Food / Recipes

Oh! What an amazing weekend it was. We had our friends come around and we spent most of the time chatting and gossiping. In Bengali we call it 'Adda' (the fine art of socialising with like minded individuals and discussing about anything under the Sun). This weekend we caught-up with the Trains topic of India. Seriously! I love this topic and have written about this previously as well in my other posts – Mullangi Sambar, Pickled Garlic and Masala Chai.

Just recently I came across this lovely advert of Cobra Beer – The Train 60, my passion for Indian Train journey cannot be expressed or told better than this advert. Although this advert is based on Beer, but I remember friends adding Rum to Coke bottles and carrying it as if it is Coke in order to avoid Police. In another shot, someone sleeping next to the fan, reminds me of the summer travel and as children we preferred jumping up the upper berth, just in order to get close to the fan. Love those nostalgic journeys. In a nutshell this video represents all what we have done in our childhood and the pleasures of traveling on Indian Railways. Hanging out of the doors! The crowded Stations! Those wonderful sceneries! One of the joys of traveling on Indian Train is sitting on the door way and watch the continuing colourful panorama unfold in front of you. It is a shame that Angel (my first born) will miss these romantic journeys as the modern trains especially in Europe is all glass covered. But I have promised her this time we travel to India, atleast one journey on the Indian Railways by the Second Class coach, this is open glass and allows the traveler to enjoy the fresh air of the villages around and experience the hustle-bustle at the stations.

Stopping at the stations brings back memories of 'Chai Garam, Chai Garam' (Hot Tea) in Northern India and on the Southern Stations 'Chai, Chai; Kaapi, Kaapi' (Tea, Coffee), most times they served as the wake-up call for mornings and a strong Tea was a great quencher and warm-up us in the chilly mornings on long-distance Trains. Right now the memories of these, giving me goose-flesh. Oh! When will my next trip be….

This is a delicious Pure Indian Vegetarian Curry that's simple and easy to make in about 20-25 minutes. This Indian dish combines fresh Spinach and Paneer and is absolutely wonderful with Basmati Rice or Naan.

Things You'll Need:

• Home Made Paneer – 100 grams
• Fresh Spinach – 300 grams
• Ripe Tomatoes – 2 nos
• Ginger – 2 inch root
• Green Chilli – 4 nos (optional)
• Coriander Powder* – ½ tsp (optional)
• Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
• Red Chilli Powder – ½ tsp
• Cumin Seeds – ¼ tsp
• Water – 100 ml
• Ghee or Oil – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Full Fat Cream or Plain Yoghurt – 1/3 cup or to taste

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RECIPE:

www.chackoskitchen.com