Pick your favourite beverage

VJ :: Wine-Wall : This was just a section at the London Food Festival Fair last year. It appealed to me because I had not seen anything like this before and the way the bottles were displayed, created a sense of beauty..as they say...beauty lies in the eyes of the be-holder.
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Shillu :: My favourite mocktail on the lines of the cocktail - Mojito. This is a part of one of my best friends birthday celebrations.

Colors of nature

VJ :: Red Currants. Amongst the many things to do on my tick list while I was in London, Fruit Picking featured as the 'Top 10 Things to Do'. Last summer, my friends and I took a train to this garden in Kent to complete the wish list. We picked everything from fruits to vegetables and red currants were just one of them.

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Shillu :: One early morning we were at Lalbagh on the way to Mysore. A lady selling these flowers in a basket caught my eye. For those of you who are not from India & if this is not a common sight, what you see here is different variety of flowers woven into a garland.

CLICK July - Bi-colour

This months theme for our favourite event 'Click' is Bi-colour. This event is hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi

Here is our entry - Cheese & Crackers

CLICK June 2009 - Stacks

~Veggie cheese burger~

Here is our entry for this month's CLICK hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi.

This months theme:
STACK: an orderly pile or heap, especially of things arranged in layers.

These guys always come up with the most creative themes & you should check out all the drool-worthy entries.

~Shillu~

Fruits and flowers

VJ :: Taken at the London Food Festival, At this counter fruits were carved in various shapes and were displayed beautifully.

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Shillu :: Yeah I know, we are huge foodies and we often post about food. What you see here is Cauliflower & peas curry flavoured with a hint of ginger & garnished with coriander leaves.

Fruit vendor

Spotted this vendor in T-nagar, Chennai. What attracted me is the interesting display. What you see here on sale is cucumbers, Raw mangoes, Pineapples, water melons.

~Shillu~

Beat the heat

Shillu :: Vj has been busy relocating & preparing for his wedding. Hence we have not been good at updating the blog. I have decided to go ahead and post "solo" till VJ is back in the groove.

What you see in this picture is tender coconut. Best refreshing drink on a hot summer day. Vendors pile these up by the road for sale. You can choose which coconut you want & also mention your preference - Coconuts with more water or ones with water & tender flesh. I prefer the first choice, what about you? You can read more about them here.

Plate-full

Shillu :: Thai green fish curry with steamed rice, Bharan's favourite lunch, He can eat this everyday without getting bored!

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VJ :: Plates- What a way to preserve the history? These are the plates from the Victorian era stuck onto the wall and are on display...

Peaceful sights

VJ :: Swans- I captured these swans one clear afternoon at a local amusement park near Hertfordshire. The place, water and the swans...'Serene' is all I can say.
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Shillu :: Buddha Mural on the wall of a Chinese restaurant. Great food & relaxing ambience, what else can one ask for.

Caught on camera

VJ :: Bird's Eye View- I mean literally..you can view the bird's eye...just kidding!!! Just see how this seagull is posing for this picture and shaking a leg at the same time.

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Shillu :: Roasted peanut vendor on commercial street - a busy shopping area in Bangalore. This guy makes a cone with a used news paper piece to hold peanuts to deliver to his customers. Good fun specially when its raining.

Hot snack for a rainy day

In the process of making punugulu with Fermented dosa batter, chopped onions, raw coconut pieces, coriander, green chillies and seasoning in a special pan.

Ready to give you & your family company on a rainy day - Hot & tasty punugulu with coconut chutney. Enjoy! :: Shillu

Favourite tidbits

Shillu :: Raffaello - According to me these are the best dessert/white chocolates in the world! One Raffaello on a bad day changes my mood completely & I am a happy person! No - They did not pay me to say this. I wish they start selling these in India though.Poor VR has to ensure I have a constant supply forever. Thank you :D:

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VJ :: Olives : My favourites among tidbits..This was the dinner that my friend and I had to enjoy the last few days in London..you can see sun-dried tomatoes in the background. They too are my favourite..next time you come across these items, think of me.

Tea - anyone?

Shillu :: Chinese Jasmine tea served at a restaurant throughout the meal. Love the flavour.

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VJ :: Earl Grey: Making my way through some 1500 people, travelling across two continents, I landed in Mumbai after an eight and half hour flight from London and eventually into Hyderabad only few hours later. I was greeted by my father and friends..and yeaaaaaaaaahhiieeeeeeeeeee..I am in Hyderabad..the place that I now call home. In the days to come, I will capture some pictures from India and keep the flow going. Now, coming to the point, remembering my days from London, I had my first cup of Tea- Organic Earl Grey- Aromatic...ummmm...

Pic too gloomy? here you go - a Bright one!

VJ :: Making our way out of London was nearly impossible. This was the time when everything around us was freezing and my friends and I, were in a car enjoying good music and company.
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Shillu :: Couple of things about me - I am learning 2 things : Cooking & photography, not good with either yet. I will get there soon, so requesting you to bear with my experiments till then. Here is a picture of peas & peanut rice I made with brown rice as a snack one evening. This is tempered with onions, mustard seeds, cumin & garnished with coriander.

Munch your way thru a freezing day

VJ :: Making our way out of London was nearly impossible. This was the time when everything around us was freezing and my friends and I, were in a car enjoying good music and company. Snow- This is the way I walk to work everyday, but that day was a special day as I walked on snow and practically set my foot on snow for the first time ever.

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Shillu :: VJ - Here are some homemade rice crackers to compliment the weather there. We call these "Chekkalu" in Telugu. Popular snack in south India, made with rice flour, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, onions, Chana dal & deep fried. Got a very delicious batch from my mother-in-law's house. Enjoy the snow while I munch away these yummy snacks ;-)

Spicy Indulgence

VJ :: Soup & Bread This evening my friend Lakshmi, made Thai vegetable soup and I baked garlic and oregano bread rolls. We had a great meal followed by a chocolate chip mocha cake. All this to complement the snowy weather that London experienced. If you are looking for a recipe, do not hesitate to ask.

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Shillu :: Super delicious Gutti Vankaya Koora (Cluster eggplant curry) made by Mom. Like all mom's, my mom is a great cook too & this is my all time favourite curry. I request mom to make this for all special occasions. This curry has loads of Indian spices & it takes reasonable amount of preparation time. Some of the ingredients that go into the gravy - Roasted Peanut powder, Roasted til seeds, Dry coconut powder, red chillies, Ginger, Garlic, Tamarind, onion paste, coriander, garam masala & more....Phew! But trust me - Its definitely worth the effort! Miss you Tulasi - Come soon :(

Fine Dining

VJ :: A perfect evening: Place: A local Italian Restaurant. A couple of my friends and I went to this restaurant here in London for some nice Italian pasta followed by a generous portion of Tiramisu. The tables were set to welcome guests for that evening!
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Shillu :: Spicy crisp chilli babycorn garnished with ground black pepper & spring onions. Perfect starter for a delicious meal. The highlight of the dish is the beetroot carving.

Love for peppers

VJ :: Peppers- Bell Peppers . In search for food, my camera captured this in a local vegetable store. I liked the combination of yellow and green.

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Shillu :: While VJ & I were doing hotel management, I was assigned to make mint chutney for the kitchen class & I got all the ingredients wrong and finally the chutney had too many chillies and very less mint. It almost tasted like chilli paste. One of our classmates ate a little of it & screamed in the cafeteria saying "who made this chutney?" I confidently (and a little proudly) claimed that I made it. He said your name should not be Sireesha, you are "Chilli-sha".

I love the splash of colors here. This picture was taken at the weekly farmers market in downtown Minneapolis.

Happy Birthday

Wishing you Health, Happiness & prosperity always... Happy birthday Meetu. I am blessed to be a part of your life.

I Got a Pineapple cake & made some special Indian food at home. Invited some friends over for lunch followed by a dinner at our favourite restaurant.

Vegetable biryani is made with Basmati rice and curried vegetables in layers, infused with aromatic spices like Cinnamon, Cloves, Shahi jeera, Mint, Cilantro and garnished with almonds, cashew, fried onions & fried bread cubes. I served this with onion raitha (Onion & yoghurt dip). This is my first attempt at preparing veg biryani, I followed this recipe. Enjoy the picture & come over to celebrate with us today :: Shillu

Hot or cold?

VJ :: Breakfast- they say, breakfast breaks the overnight fast- I am beginning to realise that it may be true. This is the breakfast that I had at a cafe at the culinary capital of the world. I will leave you to guess the location. Freshly squeezed orange juice with croissant accompanied by a preservative and chocolate chips with hot n frothy milk. What 's next, a nice healthy breakfast and an instant painting both for the price of one. Parfait!

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Shillu :: "A lot can happen over coffee" that's the tag line of my favourite coffee chain in India. I definitely agree. Enjoy your daily dose.