Mughlai in Bangalore....

Just had a privilege to enjoy dinner in a Mughlai fine dining in Bangalore, as they allowed us inside the kitchen, here are few glimpses while preparations and presentations are on the way…

For a complete review you can refer my detailed post on Metblogs… the Umerkot Experience

Rolled & Roasted Happala...

Rolled & Roasted Papads kept ready to be served in a fine dining Indian restaurant. There are many ways and sizes these are prepared. The smaller ones can be eaten like a snack chip and the larger ones can be used to make wraps. Sometimes described as a cracker or flatbread,the recipe varies from region to region and infact from home to home, but typically it is made from lentil, chickpea, black gram or rice flour.In Dakshina Kannada district, jackfruit and sabudana are also used as ingredients in making of Happala. In North India lentil variety is more popular and is usually called 'papad'. Pappad is also known as "Happala" in the Kannada language.

Papads or Papadums are typically served as an accompaniment to an Indian meal, they are served along with the main course in southern or at the end of it in Northern India. Both ways it is an integral part of any Indian meal. It is also eaten as an appetizer or a snack and can be eaten topped with various toppings such as chopped onions, chutney or other dips and condiments. In certain parts of India raw papads (dried but unroasted) are used in curries and vegetable preparations.

Selling News...

Fully decked !! latest magazins, newspapers in multiple languages!

A typical local shop displaying the latest on happening's, due to higer literecy levels the city readers are vivid and choosy, with multiple language masteries open up many options, isn't it?

Fortune n Weight....

Not that I frequent to Railway Station regularly but this time again to drop few outstation visitors. Time and again I relate to this weighing machine plus futune teller, almost installed on every indian station, insert a 5 rupee coin and get your weight printed along a random future line. Here is one intsalled just besides a travellers rest.

I remember to use just 50 paise coins when as a child to get these tickets as part of my child hood collections...all children always get sattreacted to this machines as they have a nice electrical display...

Cubbon campers…

Though city provides many opportunities on weekends on the outskirts, few campers prefer pitching their tents within the city parks… here is a family who prefers Cubbon park as an ideal camping ground for the late noon, they will enjoy their lunch on this picnic and stay back in the park till late evening….a great reason to unfold those tents and save driving time too!!

Here they come!!

Respecting met dept forecast for Indian peninsula, they arrive, thunders, showers and winds wrestle the city washing off the dust and lowering the mercury to almost 21 deg C. Atleast last three evening they are on schedule dancing the tunes till late night.

Trucker's Rest....

On the city outskirts truckers rest after long hauling. Many highways witness this as few of facilities provided by dhaba’s / roadside hotels having ample parking space and some small maintenance shops to carry out quick fixes / mechanical repairs on the way while the drivers catch up on their sleep…

Now selling....

Quick snap of a book/magazine store and a general store. Like the colorful displays and posters placements, a public phone embedded aside, and the latest maganies / listing's displays on racks. The number of publications offered here may exceed more than 100 and in atleast four five languages ranging from english, kannada ( local), tamil, telagu and hindi....

Tailor Made…

A by-lane around City Market makes way of life to few tailors sitting alongside the shelters of few shops. These tailors work on small assignments coming their way via visitors to the market, few leave their cloths altered, patched or even stitched from cut pieces while they shop in the market the tailor completes the work and visitors pick it up on their way back home.

Many of them seen there from many years and have personal rapots with small businesses or houses towards sundry tailoring jobs… matter of fact that they manage to get themselves occupied and make living through uncertainties…

Work in Progress...

While the city is witnessing large number of construction activities from few small houses to large residential or commercial complexes. Here is a picture of few workers filling the roof concrete slab using only the small concrete mixture. The concrete is prepared right there on site and carried atop via a human chain...

Gulmohur Blossom...

Parking lot near Commercial Street turns red... As the city is witnessing a Gulmohur blossom, it is said that as the mercury soars the colors of gulmohur turn dark red... with Rain and Sun playing hide and seek the colorful flowering decorate the city roads.

Walking Deals......

Walking by a shoe store, was amazed by the varieties, patterns and styles offered. The fast changing styles and patterns lure passers by so much that almost every one seems to have stoped asking about durability.... Though they do survive atleast four-five seasons and are available at bargin costs the deals make both shopkeeper and customer happy....

Fruit Chaat Conversations...

Bangaloreans indeed love fruits, relishing them at markets, fruit chaat carts or even via juice bars... here is a couple enjoying the fruits in cubban park while their evening stroll in the park. Availability of fresh fruits always lure every fruit lover, what could be any better option than this?

The Cutting Edge...

Handmade Iron Knifes displayed on a market street. Iron knives have been used since ages, the usage can range from agriculture to butchering.. the shapes and sizes differ based on the use and also requires sharpening regularly...

Civil Works...

Just before the monsoon, the drain covers are seen getting fixed. The availability of large stone slabs makes it easy to use as drain covers. Most of these kind of small civil works are done manually using the basic tools like hammers, steel levers (the one used here pushing the stone slab in place) and finally fixed with the cement concrete prepared with sand and cement at work site...

Day Break...

Kind of usual to find few catching up for their first coffee of the day along the newspaper early morning...

The majority of the floating population who could survive here can be related to the fact that there are many coffee shops, food stalls offering affordable and tasty stuff that helps service the loners..

Now selling...

So much to offer, the fully loaded fruit seller in city market tempts me to capture these varieties of fruits ... the mango's, Oranges, Pomogranades, grapes, you name it and he has them there... why don't you try some??

Vidhan Soudha...

Clouds gather over the Vidhan soudha while sun plays hide and seek, on the week end evening. The clouds and the light enhance the building details from the backdrop, making it wonderful …

Happy Mother’s Day…

Here is to all those mothers who have, had taken pains towards upbringing, caring of the kids ensuring whatever it takes while facing life as it comes and putting their best towards their welfare.

A Glancing snap from city market, flower selling ladies and a mother who takes time off to feed her child while balancing her priorities of work!!

Steaming Dosa....

Couple of metbloggers met to check out a new Dosa joint for breakfast today, the place called Dr.Shekhar's Dosa Center, we tried few of varieties they offer... here is a snap of steaming Masala Dosa on the iron hot plate getting ready to serve....yum yum!!

Friendly neighborhood PCO...

Perhaps a very common sight in the city is this Friendly neighborhood PCO, the telecom revolution is certainly not the new factor, many of these do not exist as the local calls do not make any more revenue compared to old times… few shop keepers do keep them and being creative have small protective shelters too…

Changing Seasons@Markets

With few mansoon showers cooling off the city, the markets too seen changing the season here... the quilts ( Blankets ) are up for sale in the Shivaji Nagar Market.

A blanket is a type of bedding, generally a large, rectangular piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket, because blankets are for warmth, while sheets are for hygiene, comfort and aesthetics. Blankets are subdivided into many types, including quilts, duvets, and comforters, depending on their thickness, construction and/or fill material.

Colorcoded....

In the spirit of faster sorting Department of Posts encourage citizens to put the letters in approprite letter boxes, the Green box for local Bangalore letters, Blue one for the Metro's and red one for others...

Sweet ‘Taati Nungu’..

A roadside vendor seen busy taking out the Taati Nungu, Targole (singular form is Targola), the fruits of Palm trees… Known as ‘Nunguu’ in Tamil, ‘Tadgola’ in Marathi and Gujarati, ‘Taati munjalu’ in Andhra, ‘Taati bonda’ in Tulu, ‘Taati Nungu’ in Kannada…

They are soft, juicy grey-whitish, slimmy sweet and cool fruit covered with a cream cover that tastes bitter. This is found in groups of three inside palm fruits. Usually available in summer.. They have peelable skins and thick, edible pulp (kind of between thin malai and hard copra, in terms of coconut meat). The pulp surrounds a bit of sweet juice; as you bite into the fruit…

Bicycle Buildoff...

Perhaps this is routine for the guys to assemble the new bicycles for the kids, but is surely a nostalgic aspect when I recollect spending hours to know the tricks of the trades of assembly and repairs ...

Overall there is a steady growth in the indian bicycle industry, There is certainly a change in the demand pattern linked to consumers' changing aspirations and choices. The bicycle industry (like many other industries) has also pooled together its resources to ensure that the benefits of these changes are shared by all concerned; and as a result of this, the marketers have promoted the fitness plank." quotes an interesting old article.

Catching Colors

While on the commercial street, I saw this beautiful poster outside a famous store..the colors and pattern was indeed eyecatching!!

Hot Bajji i.e.Pakora's....

Hot Bajji, a street food preferred by many for a quick and affordable snack, available any where in Bangalore and for that matter anywhere in India. I met across this busy cook preparing it roadside ( CMH Road) late evening....

It is is a type of Indian cuisine created by taking ingredients such as chicken, onion, eggplant, lentils, potato, spinach, cauliflower, tomato, and chilli, dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them. They are usually served as snacks or appetizers.

They are mostly eaten as starters in restaurants. When onions are so fried they are also known as onion bhajia, or Pakoda. Here is the recipe…

Busy Streets....

A quick snap of the busy market in Shivaji Nagar, the shoppers include every strata of the society and offers quite a bit of range... a perfect pass time for many who wonder around the market looking out fo great deals...

Bangles are forever...

When it's shopping on of the items on the list for window shopping is surely Bangles, A display of variety of Bangles in Shijavi nagar market...

Bangles are part of traditional Indian jewelry. In India, bangles are usually worn in pairs, one or more on each arm, and a single bangle is rarely sold. They are made of numerous precious as well as non-precious materials such as gold, silver, platinum, glass, wood, ferrous metals, plastic, etc. Most Indian women prefer wearing either gold or glass bangles or both in combination. Bangles made from plastic are slowly replacing those made by glass, but the ones made of glass are still preferred at traditional functions such as marriages and at festivals.

Selling colors...

Colorful flowers for sale. It is exciting to be in the bylanes of shivaji nagar market. lot of varieties of goods, textiles, cosmetics, footware...you name it and they have it all. Here is a seller selling artificial flowers outside a textile shop.

Nariyal Pani...aka Coconut Water!

Coconut water the first thing everyone wants to beat the summer heat. Sellers get ready in the morning to catch morning walkers for their daily dose....

The water of a tender coconut is liquid endosperm. It's refreshingly sweet(mild) with airated feel when cut fresh. Depending on the size a tender coconut could contain the liquid in the range of 300 to 1000ml. It is known locally as well as in Tamil/Malayalam as 'Elaneer'.