Navratri - gollu - Significance of the nine-day festival

Durga is venerated during Navratri as she embodies creation, preservation and destruction

One of the most important Hindu festivals, Navaratra literally means nine auspicious nights. The Goddess Durga is venerated during the nine days as she embodies the power of creation, preservation and destruction. Worship of the goddess bestows wealth, knowledge and prosperity.

During the nine days of the festival, different aspects of the supreme goddess is venerated. The first three days, the goddess is venerated as Durga, who destroys evil. For the next three days, the goddess is worshipped as Lakshmi, who grants wealth and prosperity. The goddess is revered during the last three days as Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom.

Pratipada – First Day

On the first day of the festival, the goddess is venerated as Shailputri. Shailaputri literally means the daughter (putri) of the mountains (shaila). A form of Shakti and the consort of Lord Shiva, Shailaputri embodies the power of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The goddess is variously known as Sati Bhavani, Parvati or Hemavati. It is customary to wear red coloured clothes on this day.

During the nine days of the festival, different aspects of the supreme goddess is venerated

Dwitiya – Second Day

The goddess manifests as Brahmacharini on the second day. The name of the goddess means one who practices devout austerity. A form of Uma or Parvati, the goddess grants happiness, prosperity and moksha (emancipation). On the second and third day of the festival, it is customary to wear blue coloured clothes.

Tritiya – Third Day

Worshipped as Chandraghanta, the goddess represents beauty and bravery. She is called Chandraghanta because of the chandra or half moon on her forehead in the shape of a ghanta or bell. She stands for valour and strength to fight the demons.

Chaturthi – Fourth Day

On the fourth day, the goddess is venerated as Kushmanda. According to mythology, goddess Kushmanda created the universe through her laughter. The goddess is often depicted as having eight or 10 hands. Devouts often wear yellow coloured clothes on this day.

Panchami – Fifth Day

The goddess is venerated as Skand Mata on the fifth day. Skanda or Lord Kartikeya led the army of the gods against the demons. The goddess is depicted holding an infant Skanda in her arm. Hindus generally wear green coloured clothes on this day.

Shashti – Sixth Day

Worship of the goddess bestows wealth, knowledge and prosperity

On the sixth day, the goddess Durga is worshipped as Katyayani. According to popular belief associated with the goddess, the venerated sage Kata performed severe austerities to beget the goddess as his daughter. Impressed with his penance, the goddess granted the sage his boon. The daughter born to Kata came to be known as Katyayani. It is customary to wear grey coloured clothes on this day.

Saptami – Seventh Day

The goddess is worshipped as Kalratri on the seventh day. As black as a dark night, the goddess has a dark complexion, disheveled hair
aggressive posture. The goddess assures protection from fear and troubles. Unlike other forms of Durga which are depicted riding a lion, goddess Kalratri rides a donkey. The goddess is also known as Shubhamkari or the one who performs good. It is customary for the faithful to wear orange coloured clothes on saptami.

Ashtami – Eighth Day

Durga is venerated as Maha Gauri on this day. Extremely beautiful, fair as snow, worship of the goddess washes away all sins of past, present and future. According to a popular belief, the goddess developed a dark complexion due to long and severe austerities. The goddess regained her beauty after Lord Shiva cleaned her with the water of the Ganges. The resplendent goddess came to be known as Maha Gauri, which means extremely white. The goddess is depicted adorning white clothes and rides a bull. White is the colour of the day.

Navami – Ninth Day

Siddhidatri is the ninth form of the goddess. It is believed she embodies all the eight siddhis. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva worshipped the goddess and was blessed with all the siddhis. Lord Shiva acquired the form of Ardhanarishvara because of the blessings of the goddess. It is customary to wear pink colour clothes on this day.

This Navratri, do not forget to pray and seek the blessings of the goddess in the midst of all the celebrations. The goddess destroys evil not only in the society but also the vices which man acquires in his life.

Nine different forms of the goddess is venerated during the nine-days of the festival

Palak kichadi

Thur dal 1 tabsp
Moong dal 1 tab sp
Mysoor dal 1 tab sp
(Today I used only thur dal)
Palak 1 bunch
Green chilli 3 (slitted)
Pepper and jeera (crushed)
Butter 1 tabsp
Ginger 1\4 inch
Lemon juice 2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Method
Cook all three dal together in cooker.
Mash them and keep aside.
Wash and chop palak into pieces.
Blanch for few minutes in hot water.
Drain and keep aside.
Heat little oil in kadai, add slitted chilli and ginger.
Saute for few second.
Add the palak,green chilli and ginger into a mixer jar,grind into paste.
Heat butter in a kadai,add jeera, mustard seeds,let them crackle.
Add ground paste, saute for some time, add mashed dal,mix well and cook for some time, add crushed pepper and jeera powder.
Pour lemon juice.
Add cooked rice and mix, cook for few minutes.d d water if required to make loose consistency.
Pour fresh cream or ghee.
Serve hot with raitha and papad.

Note:
Mahalaya paksham illenna
Onion garlic paste, green chilli sauce, vinegar elllam serthukkalam

gobi manchurian

Chop cauliflower and soak it in hot water for 3 mins. No need to boil. Drain the water after 3 mins. Take some maida, corn and gram flours (no defined quantity, u can add as much as u need) and sprinkle on the cauliflower.. Add garlic paste and salt and very little water. Mix it well so that no pieces are left uncovered with flour. Heat pan and fry the gobi piece and keep it. Take a pan with little oil, heat it, add a teaspoon of sugar which will give shining , Chop onions (if u want u can add garlic pieces ) and put it in pan, add a pinch of salt for onion. Add little soya sauce and some tomato sauce , mix them well. Now put the fried gobi pieces.. Garnish with chopped capsicum and spring onion. U can also use coriander for garnishing. Serve it hot!!!

INSTANT SAKKARAI PONGAL

:I have taken 3/4rice n 1/4pasiparupu. Wash it n soak for 5to 10mnts. Then for 1cup rice 3cups water (can take 2water and 1milk also). Now take 1or 1 1/4 cup jaggery according to ones taste and use that 3cups measurement of water needed and dissolve the jaggery n stove. After dissolving switch off the gas n filter the impurities. Now n a pressure cooker add the rice n dhal n put this filtered jaggery water n a spoon of ghee n cook for 3to4 whistles. By the time cooker cools n realeses it's pressure heat a pan add ghee fry cashews n keep. Now open the cooker add fried cashews n 2spoons of ghee,elaich powder ncook for 2mnts SAKKARAI PONGAL is ready..

Panneer kebab

Grated panneer
Grated carrot 
Grated ginger garlic green chilli
Chopped cilantro
Finely chopped onion
Crumbed bread
Salt
Pepper
Black salt
Chat masala
Garam masala
Little milk
Make into a smooth dough and roll them into small kebab and fry them in hot oil.
Serve them with ketchup
For adults spicy green chutney. 

pavakai pachadi

Remove seeds of bitter guard and cut into round shapes and make it to fine pieces.... Bring to boil with turmeric powder, strain water and keep aside. In a kadai, add 3 tsp of oil and add mustard seed and asafoetida and addred the boiled gourd. Fry to 2 mins and add thick tamarind paste and cook for 3 mins. Now add tomato puree (Grind 1 ripened tomato in mixie) and stir well. Once cooked, add turmeric powder, and chilly powder. Add a1 inch cube of Vellam (Jaggery) amd mix well. Check consistency, if needed sprinkle Water. Do not forget to add Salt to your taste. Switch off and squeeze lime for all the 6 tastes. Your Spicy / Tangy Bitter Gourd Pachadi is ready to serve.

Best food that you can always have after some good exercise!!

 Payaru + Kothukadalai + cucumber + carrot + pepper + salt + lemon...

STREET FOOD FESTIVAL - THE LALIT - STREET DELICACIES

An introduction would be the last thing anyone shall except for LALIT HOTEL  and their food. And this time they are hosting STREET FOOD  festival that serves finest STREET  delicacies from MANY CITIES . They have mastered the art of angling to plate every possible variety of STREET FOOD FROM THE CITY . And I must extend a special thanks to Chef .AUNGSHUMAN CHAKRABORTHY  for the insight about the food.

To taste the flavours of North, it isn't always necessary to travel all the way to Northern part of India. The international hoteliers take immense care, right from choosing the best of Chefs to finding the authentic regional foods across India and bring them to your hometown. Among the different diners at  THE LALIT,  have extended their roadway to STREET FOODS  And their "street food  Festival" showcases lip-smacking dishes that origins from north cities. 


yummy pakodas with different types of chutney was droolingggg

  Of course bajji is an everyday ritual for most of us at Chennai; a cup of tea with hot bajji and your done with evening snacks. The hot and crispy chilli bajji with coconut chutney were yum.too good.

MIRCHI PAKODA with the tamarind chutney is the clear winner of todays street festival .

Another note-worthy thing about STREETFOOD FESTIVAL  is their AMBIENCE .  They hypnotize you at the very moment you enter the restaurant. Even the world's worst lover would fall in love with the roof-top set-up; perfect space to kill your alone time enjoying the cities view or romance with your special someone or to make memories with family and friends.

Before indulging ourselves into the STREET FOOD FESTIVAL the welcome drink was paan shot and butter milk.

we left the food choice to him (the Chef). A well-planned set of dishes kept lining up on our table to reveal the flavours ...
After giving rest to our tummies, the Main Course dropped at our table in a go. Quite a long wait for the mains but the wait seemed worth for some of the dishes. 




bombay famous for pav bhaji.... Crispy buttery-toasted Pav buns were perfect with the sabji. Tasty!!
Applause to their idea of serving one portion of the dish before going for second-round so the food isn’t wasted.

-Anywhere I come across the word "momos ", in the menu, I place an order without much second thoughts. And I never anticipated such a huge portion of momos with  this was more like a main course. Steaming hot and perfectly cooked ,stuffed with vegetables and grated paneer, it was delicious and I was happy that the proportion of vegetables were divided equally (instead of just cabbage and cabbage).  
The chilli and mustard sauce were so good, always a perfecto for the momos. I HAD SPICY CHIV CHOW

as usual the chat counter was drollingggg all of us.....

 jalebis with rabdi, malai sandwich, dry  masala milk makes  me salivating 

 left m

And something for the sweet person inside me, a bowl of 

RABDI WITH HOT PIPING JALEBI  lures you with their delicious taste but the SUGAR dripping IN BETA proves to be an absolute delight for my sweet tooth  just melts at ease and that's how I wish my meal to end every time.

and how could i end my meal without paan   and with my favourite sugar candys .


Good. Simple & perfect collection of dishes to choose.With such delectable food from THE LALIT, STREET FOOD FESTIVAL , your mind gets immersed with food thoughts and fills your heart and tummy with foodgasmic happiness.

CHINA 1 - SWIMMING IN HIGH TIDE

  When it's Chinese, my appetite just doubles   

AS FAR AS THE LOVE FOR CHINESE  FOOD CONTINUES CHINA 1 CONQUER SWIMMING IN THE HIGH TIDE.

 

Finally, Chinese it is. I agreed and kick started the ride IN OLA CABS  , with accurate assistance of Google maps i reached China 1... without much difficulty for my tea time . The restaurant is next to Bank of India....Head Office, IN BANDRA where my hubby is working and unfortunately he is not allowed to share with me the yummy chinese food .

Anywhere I come across the word "DIMSUM ", in the menu, I place an order without much second thoughts. And I never anticipated such a huge portion of DIMSUM with EIGHT  big DIMSUM  this was more like a main course. Steaming hot and perfectly cooked DIMSUM  stuffed with vegetables and grated paneer, it was delicious and I was happy that the proportion of vegetables were divided equally (instead of just cabbage and cabbage). 

The chilli and mustard sauce were so good, always a perfecto for the DIMSUM. I HAD SPICY CHIV CHOW, MIXED VEGETABLES, MUSHROOM DUMPLING AND VEGETABLE CHIVES DUMPLING .

I HAD SPICY CHIV CHOW, MIXED VEGETABLES, MUSHROOM DUMPLING AND VEGETABLE CHIVES DUMPLING .

I wanted to give up eating after momos (yes, that was a pretty huge portion) but who could resist Chinese. PANEER is a favourite and Chinese use these beauty so well in their dishes. , the crispy COTTAGE CHEESE  tossed in the sweet yet spicy sauce is perfect, the ginger and chilli balanced the sweetness.YUMMY IT WAS..

CRACKLING SPINACH  was at its best and pair it with the COTTAGE CHEESE  you can be assured that your meal is phenomenally good. The flavour intensity of the sauce along with the juicy SAUCE  is truly one of their best (and no wonder it's their diners favourite pick). I have to sip in some soda to get the food down our tummies.

CHINA 1-  My new found Chinese food dynasty in the city. Packed with Chinese flavours and serves some delicious food. A place totally worth the money we spend.

A hefty and sumptuous MEAL I THINK SO WITH MY FAVOURITE TEA...

TURNIP CAKE WITH KHO-DO-POTATO..... IS A CLEAR WINNER IN TASTE WISE ...The flavour intensity, blend of ingredients and presentation accounts for a thumps up for quality. Quantity is huge and totally worth every penny.

Extremely reasonable considering the taste, quality, variety and quantity.

 I don’t have a say here as we were offered with unlimited food portions with good service. But the food quantity is par with the pricing that is affordable. They seem to have been pleasing the other customers who were dining too.

Food Variety- So much - both vegetarians and non-vegetarians will not run out of options to choose I believe.

Ambience -EXCELLENT A decent dining space.

The intensity of flavours just shines in your plate. Their authentic Chinese touch always excites me, especially the use of ingredients and taste is remarkably good.First you fall in love with the place and then the food lets you stay in love. A place to grab some delicious CHINESE FOOD....  ITS CHINA 1 

To all our #Foodie followers, its time to grab this opportunity & make the most of it!
Delightful banquet at a diminutive bill with unlimited dimsums & a 5 course meal with soup, starters, Main Course, Desserts & a drink (mocktail)
all for just Rs.1150 (all inclusive)

https://www.facebook.com/china1official/?fref=ts

THINAI RAVA LADOO

thinai oru cup,rava oru cup.roast seretately.allow to cool.grind it in a blender to very fine powder.then add elachi powder and two cups sugar again grind.TRS to bowl mix well.then asusual make laddu,,, very healthy and tastyyy.

Strawberry raspberry carrot almond meal smoothie! Breakfast!

It's TEA Break with Tea - CHAI PE CHARCHA - GPO, FORT

Any day any time it's chai over tea and tea over chai. 
Yes, the addition of milk and spices brings in the difference between chai and tea; 
this what geetu loves. 

A disclaimer seems like the best way to start this post before getting to my experience at CHAI PE CHARCHA . And being a TYPICAL PAKKA South Indian I feel MY LIFE  and coffee share equal proportion in my body. 

I think this is the answer to all those cafes cropped up all around the city. The sheer variety of teas will delight you! The quantity of the beverages is generous.. The ambience is nice with all the aromas of the teas surrounding you..and it's a good place to have a nice cuppa!

There are tea enthusiasts at MUMBAI and the blooming cafes with equal significance to tea and coffee is one evident example. With an ardent tea fan at home, I have started to develop a connection with my cup of tea. It was also hard to content my excitement when the outlet of CHAI PER CHARCHA made their way to MUMBAI....

And the icing to the cake was the tasting session  as a master chef finalist where I got the insight about their different types of tea. What impressed the most is the food pairing in accordance with the tea. Also differentiating the varieties of tea isn't an easy job. So the idea of matching the tea and food impressed me the most.no more words ..

Let's get down to the tea business, is a LEMON GRASS TEAwith mild sweetness and LEMON GRASS  fragrance that was complimented perfectly with yummy Bun Maska. The bun maska is a sole winner, a simple combination of  bun, butter .

Next came the most famous MASALA Tea, I never knew there are different varieties of  tea as well as it never interested me, maybe the word 'healthy' that comes along with  tea doesn't excite me. I did taste the ADHARAK TEA and I liked it, the hit of spices and addition of GINGER did make it taste good. This tea was paired with GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH , 

AND HOT PIPING PAKODA

NEXT I HAD KARA KARA FIRANGI KAKRA FOR A NICE WEATHER , AS IT WAS RAINING OUT SIDE.

YUMMY CHOCLATE PARATHA WAS A CLEAR WINNER IN TODAYS TASTING SESSION.. IT WAS DROOLINGGGGG.

The smiles were back when I saw mud pot carrying (Kullad) Chai along with a plate of crispy and hot Pakoda. This combination is a default hit.  I tried the GARLIC BREAD  and ALOO PARATHAS . 

And I appreciate the way they present the tea with details like name, ingredients, steeping time and health benefits. Overall a tea-licious experience. Exactly how a cafe should look and it's done so well. 

The concept of pairing tea and food is brilliant.

I REALLY APPRECIATE MR. ANIL, FOR HIRING AND RECRUITING HEARING AND TALKING IMPAIRED PEOPLE FOR NOT ONLY THIS BRANCH, BUT ALL THE OTHER CHAI PE CHARCHA...

ITS A VERY NOBLE WORK THAT ANIL AND HIS PARTNER DOING.. HATS OFF TO U BOTH..

 The quality of tea and the style of presenting along with the quantity gets a thumps-up. 

OMG.. AWWWWWWWWWW IS THAT COOL

I think this is the answer to all those cafes cropped up all around the city. The sheer variety of teas will delight you! The quantity of the beverages is generous.. The ambience is nice with all the aromas of the teas surrounding you..and it's a good place to have a nice cuppa!

 India is largest consumer of tea in the world and one of the most common sights on any busy street is the chai-tapri or mobile chai vendors catering to millions of tea lovers in the country. 

And from this was born the concept of a Tea-cafe which was non existent in India few years back although the coffee-cafes were already very popular. 
CHAI PE CHARCHA is the brainchild of tea enthusiasts n entrepreneurs  

Mr. Anil kohli who want to bring the best of teas to the Indian consumer. 
The challenge must have been to introduce teas which would suit the local palette as in India the tea is boiled with milk n water rather than steeped in hot water.
But CHAI PE CHARCHA  manages to strike a perfect balance in retaining the originality of international teas and appealing to local taste buds. 
This particular outlet is a nice place to try their extensive menu of almost 20 varieties of tea n food items like tea infused signature dishes. 

For anyone who wishes to try out the wide variety of fine teas from around the world this is the place to be.
Whether its the exotic DETOUX  tea which is one of the finest n most subtle teas or the special and classic selection of the worlds best and also the beloved local chai's as well, CHAI PE CHARCHA has it all. 
. 

Also the very latest ek garam chai ki pyal  is on the menu. 
All in all a nice tea cafe to enjoy n sample some of the most uncommon teas along with good food and good service.

THERE IS FACILITY FOR TAKE AWAY  HOT PIPING CHAI WITH BEAUTFUL PACKS WHICH WILL BE HOT FOR 60 MINUTES.

TAKEAWAY GARAM GARAM CHAI IS READY WITH FOUR CUPS 

YUMMY HOT PIPING TEA IS READY TO SERVE 

chai pe charcha ! For a tea-licious experience. The concept and food are crafted well. With a cosy ambience, warm tea and comforting food this is one place that would even impress the non-tea lovers.  

Shall think visiting this place more to try more options with their tea.

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