ½ cups

Method

Dry roast the oats in a non-stick pan till it turns light brown

Dry roast peanuts till it turns light brown

Cool and remove the skin

Grind the oats and peanuts into a powder

Add powdered jaggery to it and grind again

Divide into equal portions and shape into small laddoos

 If the mixture becomes too hard, warm it slightly in a non-stick pan or microwave oven

Protein Cutlet

Protein Cutlet

I don't believe this. It's the 6th day of Navratri and I'm able to keep my promise of 9 recipes for 9 days. Today, I'm giving you something that's tasty, healthy and easy to make. It's Tur Dal Cutlet. I like to call it Protein Cutlet, because of the protein content in dals. Usually, cutlets are made with vegetables.
I eat this as a healthy snack in-between meals or at teatime. You can also make it a mini meal with salad and curds. Eat it piping hot with green chutney and sauce, and of course a cup of hot tea or coffee.  

Ingredients

Tur Dal - 1 cup (soaked overnight)

Onion - 1

Green chili - 3 to 4

Garlic - 6 cloves

Curry leaves - a handful

Coriander leaves - a handful

Cinnamon stick -1 inch piece

Saunf -1 tbsp

Jeera -1 tsp

Rice flour – ½ cup

Besan – ½ cup

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Crush cinnamon, saunf and jeera

Tear curry leaves into pieces

Chop green chilies and garlic cloves

Grind the dal coarsely

Add all the above to the dal and mix well

Add besan and rice flour to this mixture

Make cutlets 

Spread 1 tbsp oil on a non-stick pan

Cover the pan with a lid and let the cutlets cook on a medium flame

Serve hot 

Go Gluten Free With Singhara Barfi

Go Gluten Free With Singhara Barfi

Today, I want to pamper your sweet tooth. I’ve always been a great fan of desserts. The Navratri season is famous for its sweets. Singhara Barfi appealed to me. It’s made with Singhara flour (water chestnut flour) which is mostly eaten during fast. I have eaten the Singhara Atte Ka Sheera. It’s yummy.

Besides, it’s a change from the usual wheat flour. The water chestnut flour is very versatile and is used to make parathas and pooris. Ultimately, what got me to try out this dish, is the health benefits of the flour. So here it is:

pics:Sanjana Kodical

Singhara Barfi

Ingredients

Water Chestnut Flour (Singhara Atta) - 1 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Sugar - ½ Cup (You can use jaggery or take jaggery and sugar in equal quantities)

Water - 1 ½ cups

Elaichi powder – ½ tsp

Almonds - 6

Method

Heat ghee in a pan

Add flour and roast on medium flame till it becomes brown and gives off a nice aroma

Add sugar (or jaggery) and water. (I used both in equal quantities. You can make it with jiggery only).  

Mix well. Do not let it form lumps

Add elaichi powder and keep stirring for 2 minutes

Grease a plate with little ghee and spread the mixture on it

Level the top and let it set for 30 minutes

Cut in diamond shape and garnish with almond slivers

Say Cheers To Oats

Say Cheers To Oats

After the Saturday night feasting, today I’m in a slightly healthy mood. I want you to try out this healthy and nourishing drink, but tasty too, that can be served to guests. Honestly, I’m not a great fan of drinks and rarely try them out. The oats bit grabbed my attention when I came across this recipe on the net.

You can spike it up with whey protein and have it as a pre workout drink. It has the subtle flavor of oats. The dates sort of disguise the taste of oats, so an oats hater will not even guess its presence in the drink. You can even use this drink as a mini meal when you don’t have the appetite to eat or as a meal replacement if you want to diet for a day.  So, let’s get on with it.

pics:Sanjana Kodical

Oats Milkshake

Ingredients:

Dates (seedless) – 10 to 12

Milk – 1 cup

Oats – 3 tbsp

Honey – 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

Soak dates in ½ cup milk for 1 hour

Roast oats in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes till it turns slightly brown

Let it cool

Grind dates and oats in a blender

Add the remaining milk and blend well

You can top it with crushed almonds

Serve chilled

Corn It

Corn It

I am always tempted to buy sweet corn, especially when they give me 3 packets for 20 bucks. That is a good deal compared to the 10 bucks for 1 packet. And then I am left wondering with what to do with them. Yeah, this is a forewarning to you. Be prepared to see corn in different avatars on this blog. 

Today, I made Corn Dhokla using Makkai Ka Atta and Sweet Corn kernels. You can eat it hot with chutney. I loved it with tadka for breakfast with a cup of hot tea. This is continuing with my promised recipes for the Navratri season. So here we go:

Pic: Sanjana Kodical

Dhokla with corn

Ingredients

Makai ka atta (coarse variety) - 1 cup

Sour curds - ½ cup

Sweet corn - ½ cup

Ginger-green chilli paste - 2 tsp

Hing - ¼ tsp

Sugar - 2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Fruit salt - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

For Tadka

Rai - 1 tsp

Til - 1 tsp

Hing - a pinch

Oil - 1 tsp

Method

Combine the atta and sour curds with ½ cup of warm water in a bowl

Mix well to make a smooth batter

Keep aside for 30– 45 minutes

Add the sweet corn, ginger-green chilli paste, hing, sugar, lemon juice, oil and mix well

Add the fruit salt, mix again and pour the batter into a greased thali

Steam for 15 to 20 minutes

Cut into pieces and serve with green chutney

Or give tadka with rai, til and hing

Garnish with chopped kothmir leaves 

Dal-iciously Yours

Dal-iciously Yours 
Here I am, back with the next one in my series of Navratri recipes:

I came across this recipe of Chana Dal Paratha on a blog. Honestly, I did not think too much of it but nevertheless decided to give it a try as it fitted my parameters of a healthy breakfast idea. But when I tasted it, I was stunned. I have always been a fan of its sweet version, Puran Poli, and had never thought that it's savoury version would bowl me over like this. The subtle flavours appealed to me. Do try it. And yes, eat it piping hot, straight from the tava. Somehow, it loses its charm when you eat it cold or after reheating it. So here it goes:

Pics: Sanjana Kodical

  Chana Dal Paratha

Ingredients

For Chana Dal Stuffing

Chana Dal – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Haldi - ½ tsp

Roasted Jeera powder - ½ tbsp

Red chilli powder – 3 tsp

For Dough

 Whole wheat Flour – 2 cups

Salt – ½ tsp

Method

Soak Chana dal overnight

Pressure cook it taking care it does not become soft and mushy

Drain out all the water

Add jeera powder and chili powder to chana dal

Grind coarsely

Make soft dough using enough water and 1 tbsp oil

Divide dough and stuff with big portion of filling

Make parathas and roast on both sides using little ghee

Serve it piping hot 

The Colour Of Beet

The Colour Of Beet

As promised, I am starting this Navratri season with a yummylicious and colourful halwa called Beetroot Sooji Halwa. Honestly, when I came across this recipe on the net, I was almost going to skip it, taking it to be a typical Beetroot Halwa, similar to Gajar or Dudhi Halwa. But the picture caught my attention and of course, stimulated my taste buds. The red colour of the beet was reflected in the halwa, not a shade lighter. 

I tried it out the next day and was excited and delighted that it looked exactly like it looked in the pictures online. And it tasted divine. And of course, it’s a great way to make beet lovers eat this root vegetable which has great nutritional value. The nutritionist in me always looks for healthy ingredients even in the most sinful food. 

So here’s the recipe.. and the pics. Ultimately, the proof of the halwa is in its taste, not just the colour. So go ahead and try it. It’s simple to make and quick too.

 Beetroot Sheera

Ingredients

Rava – ½ cup

Beetroot - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cups

Ghee - 4 tbsp

Cashews nuts - 9

 Raisins – 1 tsp

Almonds - 10

Water

Pics: Sanjana Kodical

Method

Peel and grate beetroot.

Heat 1 tsp ghee. Add sliced almonds, cashews and raisins and roast till it turns golden brown. Remove

Heat 1 tbsp ghee and roast rava on medium flame till it turns light brown. Remove.

Heat more ghee, roast beetroot on medium flame till it is cooked.

Add rava and mix well

Add water and sugar

Mix well. Cover and cook for 5 mins on low till water is absorbed

Stir well and cook for a 2 mins till halwa becomes dry

Add nuts and raisins and mix well

Serve hot

Over The Block

Over The Block

I started this blog in 2010, when I had reached a dead end in my career as a journalist. I had seriously lost interest in writing. Ideas just stopped flowing. Hence, the name of my blog. It reflected my state of mind, professionally.

                                           

Pic: Shilpa Shivalkar

Where Am I Going?

On the personal front too, I didn’t know where I was going. Soon, I went on a weeklong holiday to Goa. So my personal life was sorted, at least for the time being.

Then, I decided to venture into more serious writing. I took over as Mumbai Editor of an advertising and marketing portal. The money was good, so was the exposure. But somehow, the content didn’t appeal to me. There was no creativity involved. I knew I was doing it only to make a living, and more important, to keep myself occupied.

But somewhere I knew I wouldn’t last too long here. I wanted to get out of that meaningful existence and follow my heart. So, what next? And soon, the opportunity presented itself to me. I upped and out. No more of this nonsensical, bullshitting, I told myself.

Fitness Freak

Being a fitness freak, I had always enjoyed writing articles on fitness. I had started the Fitness Page in HT Café in 2006. But soon I had realized that writing fitness articles as a journalist wasn’t satisfying. Reason – the article used to be at the mercy of the illiterate editor (illiterate in terms of fitness). The article was expected to have more visual appeal than hardcore information.

So, more often than not, my articles were chopped and pruned with most of the technical stuff getting edited out. I stopped writing on fitness. I decided that I would write fitness articles only as a ‘fitness professional’. No one would mess around with my articles. I would write on my terms.

My First Step

My first step in that direction was to quit journalism and enroll myself in a good fitness training institute. The first few months were a little scary. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make a career out of this. I also didn’t know if I was prepared for the struggle. After all, I was starting out in a completely new industry. The only thing I had to my credit was the fact that I looked fit, thanks to my regular workouts and careful eating. Even when I was a journalist, people used to ask me if I were a fitness trainer.

But I was enjoying myself a lot. I was learning new things about workouts and diet. It was like a whole new world opening up in front of me. I had always thought that I knew it all. Besides, I was also enjoying being a student all over again. That kept me going.

Exams..Exams

There were some tough exams that I would have to clear before being certified as a fitness trainer and nutritionist. But I accepted the challenge. It was a small price to pay for all the fun that I was having. I studied really hard for my theory and practical exams. By the grace of God, I topped almost all the exams. That felt good.

Soon, I started training a couple of people. It gave me the confidence that I could be a good trainer. The best part was, training people with specific problems and ailments like bad posture, knee pain and back pain. 

Starting Out

Next, I took up a job as a nutritionist. I was happy that my clients responded well to my diet and I could give them the desired results. Then there was no looking back for me. I read up a lot of books on food and diets. I learnt a lot from my clients' experiences. I had developed the habit of talking to them. I still do. That's a great learning experience. I also read a lot and keep upgrading my knowledge.

I have also developed another area of my interest - cooking. I surf the net for healthy recipes and try them out. I enjoy these amazingly new dishes and even pass on these recipes to my clients and patients. 

My Achievements

Touchwood! Four and a half years almost, and I feel I am only growing as a fitness professional.

My website: www.weightmanager.in

My blog: TGIF Thank-God-I'm-Fit http://thank-god-im-fit.blogspot.in

Links to my talks on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5SHk_N9inM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJryxmMI3iE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv9RkROhaGY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDqLUKfO_30

And yes, I would like to proudly share the links to my fitness related articles on thehealthsite.com:

 http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/fitness-tips-every-woman-needs-to-try/

http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/10-reasons-to-eat-sweet-potatoes/

Then there are some articles where I have given inputs as a nutritionist:

 http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/diet-chart-and-tips-for-non-vegetarians/

http://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/what-are-the-side-effects-of-gm-diet/

 My Secret

And a secret which I would like to share with my readers is – I have just edited a book for someone. But more on that later, when the book gets published. All I will reveal now is that it’s fiction against a political backdrop. Don’t be surprised! Even I was surprised while I was editing it. But I had taken it up as a challenge and there was no backing out now.

But had I had not taken up that offer, I would have regretted it all my life. So here’s hoping to write more and more articles. Writing feels like a homecoming of sorts. After all, once a journalist, always a journalist! But this blog will have nothing on health or fitness. For that you have to go to my other blog: TGIF Thank-God-I'm-Fit http://thank-god-im-fit.blogspot.in

Let's Have Fun

I want to have fun with this blog. As much a fitness person that I am, I am also a foodie. But I maintain a balance between indulging in my favourite food and being obsessed about my body. And yes, I’ve also loved writing about food and doing food reviews. So this blog will be devoted to everything about food, cheap and interesting eating places and maybe a lot more. So I had named by first post ‘Food Fantasy’ but had never gotten around to doing anything about it.

To begin with, I will start with regular updates over the nine-day Navratri period on some interesting dishes that I have tried out. I’m sure more ideas will flow by then. So have fun and experiment with food. See you tomorrow.