Sadde Choley Bhatoore !!!!

Last three weekends i.e: Saturday and Sundays  have been visiting the near by North Indian Eating Joint and eating the ever so yummy, delicious, supercilious, yummylicious CHOLEY Bhatoore or kulche. Bhatura is one of the awesome bread in Indian Continent. It is Loud, Theeka (spicy), Big, Happy like the Punjabis  :)

My First stint with Choley Kulche or Bhatura was when I was 6/7 years old and it costed merely 2-3 Rupees !! 

CK /CB was first introduced in Punjab. 

• Choley ( chickepeas) are soaked overnight in some salt and boiled in the morning.
A thick gravy is made of onions and tomatoes, chilly, ginger, salt, garam masala and Choleys are added to it and cooked in pressure cooker. Once cooked it is served with raw cut onions, dhaniya and green chilly.

• Kuclha again is a flat bread /Naan is made of maida flour. It is extremely popular in India and Pakistan esp. Punjab areas. ANyways round balls are made from the kneaded flour and flattened by Belana and each baked usually in clay oven ( substitute is tandoor) and baked until golden brown. It is then served with white makhan(butter) or normal butter..
Sometimes Kulcha can be stuffed with potatoes/onions/ Methi.

• Bhatura is again made from Maida Flour ( but curd/yeast depends are added) , just like Kulcha -small round balls are made and flattened but instead they are deep fried unless light golden and seem chewable.

Choley Bhature/Kulche are served and eaten hot, served with fresh cut onions, green chilly smeared in Sarso ka Tel ( Oil), Achaar ( Pickle) and raita ( yogurt with grated onions, kaala namak).
Another way of eating is by taking two small kulchas and stuffing choley/channas  (like a burger) ...YUM YUM YUM.
These are mainly eaten are breakfast along with lassi ( either sweet or salt )... YUM TUM YUM

Recommendations :-

• Local Street Vendors especially in North India any-state, wont cost more than 20 rupees

• Old delhi and Nizam-ud-din areas in Delhi serve excellent Choley Bhature

• Amritsari- Naan, Kulche, BHature are famous, any eating joint is recommended

• Around Golden temple- in Amritsar there is small shop which serves amazing Choley Kulche eg: bharwan da dhaba

• Local Shops in Karol Bagh in Delhi

• Paranthe wali gali in Chandini Chowk, Delhi, Red Fort in Delhi, Sarojini Nagar ,Lajpat Nagar 

• Once met a girl on the border of Indo-Pak during a brief chit chat got to know Lahore has famous spots for CHoley Kulche/Naan

• West Delhi- Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar has variations of Choley Kulche/Naan

• Ghats of Ganga at Haridwar/ And Civil Lines at Roorkee 

• On the way from Delhi to Punjab- the highways- 

• Surprisingly Wolvehampton, UK and Dudley street also has nice Choley Bhatur

• Parts of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Pali in Rajasthan

Enjoy the THEEKA- CHATKARa Choley Bhatoora ....

Truly Divine- Vincent Van Gogh

I am huge fan of Vincent Van Gogh- there is so much to him--his paintings, his life, his story, his eccentricity, his colors, his illusions, his inspirational quotes.... endless infact...He inspires me to this very day.

Few of his quotes which I like and make me think

sometimes & alter my thoughts & perceptions-

* Great things are done not by impulse, but by series of small things brought together :)

* Let us keep courage and try to be patient and gentle, Let us mind not being eccentric & make distinction between good and evil ...

* I wish they would take me as I am

* One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul & yet no one ever came to sit by it. Passers by only see wisp of smoke from the chimney & continue on their way

* The sunflower is mine

* There is no blue without yellow and orange

Uska mukh ek jhoth hai... Ghoonghat ek sansar ....

This one of my favourite ghazal...


Zahid Ne Mera Hausla-e-iman nahi dekha
Rukh pe teri zulfon ko pareshan nahi dekha

Har Hal mein bas Pesh- nazar hai wahi soorat
Main ne kabhi e- roohe- shab -e hijra nahi dekha

Aaye the sabhi tarah ke jalvey mere aagey
Maine magar e- deeda e-hairan nahi dekha

Kiya kya hua hungame junoon yeh nahi maloom
Kuch hosh jo aaya tu gareeba nahi dekha

Broken Soul ----

Last few days trail of Cards have been --- Transformation ( death) --- Outsider----Let Go ---Tower--- 5 of cups in the Osho Zen .. Most predominatly for the nth time the Card of " Death" I guess this time with a shock....

Today I saw the cards of "Broken Souls " ... so this what it signifies :(

There will come a time when all things end; a death that leaves one gasping for hope; fighting to cling on; afraid to let go. There will come a time when dreams of happy endings are rudely awakened by reality; wisps of wishful thinking disappearing into smoke; gone without a trace.

There will come a time when the human heart breaks under such punishment; giving way to grief; dying bit by bit until it beats no more.One needs to learn to accept death as part of a natural cycle of life; deal with processes of letting things go; the need to move on.

Denotes an ending; thus we may need to ask ourselves if holding on to something or someone may be detrimental to our growth. The time to let go will come when we acknowledge the need to do so.

O' Druantia-O'Aengus

Lately have been drawing and seeing Card of Ascended Master- Aengus, hopefully the message is --" Showering of love and twin flame soon" ... (twich twich..blush blush ).

So I dedicate this ballad/song from W.B .Yeats to My Aengus---

THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS

I went out in the Hazel wood

Because a fire was in my head,

And cut and peeled a hazel wand

And hooked a berry to a thread

And when white moths were on the wings,

And moth like stars were flickering out,

I dropped a berry in a stream,

And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor,

I went to blow the fire- a-flame,

But someone rustled on the floor,

And someone called me by my NAME..

It had become a glimmering girl

With an apple blossom in her hair

Who called me by name & ran

Faded through the brightened day--air

Though I am old with wandering

Through hollow and hilly lands,

I will find out where she has gone

And Kiss her lips and take her hands,

And walk along the dappled grass

And pluck till time and times are done,

The silver apples of the moon

the golden apples of the sun.

Zafar's Poetry

लगता नहीं है जी मेरा उजड़े दयार में
किसकी बनी है आलम-इ नापायदार में

इन हज्रतों से कह दो कहीं और जाके बसें
इतनी जगह कहाँ है दिल-इ-दागदार में

इक शाख-इ- गुल पे बैठ के बुलबुल है शादमान
कांटें बीचा दिए हैं दिल-इ -लालज़ार पे

दिन ज़िन्दगी के ख़तम हुए शाम हो गयी
फल्ला के पावों सोयेंगे कोंच-इ- मजार में

कितना बदनसीब है ज़फर दफ़न के लिए
दो गज ज़मीन भी न मिली कु-इ-यार में

This is a famous poem /ghazal by Bahadur Shah Zafar. It is the first and the last stanza which always takes my breath away

Nishkam

Seva, Simran and truthful living are a few basic concepts of Human way of life apart from Daya, Dharam, Santokh, Sanjam and Nimrata. Those who start with Seva without expectation of any reward (Nishkam-Seva) and go on doing it, are bestowed with the boon of Simran from which follows the Truthful living and other qualities. According to Encyclopedia of Sikhism:

"True seva according to Sikh scriptures must be without
desire (nishkam)
guileless (nishkapat)
in humility (nimarta)
with purity of intention (hirda shuddh)
sincerity (chit-lae)
utter selflessness (vichon ap gavae).

Such seva for the Sikh is the doorway to dignity as well as to mukti (liberation). "If one earns merit here through seva, one will get a seat of honour in His Court hereafter."

This is a snippet from a website Nishkam- which serves the women, children especially of the 1984 riots in India by providing job opportunities, medical facility etc. even today.