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India Part 2

February 2nd, 2023

Hi Fam,

Our next part of the trip was where we headed to Pune. Going to Pune was something I was actually really looking forward to!

We stayed with one of dad’s first cousins, in Kothrud. Gowri Athya (Aunt), had stayed with us before in the states before she got married, had kids, etc. So it was a bit special to go to her place, and spend some time with her. But, one of the primary reasons it was time to make the trip was to visit my dad’s mother’s youngest sister, who is the last remaining sibling! And the wedding that we attended happens to be her grandson.

On the day we got we arrived, there was a gathering at my grandmother’s place, where all her daughters, her other sisters’ kids, and our families, were all invited for a meet&greet of sorts. It had already been such a long day by this point, as we were up since 1:30am, and hadn’t slept a wink since. Needless to say, I was afraid of falling asleep right in the living room, but somehow pushed through all the jetlag. But, I have to say this evening was so so wholesome. Everyone sat together in the front room, and there were so many conversations happening in every corner. Everyone was so excited to see other, and I felt myself smiling the entire time, just watching my dad and his cousins chatting away in such efficient Marathi i’d never heard before. Before you knew it, everyone who sings in the family, was asked to sing ( I had to make peace with the fact that I couldn’t avoid it). So an hour or so was spent just listening to different songs. Then, Aaaji (grandma) as we like to call her, was the one who cooked and arranged everything for dinner, and let me tell you her onion chutney was the bomb. The meal was not fancy but yet again, the care and affection that she put into it was so apparent. For an 80 something year old woman, she’s still so fiery (touchwood). But, it was the perfect day.

The next day was the Mehndi, which was hosted in the evening. But during the day, we went to this place called Sinhagad Fort. The main purpose was really to have Bhakri (a type of roti that’s made in Maharashtrian households), and Pitla (made out of Chickpea flour). I made the mistake of wearing shoes with heels, not knowing we had to climb so many steps. So, I ended up walking barefoot, all the way to the top, but it was all worth it for the food. This tiny elderly lady, guided us to the top, and we were seated under this huge tree. First, we were served hot onion pakoras, with the most amazing onion chutney. Next, came the Bhakri, Pitla, and Eggplant Bharit (which is almost like mashed eggplant). All of this food was cooked on coal so that must have made a difference to the taste. Lastly, the yogurt. It was baked in these small clay pots, and you could either add sugar to it, or salt, but oh god, this was something else as well. After having this food, I could have happily skipped all of the restaurant meals. We then headed back home, to head out for the Mehndi. This event was restricted to just family. But, I got a chance to meet all of my cousins, and uncles that were missing from the previous day! Everyone had a chance to exchange the gifts that are given to each other specifically during a wedding. And then for dinner there was a guy that came over to make everyone dosas ( I had a cut dosa with some incredible stuffing), and I would highly recommend eating before getting your mehndi done, otherwise you’ll end up eating half of it, like I did as it started to crumble by this point…

The day after was the Sangeet. During the day though, we visited the Dagdusheth Ganesh temple which is supposedly famous, and the idol was so beautiful. The temple itself is situated in the middle of the street, but going early in the morning felt so nice and serene and overall we dealt with less crowd. We then hopped on over to one of aunt’s place for breakfast. Their cook happened to make these steaming hot aloo parathas, where they were so hot that I wasn’t even able to take one out of the stack. To go with it, my aunt had this amazing butter to go with it. All of us kids were asked a bunch of questions about living in the states, whether or not we have the opportunity to learn Indian music here, how the restaurants are, and the way of life in general. I didn’t quite realize that people are really interested in knowing what it’s like to live here, even now! After this, we ended up going back home, chilling for a bit and then headed off to the Sangeet. The Sangeet was definitely interesting, and much different to how things are done in the states. The food was also not something I expected either, but all in all, we had another chance to come together with family.

The last day started off by me asking for misal paav, and my aunt had it delivered for breakfast. I must have ordered mine to be made with a medium spice level, but oh god, there was steam coming out of my ears, and tears coming out of my eyes by the time I was through with it. But, I was happy to check this off of my list! And the rest of the day was filled with us running some errands, heading out to get our saris tied/hair done, and then getting ready for the wedding in the afternoon. The location was absolutely stunning, and was set up on a golf course. There was a light breeze that was there around 4:30pm when the main event started, which added to the overall vibes. But, the wedding was performed by two priestesses, which I’d never seen before, so that was new. It wasn’t a pretty long wedding, and it wrapped up by 6:30pm. Then, the couple got changed and started to meet everyone, while all of us mingled and went to go eat dinner. As you can imagine, there was a variety of different food, but none of us were able to do proper justice to it. As the event wrapped up, it was time to say our byes to most of the family. I was definitely feeling a bit sad, as I felt like we didn’t have enough time to spend with everyone outside of the wedding festivities.

One of the best parts about our trip to Pune was that every night, after each event, we’d change it to our pajamas and sit together at my aunt’s place (who we were staying with), and would chat for hours on end, about the event, family in general, and other random things. And again, to me these are the moments that I end up cherishing more so than anything.

Pune as a whole was extra special to me in so many ways. I think it’s so important to work towards maintaining relationships with extended family and this trip helped us all to do that. I met some old cousins after such a long time, and had a chance to connect with new ones and overall all of my aunts and uncles were so warm, and inviting. My dad’s brother’s family and sister also came along with us for this part of the trip, so hanging out with all of them in India was also so nice. The other thing I experienced was this sense of connection I felt seeing this whole side of my dad’s family. I’ve been told, I look Mexican, African American, Gujarati, etc. but the one common thing people say is I don’t look South Indian (or rather Telugu). So, I’ve wondered, which side of the family I look like more. Now, this question was definitely answered when I met my family in Pune, and in my head I was like “wow, more folks who look like me!”

Overall, it was a great stay, and I’m definitely looking forward to including Pune in our future trips to India.

Stay tuned for Part 3!

-K
India Part 1

January 31st, 2023

Well, it really has been been a while since I’ve written about anything on here. But, thought I’d write about something a little bit different instead of the usual lifestyle content.

I typically have a habit of journaling during my trips, so thought I’d share what our India trip is like this time around.

Our trip this time came around really unexpectedly in many ways and in some sense I wasn’t mentally prepared. The end of the year brought about many different emotions for me in regards to what didn’t work out in 2022 and fears about how things will work out in 2023. I know it’s a bit strange, but somehow I wasn’t able to just let go and let myself enjoy the upcoming trip. But, honestly, I have the most supportive family and right before we left, at the airport, my dad said some of the most encouraging words that helped me to just let go a bit and look forward to the trip.

To give some background, generally, I’ve always loved coming to India. There’s something a bit homey about the vibes, even though there’s so much going on all the time. So many people, so much traffic, and so much stimuli everywhere. I love coming and visiting family (i’m one of those that genuinely doesn’t get bored of meeting people), spending time with immediate family here, eating out, shopping, and getting lost in the sea of people.

So our first stop has been Hyderabad, which is home. This time around, it’s felt like like we’ve just come home. Many times it’s felt like I truly am traveling to some foreign country, but it hasn’t been like that this time. Every time we come back though, so much changes in the city, yet it’s all still the same. The amazing thing about Hyderabad, which didn’t quite strike me until now, is how truly it is a mashup of different languages and cultures. You are bound to find someone who speaks your language, unlike some other places that i’ve been too.

afternoon sun with a light breeze flowing through in the living room

By the time we landed on the first day, it was already late afternoon/evening. We came home, chilled for a bit, and then headed out to one of our favorite chaat joints that we visit every time we come here. Right as we were waiting for our food, there was a small accident in the lane, and in typical fashion, the guy who’s car was actually hit didn’t say anything, but the others around him were fighting and yelling at each other. And, then who knows what happened, everything cooled down within 5 minutes and each person was off on their way again. These types of moments always just amuse me so much and it’s not something we get to see in the states.

The best Pav Bhaji

The last couple of days though have just really passed by in a blink. Due to jetlag, we’ve woken up in the wee hours of the morning (also doesn’t help that the vegetable guy is yelling quite early in the am), and have walked over to this little food joint 2 minutes away from our home, in our pajamas, and have enjoyed the best filter coffee, breakfast food, and chats with my folks. I really don’t think we can do this in the states, as to get to almost anywhere you need a car. And one of the best things about India, is that you can get some of the best food at these smaller places, which I actually prefer to a more fancy experience.

I’m definitely missing my grandma on this trip! While we’re here, she’s actually in the states right now. But, everytime we come here, I love taking her around shopping, out to eat, visiting all of our relatives with her and just spending time chatting away. I think older people have some of the best stories to listen to, and they just love spending time with their grandkids. So, this has definitely been lacking. But, it’s been so nice to catch up with my mom’s brother’s family and spend some quality time with them.

Even though we’ve only been here for a couple of days, I think we’ve already ticked off half of the restaurants that we wanted to eat at. While I had a bad upset stomach yesterday, (and it wouldn’t be a trip to India if that didn’t happen atleast once), we have already have had some of the best food.

We’ve gone around shopping in the last couple of days, picking up materials, having the tailor come home and take our measurements, get alterations done, etc. but it feels like there’s still so much more to do, and yet so little time. In some sense, I used to have a lot more patience for these things when I was younger, but now, with the increase in traffic, and time it takes to get small things done, I feel like my patience has been dwindling!

Weirdly my asthma has been acting up every since we’ve gotten here, and the humidity and heat has just left me feeling like a deflated balloon!

I feel like this is the first time in a while where I’ve had no work, school, etc. to bring on a trip with me, and that’s definitely been weird. While I really do enjoy being busy, I was hoping to have some time to just reflect and that hasn’t quite happened. But i’ve generally found that this is the case when I come to India. In a way, I just don’t have the mind space to connect and spend some time with myself, as there’s always something happening.

We’re packed and ready to had to Pune tomorrow! I am really looking forward to meeting so much of my dad’s family that i’ve never met before and also just experiencing more of our Maharashtrian culture.

Also, I’m fully aware that sweeping in every so often and visiting is vastly different from living here in India and experiencing it from that perspective. Having lived here for a year while growing up, that experience is definitely different from what i’ve been describing.

Apologies if this post has felt a little scattered! I’ve written it in the way in which I would write one of my journal entries. And also, I mostly took pictures food instead of people, so bear with me.

Vada Pav at the Mumbai Aiport

Classic Sabudana

Stay tuned for part 2!

-K
Homemade Pizza

August 31st, 2016
Sometimes you just want to eat comfort food. But, eating outside is not really healthy all the time. So, on the days that everyone in the family has had a long day, or just really want something to boost our moods, we make homemade pizza. We tend to just make it a family affair, and the four of us have a lot of fun. It gives us a chance to wind down in a therapeutic way as well.

Now, we do not make the dough from scratch. On a weekday, there just isn’t enough time when everyone is really hungry.

The easiest way is to buy some dough from WholeFoods or Trader Joe’s and we normally pick up the wholewheat option unless we are really craving a full on download of carbs.

There is no hard and fast recipe. You can make your pizza any shape you want and get as creative as you would like. This is all about what you feel like eating that particular night.

So here goes:
1. Roll out your dough in a round shape on a pizza pan.
2. Mix marinara sauce and tomato paste to make your sauce. We usually buy all of this from Trader Joe’s. Usually, I add in a spoon of fresh pesto, but that can make the pizza soggy, so just be cautious.
3. Start with placing spinach pieces in a circle on top of the sauce, then add a light layer of mozzarella cheese. I add a light layer first so the veggies have something to stick to. We are trying to be cautious of our milk products, so we have been switching over to grass fed cheese.
4. Sprinkle all of your veggies on top in any which way you like. I added bellpepper, mushrooms, olives, broccoli, and zucchini, and jalepenos.
5. Then finish off with another layer of light cheese and this time to make it more flavorful, I usually add Cheddar or Parmesan.
6. Top it off with minced garlic if you’d like.
7. Then bake your pizza for 10-15 min and then voila, it’s ready to eat.
So why is this a better option?

Well, you know exactly where your ingredients are coming from, how fresh they are, whether they are canned/not canned, etc. It’s easier to keep track of what you are eating and source it back.

We do not use cheese with animal rennet, so we mostly use mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan. And, typically we don’t use a lot of cheese as none of us like it too much.

Just try to use the freshest ingredients as possible, and wherever/if you can, organic.

At the end of this meal, none of us ever feel like we ate really greasy food, and need to work out. We still feel light, and feel as though we ate clean food (which it is).

We have made our dough before, but this is how a weekday pizza normally looks like.

Enjoy!

-K
The best green juice

March 17th, 2016

I have been wanting to incorporate a green juice into my routine, with a lot of nutrients and not a lot of fat.

I wanted it to be clean. Hence, I began searching for recipes and came across one from the blog called Nutrition Stripped.

But, I tweaked it a little. I first thought, I probably need to take out my juicer every time I need to make a juice like this as the pulp collects. But, if you add enough water/coconut water/any sort of liquid to your Vitamix first, it turns out just as good.

I have been using:

1/4 of an apple

1/4 of a banana

1/2 a cucumber

A strip of Kale

A handful of spinach

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 of a cup fresh orange juice

1 scoop of protein powder

A dash of cinnamon and turmeric.

And boom.

I can’t really say much for the results as I only started drinking this juice this week. One thing to be weary of is that kale does not suit every body type.

Due to the high content of fiber, it can be very hard to digest in some cases. And it inhibits the absorption of Thyroxin– so people with Thyroid should definitely be careful.

I just pour everything into a blender bottle and store it for the night so its good to go the next day. The metal ball inside of it does a good job and shaking up the contents. Really pleased with that purchase!

Enjoy!

-K