Sunday, August 28, 2016

Book Review - My Tarot Something else by Nisha Mehta

                   
                        " Tarot tells what you need to know and not what you want to know"






As a student of science, I am a very practical & "matter of fact" person and would never believe in astrology or birth charts and so did Nisha Mehta, the author of the book "My tarot Something Else". Yes ! She didn't initially but destiny had something else planned for her and here she is as not only a leading tarot reader but as an author of a book on tarot too...strange! Isn't it ? 

               "When your destination is confirmed, a path will appear, the journey will begin".

I personally believe that as we get older, the problems and difficulties that come along, lead us to the occult sciences or "knowledge of the hidden". We all want to seek answers to the questions pertaining to the future. 
       
      "When honesty is not corrupted, faith is not disrupted, the journey will be uninterrupted"

 I received the book around 3 pm and as I opened the packet, I was intrigued by the cover of the book. It had a young women walking alone immersed in her thoughts and I could so easily relate to her. It's your journey and you have to walk alone......


                                               "A thoughtful decision eliminates the confusion"


           This book by Nisha Mehta is a beginners guide to tarot. Tarot is an assimilation of 78 cards consisting of MAJOR ARCANA & MINOR ARCANA. Major Arcana are 22 cards numbered from 0-21 which relate to major events in life. Minor Arcana are a set of 56 cards represented by 4 suits with 14 cards each  - 10 pip cards + 4 court cards. These denote daily and regular life events. This book explains each card in a precise and in depth manner. The author also throws lights on related topics like the key to reading cards, how to spread them, interpreting tarot among others. 


                                              "Success starts with a series of sacrifices"


In the preface, the author tells us about her journey as a tarot reader, the roller coaster ride and how she stands vindicated.


If you are fasinated by tarot and want to know more, My tarot something else comes as a handbook of sorts. An interesting read and highly recommended to someone who wants to know the nuances of tarot. 

Ratings - 4.5/5

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Food Trail at The Addams House

I have always been an aficionado of Fairytales since my childhood. Fairytales are generally set in on an idyllic castle and picturesque palaces. Why am I discussing the details of a childhood fave when we are here to talk about the FOOD BLOGGER'S MEET @ THE ADDAMS HOUSE. Well,the answer lies in this picture below.



Doesn't it remind you of a castle? I gazed at the greyishish black exteriors as I made my way into the restaurant. I exchanged pleasantries with the fellow bloggers & introduction with a few. As I placed myself comfortably, I looked around for a 360 degrees view. It was a biggish space with a very idiosyncratic and quirky sophistication. On the open bricked wall were pictures of The Addams Family which were a bit offbeat and whacky. All in all an appealing site with the bar taking the centerstage. A delight for my Drinker buddies...hahaha.






We were served the chef's special menu and so started our food trail. We were served ADDAM'S DRAGON POPCORN in chocolate flavour which were treated with nitrogen making it crispier, CHAKHNA WAKHNA which was essentially an assortment of salad with black chana, rajmah and chickpeas mixed with onion, tomatoes and spices, RAJMA CHAWAL BALLS which were fried and served with garlic tomato chutney, CHILLI ROASTED GARLIC AND CHEESE POPPERS and MOLECULAR SPHERES WITH TITBIT. The non vegetarians had a few more options apart from these. I especially liked the rajma chawal balls and chilli roasted garlic and cheese poppers which were so melt in the mouth and flavourful.









We were served an array of drinks which included MOJITO (my favourite), BHOOT which was a rum based drink, WANDERLUST was essentially a vodka based concotion, RASPERRY COOLER which was a combination of raspberry with orange,HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE SHAKE which as the name suggests is a cheescake in shake form which was divine.










The chef dished out some amazing stuff like KULCHA  PIZZAZ  which were kulchas laced with cheese, SUSHI ROLLS,  spiced beetroot patties with cheese and mayo in the form of GIVE ME RED and not to forget the HORNY COWBOY which is a wood oven pizza overloaded with onions, mushrooms, jalapeno's, kidney beans and cheese.






The Addam's house serves Tex-Mex too and I relished the COTTAGE CHEESE TACOS & VEGGIDILLA.





And now the best part, digging my teeth into some sinful treats - HAZELNUT ROYAL CRACKLE, GULABARI CHEESECAKE and RABRI JMUN IN A JAR. I devoured all these three and transported myself into gastonomical paradise literally. Hmmmmmm!!










Food makes a great companion and so does foodies. It was a pleasure to share my table with Vickrham, Ishleen, Jasjeet , Vinayak Bali, Charu Singhal, Paresh Gupta & Shikha Gupta.


Sunday, June 12, 2016

Lavender Love

Hey !!! Have you ever thought ..... What is the colour of love? Red .....u say promptly. Errr maybe pink...Most people associate these two colours with love. That's the reason we generally wear reds on Valentine's day.  For me Lavender is the colour of love....it's dreamy, classy and oh-so-elegant. English Lavender is a treat for sore eyes.













Here, I have teamed my Lavender skirt with black tunic. Though Lavender looks equally great with white and is a awesome combo for these sunny days. Black adds charm and character to this beautiful skater skirt from faballey.  I wore a dull oxidised gold neckpiece and black pumps with it.  
Would love to hear from you.....what say guys!!!!

Black tunic - jabong
Lavender skater skirt - faballey
pumps - fashionandyou
Necklace- 20 dresses
Bag - Louis Vuitton

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

E Yum - Oh so yumm !



After a very busy last week, I got a breather. All I wanted now was to sit back, relax and dig my teeth into something rich and cheesy ( no puns intended ). And what better than cheese dripping lasagne..... I  called E Yum, a home delivery joint and ordered immediately. In 30 minute, my order was delivered. Bingo !!!!





I love lasagne and this one baked to perfection. This melt in the mouth delicacy was full of veggies and layered with cheese. Next time when ordering for food, try lasagne which happens to be their signature dish as well.





Then, there was Pasta in creamy white sauce. Pasta is kind of comfort food for me and I love to eat it sitting on my couch. Though, I like the tangy arabiatta sauce, I asked for the white sauce one as my kids relish it. The penne was Al- dente,  the way I like it. The sauce had loads of garlic and herbs and was of the desired consistency. Another  winner.




And the last item that I ordered was a Veg Indian thalidomide. ..though I must confess, I am not a thali person and never really opt for it. I wanted to try it coz summer vacations are on and lot of women complaint that they cannot visit their parents home in another city as to who will cook for hubby or how would he eat "outside" food for weeks. This is a perfect alternative as the food is like a simple home cooked meal. It had dal, paneer bhurji, sukhe aloo, rice, chapattis and salad. It was cooked in minimal oil and had adequate spices to suit every palate.

E yum is a Gurgaon based take away/ delivery outlet which offers Continental, Italian, Chinese fare. It is also listed on Zomato.

Monday, May 30, 2016

The Luncheon at The Janpath Grill House



Last Friday, I was invited to a food blogger's meet at the newly opened Barbeque joint, JANPATH GRILL HOUSE located in the heart of the city. As I reached the venue, a tricoloured  name plate greeted me....wow!





And then there was a half auto as a help desk, which looked rather cute and quirky. Inside, the decor was simple yet tasteful. The restaurant is spread across two floors and has a laid back warm vibe to it. The highlight of the decor was a handpainted wall depiciting the essence of  "Saadi Dilli ". Have a look :)






As we seated ourselves comfortably, we were served drinks - Gur ka sharbat, hajmola ka gola and aam ki shikanji. Well, all three had distinct taste but Aam ki shikanji had an edge over others. It was something I had not tasted before...neither it tasted like aam panna or any other mango drink nor like shikanji ( which is essentially a lime based drink).




As is the concept with barbeque joints, there was a live grill on the table. An array of kebabs and tikkas were served. Being a vegetarian, I went for the achari paneer tikka, beetroot kabab, which were sumptous. The non vegetarians options included fish, chicken and prawns.





We were also served my personal favorite golgappe,which were baked and styled beautifully. Also, got to see another innovative recipe, the MOLECULAR CHAAT. The executive chef, Tarun Chanana, himself demonstrated the process. Here, dahi and bhallas are immersed in liquid nitrogen ( which has a temperature of - 200 degrees and freezes everything which comes in contact ) for a few seconds. It freezes the curd and bhallas, making it super crispy. Enjoy !






A live pasta counter dished out pasta according to your tastebuds...I happened to taste the "melt in your mouth" cheessey pasta as well as the "tangy" penne in Arabiatta sauce. Both were very good.






There were ample choices for the vegetarians in the main course. Paneer butter masala, Dal makhni and Rajma were really good. You could smell the fresh aroma of spices, simmered to perfection.




Ab kuch meetha ho jaye .... there was phirni, which had a smooth texture and was subtle with just about perfect amount of sugar. Gulab Jamun was like any other you get at regular sweet shops. The rose flavoured kulfi was perfect to round a scrumptious meal.

Though, i missed a chocolate based dessert, i was told the menu changes everyday. The price for the buffet is as




All in all, had a great time with friends from the fraternity and bonded over some great conversation and equally good food. So, next time, you are planning meet friends over drinks and dinner....head over to Janpath Grill House.






Sunday, May 29, 2016

A Tangerine Sunday

Hi! Lovelies,
How are you doing ? Yesterday, it rained a bit so it's pretty pleasant today. I remembered that I haven't done an outfit post in the longest time and Sunday being Sunday,  what better time than now.....
I am wearing a tangerine maxi top to compliment the beautiful day along with my fave monochrome skirt. There's something about black & white combo...it's classy and always lends a beautiful aura to you. Paired it with wedges for the comfort factor and accessorised it with a silver tasselled neckpiece..














Credits
pics - Mehak Rao
Glares - Gucci
Top - www.koovs.com
Skirt - www.faballey.com
wedges - charles & keith
Neckpiece - www.tjori.com


Thursday, May 19, 2016

Food Facts - Calorie Chart 2


Hey! All, 

After receiving lots of appreciation for the First post of the series, I am here with the second and last one. It has covered almost all the food items we generally eat. Did you know that 3 deep fried Poori's have lesser calories than 2 paranthas. No ! Not joking...





                                                                        Kadhi Pakora



.                                                                          Khichdi

.CEREALS
.PREPARATIONCOOKEDCOOKEDCALORIES
.WT.(G)MEASURE/NO.
.Dalia(cracked wheat)2001 Cup225
.Rice2001 Cup222
.Khichri2001 Cup430
.Pulao3002 Bowls358
.Parantha1002297
.Chappati702170
.Puri753240
. Bhatura361154
.Potato parantha 901213










.Wheat, all bran281/2 Cup95
.Doughnut321135
.Burger, chicken1275
.Burger, vegetable1125
.
.DAL/ Pulses PREPARATION
.PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Bengal gram dal1251 Bowl124
.Black gram dal1451 Bowl161
.Green gram dal1551 Bowl316
.Lentil dal1401 Bowl248
.Red gram dal1351 Bowl104
.Kadhi1401 Bowl118
.Spinach with dal1401 Bowl113
.Sambar1601 Bowl81
.Chole1601 Bowl119
.Green gram(whole)1451 Bowl113
.Lentil (whole)1301 Bowl95
.Rajmah1351 Bowl153
.Lobia1401 Bowl141
.Fava beans1001/2 Cup115
.
.VEGETABLE PREPARATION
.PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Peas and paneer1301 Bowl191
.Pea potato curry1351 Bowl132
.potato curry1103/4 Bowl131
.Fried vegetableballs curry1451 Bowl217
.
.DRY PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Capsicum potato1251 Bowl116
.Cauliflower and carrot951 Bowl100
.Ladies finger(okra)1401.5 Bowl226
.Eggplant1003/4 Bowl115
.Cabbage1001 Bowl131
.Stuffed tomato851 Bowl84
.
.SNACKS PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Poha1501 1/2 Bowl298
.Dahi vada1662343
.Vada432138
.Masala dosa1001192
.Idli1703229
.Sago vada602214
.Samosa651207
.Sandwich652194
.Upma1601.25260
.Spaghetti1401 Cup197
.Waffles751 Large245
.Cake,plain751 Piece153
.Cake,sponge501 Piece153
.Pie1601 Portion375
.


.
.NON-VEG PREPARATION
.PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Chicken with gravy1251 Bowl257
.Fish cutlets802 Bowl190
.Fish fillet1152 Bowl358
.Fried Fish852 Bowl218
.Liver tossed with spices1401 Bowl330
.Mutton curry1451 Bowl237
.Prawn tossed with spices1153/4 Bowl206
.Prawn curry1451 Bowl219
.
.CHUTNEYS(PASTES)
.PREPARATIONCOOKED WT.(G)COOKED MEASURE/NO.CALORIES
.Coconut chutney552 tbsp125
.Coriander chutney201 tbsp47
.Mint Chutney181 tbsp7
.Tamarind Chutney201 tbsp65
.Tomato Chutney501/2 Bowl32
.



.



.
.RAITA
.Cucumber raita(low fat curd)Yoghurt-1001 Bowl52
.Cucumber-50
.Boondi raita fried bengal flour ballsYoghurt-1001 Bowl100
.
.SALADS AND DRESSINGS
.French151 tbsp70
.Mayonnaise151 tbsp150
.Light mayonnaise151 tbsp110
.Tossed green salad with dressing1 Bowl1 tbsp95








.Caesar151 tbsp70


So, Happy Eating  !!!!
                                                                              XOXO
                                                                              Ruchi




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