Welcome guests at home for hi -tea on a rainy day

Being from North Indian vegetarian family garam chai and pakoras are our all-time favourites on rainy day and any snack with potato is absolute delight to our taste buds. My mother is famous and well known in family and relatives for her culinary skills though limited to vegetarian north Indian dishes but whatever she cook taste awesome and even though she haven't trained us literally but we all have inherited these skills from her the way we get mentored on the job .I remember during my school days we used to stand by kitchen not to help her but just to peep what's being cooked , together with school gossips since I always have a lot to share.Academics was always the top most priority for my mother so she never asked for any sort of help but we used to do our bit in summer vacations to surprise her certainly not by our cooking skills but various other activities at home.We were completely novice when it come to cooking but then how this actually started ? Initially we used to help mother as temporary assistants whenever a family get-together was planned be it's Holi, Rakshabandhan, Dusshehra or Diwali and slowly the transition from assistant to a decent cook happened automatically .At that time we never thought how important it is for us to know and learn cooking but now once married I realize that it is integral part of every Indian women where we believe that "Dil ka rasta pet se ho kar jaata hai " and trust me I am not kidding J .You want to cook something not because you like to eat rather for someone special in life who relish and enjoy to eat that. I always cherish the tender moments where Abhi request me for something special to eat and the expressions he have when he ask for those and the smile he have once fufilled .

In fact these days it's not really difficult for anyone to learn cooking with numerous online recipes as someone rightly said 'where there is will there is a way' but we all sisters were blessed with the skills inherently.

Monsoon arrived at Hyderabad and some guests planned to visit us for hi-tea and I have prepared varieties of pakoras to welcome guests on a rainy rainy day J

And most importantly all of these are my husband's personal favorites too. Anything for him and lovely monsoon :-)

Pictures Courtesy: Abhinit Saxena

                                                        Bread Roll

Bread Pakora with Potato filling

Onion Rings,Aloo and Onion Pakora,Gobhi Pakora(Left to Right)

Crunchy Potato and Crunchy Gobhi

Rain Rain please come again we want to welcome you again

Much awaited monsoon finally came @Hyderabad with a big bang .Monsoon is somehow very special to me and the first rain is something eternal and take me to another world. 

Maybe it's my desire getting quenched after a long wait or the thunder storms trying to frighten us or the darkened clouds bursts knocking our heart and trying to tell us loud here I come .Clouds giggles and lightening smile at me and rain drops start splattering creating a divine musical serene .Crystal drops come down fluttering from heaven and together with fragrance of wet soil and washed green plants and trees I almost get wings to fly in god’s creation and get lost in some surreal world. 

Watching beautiful sky spread with various vibrant colors and listening to the mischievous thundering and lightening by notorious clouds connect me straight to god and these special moments are definitely a feast not only to my eyes but my soul and it's really hard to describe in words the tender moments and emotions it brings to my life .The feeling to spread arms and kiss rain is inexplicably beautiful and stirs feeling of love, romance and passion in life. I just can't hold myself inside as I love to gaze rain and I come outside and surrender myself to nature’s treat and feel the rain drops lash against my face and no wonder if I turn to my childhood demanding even more to go at roof and get completely drenched in rain. I really love Monsoon as it is not just being cozy in his arms to celebrate the cold breeze and vibrant winds but an opportunity to spent some quality cozy moments with myself and loved ones. 

The gentle breeze, lovely mist, rain songs together with nature blows fresh vigor to flush out the worries, tensions and stress and throw all sadness and it’s rejuvenated me enveloped in chime of rain and  I can even gear up my excitement levels with my favorite tracks like Neele Neele Ambar Par, Rhi Jhim Gire Saawan, Barso Re Megha and get instilled with magical wave of thrill, excitement and trust me mother nature have something to offer us with the amazing views from our flat at 20th floor which is even more beautiful with a garma garam chai and especially ginger masala chai. Wind dances crazily and rain also join the group moving upwards ,side wards and knocks not only our windows and doors but also our taste buds and for my husband it’s certainly high time for garam chai with pakoras.

Rain Rain please come again we want to welcome you again 

Pictures courtesy :Abhinit Saxena