Wanderberry Tales

No better way to explore a new place than on foot - soaking in the ethereal rays of the sun and the gentle breeze setting the tone for the late afternoon, we set out to explore the pristine town of Frankfurt along River Main. Half a day in Frankfurt was all we had, nevertheless, we managed to comfortably traverse the city and all we wanted to see and do in 6 hours. Given that we visited Frankfurt in the end of April, the weather ranged from 6 to 20 degree, warm clothing is always recommended. Setting out from the B&B Hotel in Frankfurt, we headed in the direction of the river. A city along the banks of a river, gives the place a special charm, atleast that what I think! Every travel brings about new revelations. I come from a place where there is no dearth for sunlight and hence, probably do not value it enough and here I was at a place where the glorious sun presents itself in its full glory once a while. The green pastures along the banks of the river had people sleeping shirtles...

Roast chicken has always found its way into our Christmas eve dinner menu. What better an accompaniment than beautifully roasted potatoes. Some things are hard to do away with and I am sure this year's menu is no different. Rather, we would want it to remain the same - a reminder of our first Christmas together when we attempted baking a chicken that was marinated and frozen with potatoes layered and spent hours trying to get it to cook at varied temperatures messing up the oven and kitchen in the process. Finally we had our dinner at 12:30 am after giving up on our oven attempt and frying the chicken and potato on the stove top. If everything were to be be perfect then we would have hardly remembered our first Christmas together. The imperfections set our traditions! Here is a look into the roast potatoes recipe. I chose the Indian potatoes and it worked well for me. Ingredients  Potato - 500 gms Rosemary - 1 tbsp Garlic - 6 cloves Garlic Powder Olive ...

A new recipe on the blog to celebrate Diwali - Pineapple Kesari. May joy, love and prosperity illuminate your lives and homes. Wishing you all a Happy Diwali! Ingredients Pineapple - 1 cup roughly chopped Rava/Semolina - 1.5 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup Ghee - 1/2 cup  Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Saffron strands - 3 or 4 Water - 3 cups Raisins - 2 tbsp Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp Method Heat about 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts until color begins to change. Drain on kitchen towel In the same ghee fry the raisins until they puff up. Drain and set aside. Add another tablespoon of ghee and fry the pineapple. Keep it covered and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the pineapples and add 2 more tables spoon of ghee and add the semolina. Cook the semolina until roasted and fragrant. Meanwhile heat water in a saucepan along with saffron strands. Add the semolina to the boiling water and keep mixing to avoid lump formation. Once it is mixed well, ...

Festive season along with the breezy winter has made its presence felt. Although good food needs no season or reason, it is simply an excuse to make some deep fried sugary  tea time snacks. It's strange how memories that have long been pushed to some remote corner of the brain comes popping back on occasions with no particular trigger. That is how diamond cuts made its way into my list.A long time ago (as all stories begin) my mamma lovingly rolled out these dough and the sheer desire to use the spoon that had a wheel on its end to make the diamond shapes got me onto the kitchen slab beside her! I did enquire after the well being of the spoon last time I was home:) I have used wheat flour, you could easily replace it with Whole Purpose Flour and also use some powdered sugar in the dough itself. Off we go to the recipe. Ingredients For the dough- Wheat Flour - 2 cups Ghee - 5 tbsp + 1 tbsp Water - 1 cup warm Salt to taste For coating -  Sugar - 50 gm...

Holla! Back after a break - not a deliberate one though! Life suddenly changed from being a housewife to a corporate housewife! After a hiatus, I am back at work that left me little or no time for anything else. It took a while to set things in order and get back into this world of blogging. So here I am with a new recipe - Stuffed egg paratha! Ingredients For paratha Wheat Flour - 2 cups + more for dusting Warm water - 1 and 1/4 cup Salt - 1/4 tsp Ghee For filling Boiled egg - 4 large Onions - 3 medium sized finely chopped Green Chilli -2 to 3 as per spice level finely chopped Coriander leaves - a handful finely chopped Turmeric powder - 1 to 2 pinch Coriander powder - 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1 tsp Salt to taste Method Making the paratha Take wheat flour in a bowl along with salt and mix well. Pour warm water in batches and using a fork mix it well.Let it remain for 5 minutes. Knead the dough using your h...

Even the best of the hostel food seems bad when the monotony in their menu gets to you. That was the case with our hostel. We were blessed to have non vegetarian food for every dinner except on Fridays but yet after a point in time we began craving outside food.That is how food from Ande ka Funda, a small food joint near our hostel caught our attention. It was very affordable on our student days allowance and quite tasty too - Egg roll, bread omelette, aloo paratha, gobi paratha were their popular items. I took a liking for their egg rolls which came either as single egg roll or double egg roll. The double egg roll made a good meal! My paratha egg roll came into being trying to replicate theirs. Its a favorite due to the simplicity of the whole thing! You need not make paratha from scratch, you could always use the store brought ones when you are in a hurry! The same recipe goes well with chapati too! It is my go to recipe when we need a quick dinner! Ingredients Plain P...

It is strange how certain food items which did not feature in your favorite list until a few years back, crawl in to the list to remain there. Aval is one such item that made it to the list. I keep wondering why I never attempted making aval vilayichathu earlier! As the name suggests, this dish has its origin in Kerala. It is simple to make, tastes good and above all can be stored for atleast two weeks. It is sweet, leaves behind a happy tummy and all you need is a banana or two to accompany it. Absolutely perfect for the tiffin boxes - kids and adults will enjoy alike. Ingredients Brown Aval/Poha/Rice flakes – 250 gms Jaggery – 250 gms Coconut – 2 cups grated Water – 1 cup Cardamom powder – ½ tsp Dry ginger powder – ¼ tsp Channa Dal – 4 tbsp Black sesame seeds – 2 tsp Cashewnuts – 2 to 3 tbsp Ghee – 2 tbsp Method Boil water along with jaggery cubes and let it dissolve completely. Strain to remove impurities. Heat ghee in a deep bottomed pan. Fry the cashe...

Biriyani was a routine feast for weddings and other functions in my part of Kerala until some time back. That gave way to Fried Rice, Chicken Curry and cutlets eventually and now it has finally settled on Rice and host of non vegetarian and vegetarian items to feast on. Beef Roast or Chicken Roast is a prominent item on the plate without which it feels incomplete. I have a strong penchant for roasted chicken, mutton and beef prepared the Malayalee way as I call it. The roasted masala releases a strong aroma coupled with beautifully caramelised onions and the slightly charred meat makes it a heavenly combo with flatbread and even rice. The key to getting this dish right is the proper roasting of the masala as you stir along to prevent it from burning at the bottom. I have tried chicken roast several times and I have not exactly got it the way I would love to have it. Then this mutton roast came along! I usually prefer mutton with gravy but for a change decided to give it a dry...

This blog was born out of sheer boredom of relocating to a new country combined with an interest to cook.  We have come a long way since then and we just turned 3 this week! This time, we have a simple no bake chocolate tart recipe for you. Desserts are a rarity in my house but this one has made its way into our menu various times because its not complicated, uses easily available ingredients and takes very little time to make. Here you go to the recipe - Ingredients  For the tart base Marie biscuits - 40 no.s Butter - 150 gms For the chocolate filling  Semi sweet chocolate chips - 300 gms Whipping cream - 250 ml Corn starch - 1 tsp For Raspberry topping Raspberry- 1 pack  Mint Leaf - a few Method Grease a tart pan and keep aside. Powder the marie biscuits coarsely in a food processor Add butter and let it combine such that the butter soaks the biscuit crumbs and holds it together lightly. Tip this into the ...

The festival of Vishu heralds the New Year for the Hindus in the South Indian state of Kerala. Vishukkani, Vishukodi, Vishusadhya, Vishukkaineetom are the  customs and practices symbolic with the Malayalee New Year. ( Know more about these customs ) Even today all these customs are followed with the reverence and sanctity they deserve. There is no festivity without an elaborate Sadhya that serves so many dishes that you get up from the banana leaf stuffed swearing never to eat so much again. Yet if there was even one item missing out of the sadhya you would feel amiss and would call it an incomplete sadhya!  Pachadi is a very common side dish for sadhya which is quick to make and can be made using different vegetables. Simply put, it is tempering the yogurt with veggies that go along with yogurt - Cucumber, beetroot,carrot, pineapple or even bitter gourd to name a few.  Recipe Preparation Time - 30 minutes Serves - 4 Ingredients Ginger – ¼ ...

With Easter just a day away marking the culmination of the Holy week and season of lent, Christian households would be prepping up a feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Our celebrations often overshadow the real reason for the existence of such a day. To put it in a line - Easter Sunday celebrates resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day after crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecy that the Son of God would die for our sins and rise on the third day signifying eternal life. With a good share of Indian Christian population in the Southern state of Kerala, Easter Sunday would witness a day of festivity both at church and at homes. Here is a recipe that you can add on to the menu - Nadan Kozhi Porichathu/ Kerala Chicken Fry. Ingredients To Marinate – Chicken – 1 kg cut into medium or large pieces Ginger- garlic paste – 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp Turmeric powder – ½ tsp Fennel powder – 1 tsp Garam Mas...

Sundays are not a very happy day to wake up to, being the start of the week in Dubai - yet today morning I woke up refreshed and happy. Dubai has been my home for more than three years. I have got used to living here by now. Yet after packing off Shibin to office ( yeah, I mean it)  as I sat down with a cup of coffee, I felt the urge to wake up to the chatter of birds amidst luscious green trees and not to forget the occasional patter of rain drops during the monsoons. These imageries manifests my childhood! I was brought up in a village named Chanthar, 4kms from the small town of Brahmavar to the north of the temple town of Udupi. My parents moved to this place post their marriage and has since been our home. Technology and trends were slow to reach this place but education never was! Even today this place sees a plethora of educational institutions. During the late 80s and early 90s, a large part of this area was under forest cover. Things began to change with the Konkan ra...

Habits are quite situational! I hate waking up early mornings although I know that's the best part of the day and would love to inculcate the habit of waking up early. Having said that, do not mistake me to be a person who wakes up at 9 am! I am up before 7!Ain't that good enough :P However, I surprise myself on trips, I become an early riser. I love those early morning walks and that peace it gives! The part of Dubai I stay in has a serious dearth of such good and peaceful places for a morning walk which makes me think would the presence of such a place in the neighborhood make me an early riser (**thinking**) The next best thing that could happen in the morning is an amazing breakfast. Eggs form an integral component of the breakfast table. When you can have a wholesome egg dish with just a slice of bread to wipe away the final gravy - yumm! Mornings are made! That is Shakshouka to me - it makes an amazing dinner too! Its a dish popular in the Middle east and Afri...

If you were to name one item in your pantry that you cannot do without - what would that one item be?  I do not have to think twice about this - its definitely EGG! I cannot do without eggs in the pantry, doesn't matter even if I go a week without eating eggs but to know that it is in the fridge and I can always reach out to in case of emergency makes me at peace. As I speak, I have just one egg left in my pantry and I am desperate to restock. This week has been Egg-strodinary week with egg on the menu almost all days simply because its the easiest thing to cook especially when your health prevents you from making elaborate meals. Hard boil, soft boil, fried , sunny side up, poached, omelette - there are many ways to go about it.  I have been meaning to dole out some easy egg recipes but laziness got the better of me. But then I realised that eggs are meant for those lazy days when you want something to eat other than veggies and defrosting and cleaning of the meat a...

Love is all around. You just need to open your eyes and your minds to figure it. Universities and political parties boycotting Valentines Day has become the norm of this month year after year in India - just because how misunderstood the whole concept has become. Your perfect Valentine is just about anyone you Love and want to share your time with. Then again - you could have so many valentines too. Love is not limited to this time of the year. It is just a reminder that Love exists in this day of hatred and unrest. And if life turmoils have made you fail in expressing love, this is the day to re-kindle it. Call up your loved ones - express your gratitude and love because you are blessed as can be. To love and to be loved is the greatest gift mankind ever has. 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.   It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does...

There are days when waking up in the morning is a complete pandemonium, And then there are certain days you wish you woke up to everyday of your life! Staring into digital screens for prolonged hours is strain to your eyes, And then there are things that you can gaze all day through and it only refreshes your eye! The luscious greens, the winding coffee estates, the captivating valleys, the occasional glimpse of a galloping deer and a mesmerizing weather - Chikmanglur has it all! A place you wish you woke up everyday of your life and a view that can never tire your eyes. Chikmanglur is a hill station, part of the Western Ghats nestled at the foothills of Mullayanagiri range. Visitors swarm in from across Karnataka for a real feel of nature - ideal place for trekking and nature lovers, also close to hill stations like Kemmanagundi, Kudremukh making it a popular haunt for youngsters and families alike. Our Chikmanglur saga here does not endorse any place of visit - we ...