WATERMELON.....

I just love this fruit and I can consume even an whole fruit without any problem...

Last weekend we were at   DAHANU   a small beach town about 2 hours drive from Mumbai....

While driving back I saw these awesome fruits in piles along the road side and there was nothing that could stop me from having a bite..

I had posted about this earlier in 2011 .. But let me tell you that a Watermelon is a great dish when you have a nice spicy meal keep it at the table with a little salt and chaat masala sprinkled on it.. It refreshes you instantly.

Watermelon is one of the most refreshing, thirst quenching fruit available year round now even in India.

 

Watermelon consists of 92% water and 8% sugar.
Watermelons are an excellent source of several vitamins: vitamin A, which helps maintain eye health and is an antioxidant; vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, promote healthy teeth and gums; and vitamin B6, which helps brain function and helps convert protein to energy.
 

It has the highest concentrations of lycopene of any fresh fruit or vegetable.
so that dayI purchased one whole for later use and ate a plate full of freshly cut fruit that you see above.

NATURAL BEAUTY...

I was in Goa the whole of last week .. I have purchased a new CANON DSLR camera before leaving for Goa and hence I wanted to try out my skills at photography with a DSLR..
Here I share with you some pictures taken by me and my son who is a budding photographer , he has a natural instinct when he takes pictures and I feel he is quite good at it...


   A CLOSE UP OF THE SMALL FLOWERS BELOW

 PRETTY PRETTY YELLOW FLOWER..

BEAUTY IN ITS NATURAL FORM..

SUGAR CANE JUICE

If you read my other blog you will find a post  HERE where I write about my trip to Mahabaleshwar, If you have been reading my blog right from the beginning you will know that I love to visit markets or places where they either sell or make things to eat or drink...

I was passing by this market at place in a small village called MANGAON whenever I see vendors selling what they produce or when I see someone making something associated with day to day life , I just cannot stop myself from wanting to buy something from them or just watch them work...

So while driving by ,that day I saw this lady selling freshly squeezed sugar cane juice and I made my hubby stop the car so that we could drink a glass and also see how she did this...

You can find the benefits of  sugarcane juice HERE .

I do not say that its very hygienic to drink from such places ,but if you take care to see that the juice is freshly squeezed (right in front of you ), the glass is clean and try not to add the ice, I feel that it is safe enough to consume .

On a hot day in India, there’s no better way to quench your thirst than drinking Sugar Cane juice. 

The sugar cane stalks are harvested and then pressed to create the sweet sugary taste, and you’ll find this favorite refreshment being served in outdoor stands across the country.

The benefits of drinking this juice are many although its better to be avoided by the diabetics for its high sugar content...

The sugar cane juicer has been used for centuries to press the sugarcane stalk and extract the plant's naturally sweet juice for consumption and/or the production of sugar, cane syrup or molasses. Since sugar cane juice is a very sweet unrefined carbohydrate, it has become one of the more popular vegetable juice drinks in today's health conscious world. Sugar cane juice is not only delightful to the palate; it is good for you too. Many nutritionists believe the organic juice extracted from the sugarcane plant provides healthy qualities from boosting an individual's immune response to disease to soothing an upset digestive tract. 

You can have this golden yellow juice with a little lemon juice and a little ginger . It can also be had with lemon and rock salt or just on its own...

Here is a link where you can read about its benefits...

.

HOMEMADE INDIAN SWEETS.....

TODAY IS A DATE WHICH COMES ONCE IN 100 YRS AND HENCE WILL BE EXPERIENCED BY US ONLY ONCE IN OUR LIFE TIME...TODAY IS 11.11.11...

TO CELEBRATE THIS DAY LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF THE HOMEMADE SWEETS THAT ARE MADE IN AN INDIAN HOUSEHOLD.

• 

 UKADICHE MODAK OR DUMPLINGS MADE WITH COCONUT-JAGGERY STUFFING AND COVERED WITH STEAMED RICE FLOUR COVER.

   NACHNI OR RAGI PUDDING

    
 AMRAS PURI-- AMRAS(sweetened mango puree) and puri is puffed up deep fried wholewheat roti.

DAHI WADA--DEEP FRIED UDAD DAL VADAS WITH SWEETENED CURDS POURED OVER IT...

                                    SWEET LADOOS MADE WITH WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE A NICE DAY AND WONDERFUL YEARS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!

RAINY RAINY DAY****

I love rains....I love the feel and the sound of drops of water falling ...I love the wind and the cool breeze that moves around the house what bliss!!!!

Here are some snapshots of the morning when it was pouring outside and for me such morning should be accompanied by a hot cup of tea and a nice book

MID-MORNING MUNCHING...

I love my mid-morning round of fresh fruits.. and when I see such a colourful bowl full of fruits it not only makes my tummy happy but so also my mind ..

..

WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE FRUIT? 

I love watermelons, papaya, banana and apples in that order...

WATERMELON

I love watermelons and my rate of consumption is unbelievable I can eat a whole watermelon in one sitting ,given a chance..

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I remember when I was a child I always wanted to have a whole watermelon to eat all by myself , but as times then, one whole watermelon had to be shared by all in the family so i got my piece of the watermelon which I felt was always less 

 

My father knew my fondness of the fruit and would tell me that one day we will bring a watermelon and cut it into half and you and I will have half each ( He loves this fruit as much as me....)  . I always dreamt of that day when we both would eat  a whole watermelon together...

And that day did come when my father one day when he was returning from work got me a round , plump juicy watermelon of a size which was just right for us both to eat in one sitting.We really enjoyed eating it together with a little sprinkle of salt.I have this incident itched in my memory for ever and every-time I see watermelons I remember that day with my father.

These pictures that you see above are taken last weekend when we went to DAHANU a sleepy town just 2 hours drive from Mumbai. "We "includes my dear father, my mom, my family and our nieces and nephew...

When you drive through the highway this is a common site during hot summer months.. you will find such stalls selling a whole and pieces of watermelon to commuters on the road...

So what do you think would be next , I immediately stopped my car and out I jumped with my father for a slice of the juicy yummy fruit sprinkled with chat-masala and salt...(did not click pictures of the plate served to us, was busy enjoying the fruit).

And as we were leaving the stall , I saw my father going back again inside the stall and choosing a watermelon ( He chose the biggest , and the best of the whole lot and the most expensive I must add...., they were at the end of the stall .He gave it to me with a smile on his lips and pleasure in his eyes....) so I know that he has not forgotten our little time together with this very good looking fruit....

INDIA WINS WORLD CUP

INDIA HAS FINALLY WON THE CRICKET WORLD CUP 
WE CONGRATULATE THE INDIAN TEAM... FOR THEIR GREAT EFFORT...

                                                  source: television

OUR VERY OWN CAPTAIN M.S.DHONI WITH HIS OTHER TEAM MEMBERS MADE IT POSSIBLE TO LIFT THE CUP...
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR MAKING US PROUD....

GREAT PHOTOS.....

These were taken at a farmhouse in Dhapoli ......

STREET FOOD****

Goa is not known for its STREET FOOD you wont find people selling on the streets , as goan people prefer to eat hot and home-cooked meals and now although goan culture and people are changing and the younger generation is giving eating joints more preference to home made snacks (but let me tell you this its occasional ) you still find very few people selling fresh items on the streets....

When I visited Goa this May I saw a lady standing near the temple , selling finely sliced cucumbers and raw mango on leaves with a generous sprinkling of salt and chilli powder..

                                     COOL AND HEALTHY CUCUMBER SLICES

                                             SLICES OF RAW MANGO

Let me tell you this that I never like this stuff ...the raw mango but i love cucumbers in any form and size and taste , but my hubby just loves them...the raw mango  (we are so different you know....)

So, It was my hubby who was the first to hop over to her and buy and eat it...the raw mango with relish.

Then it was me who walked over and relished them ... the finely sliced cucumbers... Haha....

SOME VENDORS IN GOA..****

I love people and I love to see the way they dress, the way they talk and hence whenever I get an opportunity to visit a place a market is the first place I visit it’s the window to that place, you can know and see the local people there, you can know what they eat, and also know how they talk and communicate with you

  

I have clicked some pictures in Goa of the vegetable vendors and the flower vendors over a large period of time and here are a few of them for your perusal 

 

some of  these ladies were so happy to be clicked that they actually posed for the pictures...

 In the picture above you see a grandmother , working at this age for her livelihood when she should have been at home and resting . The efforts of such people usually go unappreciated because of the situation that they fall in and earning becomes a compulsion.
I feel I could do a little bit for her by buying my plate of flowers from her and got her a chilled bottle of coke to quench her thrist in the hot afternoon that she was sitting  and doing her job,  My little act  lit up her face and that's what made my day,and I remember her shy smile till today.
They are very self respecting people and that's all that I could do for her....

 

Don’t you feel they are so real , no pretense , no makeup just doing their day to day hard work and earning their livelihood , so nice to look and interact with such people…I feel its these people that builds up the character of the place and makes it a place worth visiting... DO YOU AGREE??