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I walk on a road lush with dreams,
a road of forgotten and veiled dreams,
sometimes slowly, sometimes gaily,
sometimes lost, sometimes profound,
I walk a road of unknown mysteries,
fervently finding my way through the endless path.....

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Heritage, high spirits..Unbeatable Delhi

Delhi is a city of heritage. A city that proudly boasts of its rich culture, spirit and tradition. 
Through the rise and fall of times, Delhi has been a poet's muse and king's capital. 
History gives innumerable glimses of this beautiful city's culture and colourful past.

I have been living in the city since the day I was born and its amazing how this city never ceases to amaze me every single day! 
To describe in mere words, all that sands of time and ruins have embossed in the very spirit of Delhi is not possible yet I would make an attempt to unfold what 'drives, designs and connects' the capital city of India and its inhabitants. 

DRIVE
Delhi has always been famous for its broad roads and bump free drive. 

With over 90 flyovers, 7 national highways passing Delhi and around 1,400 cars being added to Delhi roads every single day, things do get chaotic to a certain extent but the capital city makes sure to keep the drive inside and out alive! 

DESIGN
I personally love how Delhi has been designed. At the heart of the city blossoms Lutyens architecture. It includes the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Raisina Hills, the Rajpath, India Gate, Janpath and Connaught place. 

Apart from the well planned and marvellous looking central administrative area, Delhi also has amazing shopping malls be it the Select city walk in Saket or the posh DLF promenade in Vasant Kunj.

The DDA makes sure to design its surroundings in a way that schools, parks, markets, the Delhi metro and community centre are within walking distance. 

CONNECT
Talk about connectivity and Delhi ranks amongst nothing but the best! 

The NCR (National capital region) is extensively connected to start with and makes it extremely easy to travel for people living in and around the city.

Apart from that, with a length of 213km serving 160 stations and 6 different colour coded lines, the Delhi metro is all set to become the seventh largest network in the world! 

Not only this, about 3000+ DTC buses ply on Delhi street each day. The connectivity is excellent and seems to get better each day. 

Talking about inter-state and countries connectivity. Trains ply to almost all small and distant towns of the country each day from the 2 major railway stations of Delhi. 

The world-class Indra Gandhi International airport harbours and runs flights to all major cities of the world almost every single day. 

I cannot deny the fact that Delhi lacks in certain areas but it is simply unbeatable when compared to any other city of India. 

The capital never lets the country down and keeps up the spirits soaring high. 

Delhi's lush green surroundings is a cherry on top of the enthusiastic drive, historic design and impeccable connectivity. 

No city in the whole of India can compare Delhi, judge it on a scale or not. Delhi is our capital and Delhi's diversity beats loud in our hearts!


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Not sugary, just sweet!

A sweet dish almost always touches the deepest corners of our heart and soul. Be it a spongy, chocolate oozing cake or the hot gulab jamuns, our meals as well as our lives are incomplete without desserts. 
But somewhere, in this journey of inseparable bond sweets became synonymous with 'sugars' and health issues crept in.
As someone has rightly said that all good relations face the test(s) of time. Our relation with sweet dishes is facing one too. 
With more than 62 million people suffering from Diabetes Mellitus in India alone, sweet lovers are being forced to give up on this special bond with desserts. 
I think, its time now to realise that sugar can never be synonymous with sweet.
So, I decided why not give a sugar free touch to our bond with the ' dearest desserts'? 

Presenting you one of my favourite, extremely easy yet deliciously sweet recipe 

'custard trifle-the sugar free way'

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Refrigeration time: 2-4 hours

What you will need

1) Milk - 1 litre
2) Custard powder(Vanilla) - 
3) sponge cake - 5-6 pieces 
4) Sugar free Natura - according to taste
5) Mixed fruits
6) Whipped cream - 3 tbsp
7) Dry fruits - optional 
8) Colourful jelly - optional

Method

1) Warm about a half cup milk in a microwave or on the stove top. Then add 4 tbsp custard powder to the warm milk. Keep this custard powder paste aside.



2) In another pan, take half litre or more milk.  stir and heat this milk on low to medium flame. Just bring to a gentle heat and stir.



 3) Now add the custard powder paste and stir quickly, so that no lumps are formed.Keep on stirring continuously till the custard thickens.
For trifles you will need a slightly thick consistency. But remember that as the custard cools, it will thicken more. Allow the custard to cool at room temperature.

4) When you can taken the custard mixture off flame, let it cool slightly and then add Sugar free nature according to taste. 



5) In another bowl, take 1/2 cup chilled cream. I used amul cream here and whip it till smoothened. 



6) Now cut the fruits. You can use apples, bananas, strawberry or just about any seasonal fruits except the citrus ones. 

7) Next, slice out the sponge cake into small cubes or you can simple crumble them and spread generously. 

8) Now comes my favourite part. 
Take a glass dish or if you want to make separate portions in dessert glasses you can do that too.

9) first spread a layer of sponge cake and then moisten it with a layer of custard mixture.



10) Next add a dash a mixed fruits and then again the custard. 



11) Then a layer of dry fruits and whipped cream. 



12) You can keep on layering and repeating it till the top. 

13) Lastly,  make the top cream layer even with a spatula and start to decorate it. You can use fruits, berries, jelly or even chocolate shavings to decorate the top layer.



14) Cover with a foil or lid and keep the trifle pudding in the fridge to set for 2-4 hours or overnight.



Serve chilled. 



To know more and sweeten this relation with desserts visit http://sugarfree-india.com/